Otto Kiep
Encyclopedia
Otto Carl Kiep was the Chief of the Reich Press Office (Reichspresseamts). He became involved with the resistance against the Nazis and was executed in 1944.
, Ayrshire
, Scotland
(while his parents were on holiday there), to Imperial Consul
Johann Nikolaus Kiep and his wife Charlotte (née Rottenburg). He was brought up, with his three brothers and sister, in the West End of Glasgow
, residing at Hughenden Terrace. His uncle, Johan Carl, resident in nearby Kelvinside
, was a successful merchant in the city, and the Kiep family was prominent and popular in Victorian
Glasgow society. One of Otto's cousins, Walter, stayed in Glasgow and went on to serve as a doctor in the British army
.
In 1909, when Otto was aged 24, the family moved to Ballenstedt
, Anhalt
, Germany
. After going to the Gymnasium
at the Ilfeld
monastery school, Otto Kiep studied law
in Germany and London
, and graduated from the University of Leipzig
with a Dr. jur. degree, while also earning a Bachelor of Law degree in London. Already at this time, his thinking and influence leant towards peace
and international understanding, which his biographer Bruce Clements attributes to his liberal upbringing in Scotland.
Otto Kiep was with the German Embassy in Washington, D.C.
from 1927 to 1931 as an embassy adviser, and from 1931 to 1933, he was Consul General in New York
. He later established ties with resistance circles, with Hanna Solf (see "Frau Solf Tea Party
"), and with the Kreisau Circle
about Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
.
As Chief of the Reich Press Office, the name Otto Kiep showed up on the list of the group around the men of the failed July 20 Plot
to assassinate
Adolf Hitler
at the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia
. After his arrest in 1944, he was sentenced at the Volksgerichtshof by Roland Freisler
to death, and one month after the plot's failure, on 23 August 1944, Otto Kiep was hanged at Plötzensee
Prison
in Berlin
.
Life
Otto Kiep was born in SaltcoatsSaltcoats
- References :*McSherry, R. & M. . Old Saltcoats, Stenlake Publishing, Ochiltree. ISBN 1-872074-57-X.*Stansfield, G. . Ayrshire & Renfrewshire's Lost Railways, Stenlake Publishing, Catrine. ISBN 1-84033-077-5.-External links:***...
, Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
(while his parents were on holiday there), to Imperial Consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
Johann Nikolaus Kiep and his wife Charlotte (née Rottenburg). He was brought up, with his three brothers and sister, in the West End of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, residing at Hughenden Terrace. His uncle, Johan Carl, resident in nearby Kelvinside
Kelvinside
Kelvinside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde and is bounded by Dowanhill, Hyndland and Broomhill to the South with Kelvindale and the River Kelvin to the North...
, was a successful merchant in the city, and the Kiep family was prominent and popular in Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Glasgow society. One of Otto's cousins, Walter, stayed in Glasgow and went on to serve as a doctor in the British army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
In 1909, when Otto was aged 24, the family moved to Ballenstedt
Ballenstedt
Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipality includes the villages of Badeborn and Oppenrode...
, Anhalt
Anhalt
Anhalt was a sovereign county in Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe in Middle Germany. It now forms part of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.- Dukes of Anhalt :...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. After going to the Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
at the Ilfeld
Ilfeld
Ilfeld is a municipality in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated at the south foot of the Harz, at the entrance to the Bährethal, north from Nordhausen by the railway to Wernigerode.-Establishments in 1911:...
monastery school, Otto Kiep studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in Germany and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and graduated from the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
with a Dr. jur. degree, while also earning a Bachelor of Law degree in London. Already at this time, his thinking and influence leant towards peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
and international understanding, which his biographer Bruce Clements attributes to his liberal upbringing in Scotland.
Otto Kiep was with the German Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
from 1927 to 1931 as an embassy adviser, and from 1931 to 1933, he was Consul General in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He later established ties with resistance circles, with Hanna Solf (see "Frau Solf Tea Party
Frau Solf Tea Party
The Solf Circle was an informal gathering of German intellectuals involved in the resistance against Nazi Germany. Most members were arrested and executed after attending a tea party held near Heidelberg on September 10, 1943, at the residence of Elisabeth von Thadden...
"), and with the Kreisau Circle
Kreisau Circle
The Kreisau Circle was the name the Nazi Gestapo gave to a group of German dissidents centered on the Kreisau estate of Helmuth James Graf von Moltke. The Kreisauer Kreis is celebrated as one of the instances of German opposition to the Nazi regime...
about Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke
Helmuth James Graf von Moltke was a German jurist who, as a draftee in the German Abwehr, acted to subvert German human-rights abuses of people in territories occupied by Germany during World War II and subsequently became a founding member of the Kreisau Circle resistance group, whose members...
.
As Chief of the Reich Press Office, the name Otto Kiep showed up on the list of the group around the men of the failed July 20 Plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
to assassinate
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
at the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. After his arrest in 1944, he was sentenced at the Volksgerichtshof by Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler
Roland Freisler was a prominent and notorious Nazi lawyer and judge. He was State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice and President of the People's Court , which was set up outside constitutional authority...
to death, and one month after the plot's failure, on 23 August 1944, Otto Kiep was hanged at Plötzensee
Plötzensee
Plötzensee is a small glacial lake in Berlin. It is situated near the Rehberge public park in the former borough of Wedding, now a part of Mitte. The name stems from Plötze, one name for the roach in German, as the lake formerly teemed with it....
Prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Further reading
- From Ice Set Free: The Story of Otto Kiep, by Bruce Clements, Farrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and GirouxFarrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
1972, ISBN 0374324689