Otto Ernst Remer was born on 18 August 1912 in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg, northeastern Germany. At the age of 20, he joined the Army of the Republic of Weimar. Soon, Germany entered the Hitler era, and like many of the soldiers of the time, Reimer became a staunch National Socialist. At the outbreak of World War II, the young lieutenant commanded a howitzer company in the 478th Infantry Regiment.
Reimer participated in German military operations in Poland, France, and the Balkans, and was promoted to captain on the Eastern Front in 1941. In February 1942, he entered the elite "Großdeutsches" division as acting battalion commander and entered the glory of his career. In January 1943, he was promoted to major while commanding the division's 1st Grenadier Battalion. During the Third Battle of Kharkov, he and his men aboard the Kfz 251 half-track armored vehicle, first to cover the retreat of Paul Hausser's SS Panzer Corps, then to assist it in its counterattack to retake the city of Kharkov, and to pursue the Soviets all the way to Belgorod, the southern flank of the German attack on Kursk that summer. On 18 May, Reimer received the long-awaited Knight's Cross, fulfilling the dream that all German soldiers had been dreaming of. In July, he led his battalion to Operation Fortress, followed by a series of successful defensive operations around the Dnieper, which eventually earned him a higher honor. On November 12, 1943, Reimer received the No. 325 oak leaf ornament from Hitler in Rasthenburg, East Prussia.
■ A photograph of Reimer's Knight's Cross award on May 18, 1943.
■ In November 1943, Reimer received a standard photograph of the oak leaf ornament. At this time, he received enough medals to envy others: the Knight's Cross of Oak Leaves, the Gold German Cross, the Cross of The Sabre 1st Class, the Iron Cross of the First and Second Classes, the Silver Medal of War Wounds, the Ordinary Assault Medal and the Silver Melee Decoration.
During his days on the front lines, Reimer always maintained a belligerent and tenacious personality. As an infantry officer, he also received the Gold German Cross, the Silver Medal of War Wounds, the Cross of Merit first class with swords, the Ordinary Assault Medal and the Silver Melee Decoration, which shows his bravery.
In March 1944, Reimer was transferred back to the country as commander of the garrison battalion of the "Großdeutsche" division in Berlin. By this time, the major, though with various medals hanging from his chest neckline and even receiving high medals, was not very conspicuous among the German army full of combat heroes and super aces. However, the change of circumstances has put him on the cusp of the storm, and history will record Reimer's name.
■ In the 2007 film "The Assassination of Hitler", the famous actor and German professional Thomas Kleischumann played Reimer in the film.
On July 20, 1944, Colonel Stauffenberg, chief of staff of the German National Garrison, detonated a box bomb in the Wolf's Den in an attempt to get rid of Hitler. Some of the conspirators in power in Berlin took the opportunity to stage a coup d'état, and Reimer was ordered to go to the Propaganda Department to arrest Goebbels. He rushed into the propaganda minister's office with a pistol in hand and shouted, "You're arrested!" ”
The calm and experienced Goebbels asked, "Major, do you want to rebel?" Have you forgotten your vows to the Head of State and to the nation? ”
Reimer replied, "The Fuehrer is dead, and the oath has been annulled." ”
"The Fuehrer is still alive, and I can prove it to you." Goebbels said and answered Rasthenburg's phone.
After a while, Hitler's characteristic harsh roar came from the microphone: "I am the Führer, can't you hear my voice!?" A bunch of idiots and idiots wanted to murder me. Now I promote you to colonel, and only obey Goebbels's orders, understand? I will award you the Knight Cross of the Diamond Double Sword Oak Leaf. ”
Reimer immediately put his feet together and saluted with his right heel bumped (though Hitler could not see it in the earpiece), promising to suppress the rebellion immediately. Within hours, he ordered his men to lift the blockade on various government departments and search around to arrest the conspirators. Soon, the rebellion was suppressed, the conspiratorial group represented by Stauffenberg was bloodily suppressed for treason, more than 100 people were executed, thousands were implicated in concentration camps, and even the famous Marshal Rommel was forced to commit suicide.
■ Reimer, who was interviewed after the July 20 incident. Had it not been for his on-the-spot anti-water, the German conspiracy would have seized power, followed by peace talks with the Allies, with the hope of ending the European theater of World War II in 1944.
The assassination, on the other hand, made Reimer the vanguard of the rebellion, and from then on, Hitler appointed him commander of the newly formed Führer's Escort Brigade. The brigade participated in the Battle of the Ardennes and performed mediocrely, exposing Reimer's weakness in his inability to command units above battalion level. Nevertheless, on 31 January 1945, Hitler promoted the Führer's Escort Brigade to a division, and Reimer was promoted to major general as the first division commander. It can be seen from this that Hitler had a special preference for troops named after himself and by his title, and that he did not forget to reciprocate the favor with those who were kind to himself, even when the Reich was at the end of its rope. The division fought on the Eastern Front from February and was annihilated by the Soviets in early May.
■ After being promoted to major general in early 1945, Reimer became a general at the age of 32. His uniform wore an honorary armband of "Führer's Guard Division" on his right hand.
After the war, Reimer was fortunate to escape the Capture of the Soviets, flee to West Germany, and actively participate in politics. His "German Socialist Party" even won 16 parliamentary seats. However, Reimer was an out-and-out National Socialist, and this has not changed in the slightest. His frequent involvement in right-wing organizations eventually led to the banning of political parties, his own deportation, and his exile. After german reunification, Reimer finally returned to his homeland, but he was still restless. He was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 1992 for publicly denying the Holocaust, at the age of 80. After his release from prison, he was forced to leave Germany again and died in Spain on 4 October 1997.
■ In August 1952, Reimer (center), the leader of the "German Socialist Party", was with two colleagues.
Reimer was very calm about the "7.20 incident", insisting: "I am just doing my duty, I am not ashamed." Like all German soldiers, I swore allegiance to the Führer. If the Fuehrer is murdered, I will not hesitate to carry out the orders of my superiors and arrest all the personnel of the State Society in Berlin, but the Fuehrer is safe and sound, and I can only fulfill my promise to obey the Fuehrer. ”
On July 20-23, 1993, Ahmed Rami, a reporter for alshaab, the islamic world's largest newspaper in Europe, conducted an exclusive interview with Reimer. Because of the anti-Semitic consensus, Germany during World War II was a natural ally of the Arabs.