SD Opposition to Operation Tannenberg

[jv]

Much has been written about the Gleiwitz incident. What appears to be less known is that the key players in the SD commissioned with the planning and execution of Operation Tannenberg (the Polish border incidents) were opposed to the operation. The key players, Otto Hellwig (photo), Hans Trummler, Otto Rasch (photo) and Herbert Melhorn (photo) tried to talk Heydrich out of going ahead with this operation. Particularly Melhorn, a known Heydrich-critic, was against the operation as 'large-scale operations involved many people so inevitably it would be impossible to keep the operation a secret'. The SD considered the operation a Wehrmacht matter. Heydrich went ahead with it as his standard-argument was 'Fuehrerbefehl'. jv

[Max Williams]

Great post-war picture of Mehlhorn which I had not seen before. Other photos of participants can be found in my biography on Heydrich. Out of interest, what is your source that they tried to talk him out of the operation please? It appears that the whole thing was a bit of a farce, but the end result was what was desired by Hitler.
Max.

[Andreas Schulz]

This pics of Hellwig and Mehlhorn are also unknown for me. Very interesting. Many thanks. What is the source of this pic? An old paper?

AnDie

[jv]

Great post-war picture of Mehlhorn which I had not seen before. Other photos of participants can be found in my biography on Heydrich. Out of interest, what is your source that they tried to talk him out of the operation please? It appears that the whole thing was a bit of a farce, but the end result was what was desired by Hitler.
Max.

Hi Max,
Early August 1939 Heydrich met with Dr Herbert Mehlhorn (whose nickname in the SD was 'Bedenkenrat' - i.e. the one who always raises concerns. Mehlhorn immediately raised concerns about the operation (according to his later statement he raised concerns that 'this operation created such a responsibility that would be hard to bear in the interest of the history of Germany'. Mehlhorn put up such strong arguments that Heydrich took him off the leadership team. On 11 August though Mehlhorn was again present at the meeting with the other SD key players in the planning of this operation. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the details of the operation. Mehlhorn again raised concerns at this meeting (which he presented to Heydrich in a written statement). The other participants were instructed by Heydrich at the meeting that this was a Fuehrerbefehl and that he did not want to hear any more objections. Heydrich wanted 'get down to business'. The whole operation was certainly a farce in the sense that it was poorly planned and executed by people who clearly did not have the experience (or skills) in the secret agent game. Unternehmen Tannenberg by Spiess and Lichtenstein was published in 1979. Regards
jv

[Andreas Schulz]

I have this book in German but without this photos.

AnDie

[Phil Nix]

Great post thanks
Phil Nix

[jv]

Although Operation Tannenberg was a failure from a planning and execution perspective, the propaganda machine made the most of the Polish border incidents. In presentations to foreign guests (similar to the one in this photo) Kripo-Chef Nebe (arrow) had a special scale model of the Polish border prepared with lights and sounds: by pressing a button lights would go on and little hidden toy machineguns would sound. Much to the delight of Heydrich (on the right) who would mumble the same words every time: "Yes, that's how the war started". jv

[Max Williams]

Although Operation Tannenberg was a failure from a planning and execution perspective, the propaganda machine made the most of the Polish border incidents. In presentations to foreign guests (similar to the one in this photo) Kripo-Chef Nebe (arrow) had a special scale model of the Polish border prepared with lights and sounds: by pressing a button lights would go on and little hidden toy machineguns would sound. Much to the delight of Heydrich (on the right) who would mumble the same words every time: "Yes, that's how the war started". jv

Sorry, but I find this a bit hard to believe. It sounds like the product of an overactive imagination.
Max.

[jv]

Although Operation Tannenberg was a failure from a planning and execution perspective, the propaganda machine made the most of the Polish border incidents. In presentations to foreign guests (similar to the one in this photo) Kripo-Chef Nebe (arrow) had a special scale model of the Polish border prepared with lights and sounds: by pressing a button lights would go on and little hidden toy machineguns would sound. Much to the delight of Heydrich (on the right) who would mumble the same words every time: "Yes, that's how the war started". jv

Sorry, but I find this a bit hard to believe. It sounds like the product of an overactive imagination.
Max.

Hi Max,
Reference: Unternehmen Tannenberg. Leading Oberstaatsanwalt Alfred Spiesz spent years investigating this operation and interviewed numerous participants. He published his findings co-written by journalist Heiner Lichtenstein in 1979 (Limes Verlag, Muenchen).
Regards
jv

[DennisW]

The fake border incidents perpetrated by the Germans in 1939 has alternately carried three operational names:
Operation Himmler
Fall Weiss
Unternehmen Tannenberg

Which one is the correct one? Or, is there an operational order to the names?

[mty]

I think the 'Operation Tannenberg' is the correct one because it was a codename used by Himmler himself (according to Breitman biography of Himmler).

[gencom]

And it is also the codename used by Walther Schellenberg on his memoirs.
GenCom

[DennisW]

What then distinguishes Fall Weiss from Unternehmen Tannenberg?

Lahousen appears to be the source of the phrase "Operation Himmler" from his Nürnberg testimony. Naujocks said he was unfamiliar with the term. Was there an "Operation Himmler"?

[Georges JEROME]

"Fall Weiss" is codeword for Polenfeldzug september 1939

Georges

[Georges JEROME]

Hitlers Einsatzgruppen by Helmuth Krausnick

Unternehmen "Tannenberg" refer to einsatzgruppen SIPO SD action for the Polenfeldzug 1939 (chapter II das erste grosse operationfeld im besetzen polen herbst 1939.

Martin Broszat Nationasocialistische polenpolitik 1939 1945
refer also to "Unternehmen Tannenberg" for the 5 einsatzgruppen SIPO SD in Poland

in my original edition from 1957 of Schellenberg memories (in french) no mention of codeword only 3 pages dealing with Melhorn who wanted to escape to this command.

so ???

Georges