OMM Georg Fuerst (1870-1936) was my grand uncle, a younger brother of my grandfather, Prof. Heinrich Fuerst (1861-1944).
In one of the postings on this forum Georg Fuerst is shown allegedly congratulating Adolf Hitler on his 46th birthday.
I believe that this picture was actually taken as a farewell gesture when my grand uncle left the service officially on April 30, 1935. On that occassion, Hitler had given him an autographed photograph of himself as a gift. This picture (as shown on the forum) had been widely misconstrued and misidentified. It should also be noted that the Badonviller March was composed in 1914 as a tribute to Bavarian troops fighting and managing to win victory, however with heavy losses. My grand uncle, a member of the Reichswehr under the Weimar Republic, conceived of this march while sitting by the roadside near the Badonviller battle field, while postal vehicles, which had been converted for ambulance use, were passing by with the wounded soldiers. The hunking of the "ambulance" horns gave him the idea for the initial trumpet signals which begin the march. This must be stated categorically. The march became very popular and when the Weimar Republic yielded to the Third Reich, Hitler adopted this march as his favorite march quite a few years later. Hitler also ordered the marche's original name to be changed from Badonviller to Badenweiler. The point is that Badonviller and Badenweiler are two distinctly different communities in two different locations, one French, and the other German! There is a small town by the name of Badenweiler in the Black Forest, and that has led to much confusion! Additionally, as a result of Hitler's action, this music is still suffering from an association which had nothing to do with National Socialim in its beginning. Georg Fuerst died in 1936. His music for the most part was from the era of W.W. I, and it should not be discredited or disqualified from being performed, simply because of one marche's association with a later regime. Georg Fuerst had no direct bearing or personal influence over Hitler's choice.
Signed: Gerhard A. Fuerst (
[email protected])
edited to protect your privacy / Bernd R, Moderator
