Oberst / SS-Hauptsturmführer Harald Momm

Dieter Zinke · Post by **Dieter Zinke** » 11 Aug 2004 08:12

Hallo forum,

Harald “Harry” Momm was a world-famed jumping-horseman.
His fame is lesser knowed:

in 1942 als Oberstleutnant Adjutant XXXX. Panzerkorps (KG: Georg Stumme)
01.04.1943 Oberst (62)
01.03.1944 Kommandeur der Heeres-Reit- und Fahrschule Potsdam-Krampnitz

In connection to the 20. July-plot 1944 arrested by the Gestapo and committed to prison in the Prinz-Albrecht-Straße in Berlin.
Brought to “Ehrenhof der Wehrmacht”, condemned on account of political untrustworthiness, degraded to Rittmeister and transferred to SS-Regiment “Dirlewanger” for proofing.
It seems that Generaloberst Heinz Guderian stood up for him and prevented from the worst.

At the beginning of November 1944 he arrived as SS-Hauptsturmführer with the SS-Sturmbrigade “Dirlewanger” in the Slovakia.
He leaded until the second half of December 1944 the 1. / II. / SS-Sturmregiment 2 (Waffen-Grenadier-Regiment der SS 73).
He then leaded the II. Bataillon succeeding SS-Hauptsturmführer Ewald Ehlers.

Supplements to his bio welcomed.
Anybody who is able to set a pic in our loved forum please ?!?

Oberstab

Jan-Hendrik · Post by **Jan-Hendrik** » 17 Feb 2007 11:29

Would be interested , too !

Bought today his book "Mit deutschen Reitern in zwei Erdteilen" from 1941 , when I was able to reanimate my scanner I will provide pictures !

Jan-Hendrik

Doktor Krollspell · Post by **Doktor Krollspell** » 17 Feb 2007 13:21

Hello Dieter!

Here's a group photo from 1933. Harald Momm is second from the right...

Text to photo...

Rome, Piazza di Siena 1933: The German show jumping equipe from the Kavallerieschule Hannover, winners of the Coppa d'Oro Mussolini.
FLTR: Richard Sahla, Hermann von Nagel-Ittlingen, Harald Momm, Heinz Brandt.

More info...

Harald Momm, a veteran of WWI, had been on service at the Kavallerieschule since 1927. Originally considered a certainty for the show jumping equipe in Berlin 1936, he was transfered away from the school back to his regiment (the 16. Reiterregiment) some time before the Olympic Games because of a "clash of opinions" with his superior officer, General von Waldenfels. Waldenfels, commander of the show jumping unit at the school, had been, to be precise, pushed over by Momm and his mount during an argument.

After the Olympic Games, he was transfered back to the cavalry school to become successor of General von Waldenfels as commander of the show jumping unit. 1943, he became, as colonel, commander of the school, which had been transfered by then to Potsdam-Krampnitz.

It is said that on the evening of that fateful day, Momm had ordered champagne in the officers' mess: "Orderly, champers! The swine is dead."

While this is, as far as I know, apocryphal, it is a fact that Momm had the troups of the school march out on July 20, 1944 to support the putschists.

Not a very wise thing to do, but then, this was the man who had toppled a general by literally overriding him.

He was lucky. He was arrested but, different from many men who had done less, not sentenced to death. He was disrated from colonel to captain and transfered to the SS Brigade 'Dirlewanger', a penal unit for felons under the command of SS-Oberführer Oskar Dirlewanger, himself a twice convicted rapist. The Dirlewanger unit's "warfare" had raised objections even among the regular SS and for a man like Momm being transfered to such a unit was akin to being sentenced to death.

However, he survived to tell his tale. In his well-written and, for any horsey person, highly intriguing memoirs "Pferde, Reiter - und Trophäen" (Horses, Horsemen and Trophies) he tells, among other things, about his five years in a Russian POW-camp and how he survived in spite of the tuberculosis he had caught working in the mines. His saviour was the commander of the POW-camp who had acquired a little filly whom he let Harald Momm groom.

Finally home, he became one of the few former officers of the SS Brigade Dirlewanger who were able to clear their names and was fully reinstated as colonel.

He became Chef d'Equipe of the German show jumping team after the Germans were allowed to take part in international equestrian competitions again. That was in 1951, I believe. He retired 1956 after the German equipe had won their legendary Gold at the Stockholm Games.

Harald Momm died in Munich on February 6, 1979.

Source for photo and quotes: http://editrixblog.blogspot.com/2006/07 ... -dead.html

Regards,

Krollspell

Dieter Zinke · Post by **Dieter Zinke** » 17 Feb 2007 13:48

Dear Doktor,
thank you for another valuable contribution

Sehr schön, danke !

Dieter

harmel · Post by **harmel** » 17 Feb 2007 14:27

Interesting info Dieter and the Doc,
The Waldenfels I presume is Wolfgang Fhr
von Waldenfels died 1/2/1940
Harmel

Jan-Hendrik · Post by **Jan-Hendrik** » 17 Feb 2007 15:28

Gentlemen, just wanted to admit what a pleasure it is to see how the information accumulates in this section

Jan-Hendrik

Dieter Zinke · Post by **Dieter Zinke** » 17 Feb 2007 17:27

BTW:

FLTR: Richard Sahla, Hermann von Nagel-Ittlingen, Harald Momm, Heinz Brandt.

Heinz Brandt is the later Oberst and Generalmajor (posthumously), who died on 21.07.1944.
He was severely wounded by Stauffenberg' s bomb in Rastenburg as Ia in the Operationsabteilung / OKH

Dieter

Heimatschuss · Post by **Heimatschuss** » 17 Feb 2007 19:23

Hello,

below some other pictures of Harald Momm:

Sources:
Upper pic: http://www.cegesoma.be
Centre pic: http://www.cegesoma.be
Lower pic: http://www.ullsteinbild.de (They also have one with Momm being decorated by Mussolini)

Another photo is available via http://www.svbilderdienst.de/

Momm also was the author of the following books:

contribution in:
Rolf Roeingh (Herausgeber und Bearbeiter)
Das Deutsche Reiterbuch
Berlin, 1940, Deutscher Archiv-Verlag

Together with Wilhelm Braun
Mit deutschen Reitern in zwei Weltteilen
Berlin, Verlag St. Georg, 1941

Pferde, Reiter und Trophäen
München Copress-Verlag 1957

Glückliche Ehen Im Sattel
Copress Verlag, München, 1975

Best regards
Torsten

Jan-Hendrik · Post by **Jan-Hendrik** » 20 Feb 2007 12:22

As promised , first picture from the mentioned book by Momm!

Jan-Hendrik

Jan-Hendrik · Post by **Jan-Hendrik** » 08 Mar 2007 19:44

Here is antoher one from the mentioned book .

By the way , von Luck mentions in his memories that he was together with Momm in soviet captivity and that they have become freinds since then ...

Jan-Hendrik

Michael Miller · Post by **Michael Miller** » 08 Mar 2007 20:00

Here's some information on another show jumping champion. Would anyone happen to have a photo of Marten von Barnekow? Many thanks to John Moore for sharing documents from his SS file (from which this biosketch was assembled).

Best wishes,
~ Mike

Marten von Barnekow
SS-Sturmbannführer / Hauptmann d. R.

Born: 16.03.1900 in Bromberg / Provinz Posen.
Died: 29.01.1967.

NSDAP-Nr.: [No Party number or entrance date indicated in his SS file; no NSDAP-Nr. given in SS-DAL of 01.10.1944]
SS-Nr.: 132 108 (First joined, 00.11.1933; possibly left, then readmitted 09.11.1938 with Nr. 132 108)

Promotions:
ca. 1919 Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
00.00.192_ Leutnant
01.01.1928 Oberleutnant
00.00.19__ Rittmeister
09.11.1938 SS-Sturmbannführer
01.09.1934 (?) Hauptmann (E) (later redesignated Hauptmann d. R.)
01.05.1940 SS-Sturmbannführer d. R. der Waffen-SS

Career:
ca. 1906 – ca. 1909 Attended three classes of Volksschule.
ca. 1909 – ca. 1918 Attended high school (Oberrealschule?), graduating Untersekunda.
28.10.1918 – 03.07.1919 Entered military service, assigned to Jäger-Bataillon 7, then to Freiwilligen-Radfahr-Kompanie / Jäger-Bataillon 7 (deployed to the Front, probably on the Baltic, from 18.02.1919 to 29.06.1919).
00.00.1920 – 31.03.1930 Assigned to Reichswehr-Reiter-Regiment 6.
00.00.1930 (?) – 01.09.1934 (?) Employed as a salesman.
00.11.1933 Joined the Allgemeine-SS (SS file hints that his membership ended or lapsed sometime later, and that he was
reaccepted into the SS with effect from 09.11.1938).
01.09.1934 – 31.10.1938 Assigned to a Kavallerieschule of the Heer (German Army).
01.08.1936 – 16.08.1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, with the German Show Jumping Team (von Barnekow and his horse “Nordland”, Kurt Hasse and “Tora”, and Heinz Brandt and “Alchemist”) winning the Gold Medal in the show jumping event.
09.11.1938 – [01.10.1944] Assigned to the SS-Hauptreitschule in München.
00.00.193_ - 00.00.19__ Member of the Lebensborn Society.
01.05.1940 Entered Waffen-SS service as a reserve officer, attached to the staff of the “Chef des Stabes der Waffen-SS”. No specific or subsequent assignments/duties indicated in his SS file. His name does not appear in th 01.07.1944 Waffen-SS Dienstalterliste.

Published Work:
Die Ausbildung des Sprinpferdes (1950)

Decorations & Awards:
ca. 1919 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse (probably for post-World War I combat in the Baltic regions)
ca. 1934 Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer
00.00.193_ Deutsches Reiterabzeichen in Gold
00.00.19__ Ehrendegen des Reichsführers-SS
00.00.19__ Julleuchter der SS
00.00.193_ Österreichische Kriegserinnerungsmedaille
00.00.193_ War Commemorative Medal (Hungary)

Notes:
* Religion: evangelisch.
* Engaged on 13.11.1926 / Married 16.03.1927 / Divorced 15.02.1935. One son (Hans-Joachim), born 23.01.1928.
* Height: 178 cm.

Bernd R · Post by **Bernd R** » 08 Mar 2007 20:24

addition from this source :
"...und die Aufklärer sind immer dabei...", Hrsg. Cord Schwier, Munster 2001

According Stellenbesetzung der Heeresreit- und Fahrschule , Stand: 3.1.1939
Momm was in Turnier- und Rennabteilung (Abt. III) , Kdr: Major von Nostitz-Wallwitz
in the "Springstall" as a Rittmeister
(together with Rittm Hasse, and the Oberleutnante Brinckmann, Huck and von dem Bongart)

The story of the celebrating of the 20th july is told like that :
In the evening of july 20th Momm was drinking with the popular actor Willy Birgel.
The Ordonnanz, who was serving, some days later, occasionally was meeting the Ortsgruppenleiter of the NSDAP, who asked in a small talk manner, how the assassination was taken in at the school.
The Ordonnanz spoke out the "party" and this info via Kreis- and Gauleiter came to the knowledge of Heinrich Himmler.
Momm was arrested by the Gestapo, immediately sentenced (not told to what) and degraded to a Schütze. Himmler stepped into the matter and the Schütze immediately got a Rittmeister and then a SS-Sturmbannführer. (Himmler needed qualified leaders for his new SS-Kavallerie-Korps).

as source given : quoted according presonal remembrance of Rittmeister a.D. Emilio Schulz, written 9-10/2000, "beim Verf."

The author of this chapter of the "Aufklärer" book is Harald van Nes.
(think, that is meant by "beim Verf")

regards, Bernd

Jan-Hendrik · Post by **Jan-Hendrik** » 08 Mar 2007 21:16

Sorry , Mike , von Barnekow is mentioned as member of two Springreit-Equipes in Momm's book , but of those two events there are no photos ...

Jan-Hendrik

Jan-Hendrik · Post by **Jan-Hendrik** » 11 Sep 2007 18:41

Die Amerika-Reiter beim Reichspräsidenten von Hindenburg!
Der Empfang der siegreichen Reiter-Offiziere in Amerika beim Reichspräsidenten von links nach rechts:
Oberleutnant Freiherr von Nagel, Oberleutnant Momm, Major Freiherr von Waldenfels, Oberleutnant Hasse.

Source:

Bundesarchiv Database

Jan-Hendrik

Dan E. Moe · Post by **Dan E. Moe** » 21 Sep 2007 12:40

ca. 1919 1914 Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse (probably for post-World War I combat in the Baltic regions)

Could a Freikorpskämpfer receive the Iron Cross after November 1918 for service in the Baltic, Silesia, Ruhr, Saarland and so on?

Did this also apply to the Wound Badge and other decorations? Not Freikorps ones.

Best Regards,
Dan