Alfred Graf von Waldersee was born in Potsdam on April 8, 1832, the son of the general of the cavalry Franz von Waldersee. The Waldersees, which originated from an originally Anhalt noble family and later settled in the Mark Brandenburg, served the Prussian state primarily as officers and can therefore be counted among the Prussian military nobility. After his education in his parents' house and in the cadet corps, Waldersee left the latter in 1850 as an officer in the guards artillery and was an adjutant of the 1st artillery inspection in 1858 bus in 1859 and was transferred to the general staff and promoted to major in 1866 by Captain, Prince Charles of Prussia's adjutant in 1865. Waldersee took part in the campaign in Bohemia in the large headquarters, came to the general command of the 10th army corps in Hanover after peace, became military attaché in Paris and aide to the wing in 1870, joined the mobilization as the large headquarters, became chief of the general staff of the army department of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1871 and was chief of staff of the governor of Paris, while German troops stood in Paris, then from June to September business bearer of the German government in the French Republic. Waldersee then retired into practical service as colonel and commander of the 13th Uhlan Regiment, became chief of the general staff of the 10th army corps in 1873, major general and general à la suite in 1880. In 1882 he became Quartermaster General and representative of the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, in the same year Lieutenant General, soon afterwards Adjutant General of the Emperor. Promoted General of the Cavalry under Emperor Friedrich in 1888, Waldersee was soon appointed Chief of Staff of the Army as successor of Muldke after the accession to the throne of Emperor Wilhelm II and was also appointed to the manor house and to the Council of State. In 1891 he was appointed commander general of the 9th army corps, in September 1895 general colonel of the cavalry. In April 1898 he was relieved of his commanding general position and appointed Inspector General of the 3rd Army Inspectorate. In May 1901 he was promoted to General Field Marshal. By agreement between the allied powers he was given the supreme command during the Chinese Boxer Uprising in the province of Pechili, which he held from September 27, 1900 to June 4, 1901. After his return to Germany he took over the 3rd army inspection again. Since 1874 Count Waldersee was married to an American, the widow of Prince Noer, Marie Esther Lee. Waldersee died in Hanover on 5 March 1904. The Waldersee estate was transferred to the Prussian Secret State Archives in 1935. The estate was published by H. O. Meisner in "Memories of Field Marshal Alfred Grafen v. Waldersee", 3 vol., Stuttgart - Berlin 1922/23 H. O. Meisner "From the correspondence of the General Field Marshal Alfred Grafen v. Waldersee", vol. 1 1886 - 1897, Stuttgart - Berlin 1928 H. O. Meisner "Briefwechsel zwischen dem Chef des Generalstabes Grafen v. Waldersee und dem Militärattaché in Petersburg Graf York v. Wartenburg", 1885 - 1897, in: Hist. Polit. Archive 1930 Vol. I, p. 133 - 192 Fornaschon, Wolfgang "Die politischen Anschauungen des Grafen Alfred v. Waldersee und seine Stellungnahme zur deutschen Politik", Berlin 1935, Hist. Stud. 273 During the reorganization of the estate, attempts were made to bring related pieces, such as diaries and the private files of Waldersee, which had been torn apart by the processing, back into their original context. In cases where a large number of exhibitors were present, the letters were sorted alphabetically. Individual, already existing folders were only sorted chronologically. The letters were also included individually. This detailed list can be found in Appendix 1 of the repertory. For all other letters, a chronological order has been established and an alphabetical register has been created (Annex 2) to make it easier to find individual persons. The large number of newspaper clippings was also sorted chronologically and placed in individual folders. The relevant register (Appendix 3) contains all the available newspapers, listed separately for German and foreign newspapers. No exact signature is given, only the year has been included. The signatures are completely new. Each number is foil-wrapped, the number of sheets is on the inside cover. Additions to Waldersee's diaries contain the number of pages, marked with the letters a ff. The notes and markings with pencil and crayon originate from earlier adaptations, as well as the cutting up of individual pages. For practical reasons, the subsequent separation of individual numbers into several volumes was made during the bookbinding treatment of the estate. Description: Biographical Data: 1832 - 1904 Resources: Database; Reference book, 1 vol.

History of the Inventory Designer: Wilhelm Souchon, Vice Admiral born on 02 June 1864 in Leipzig, died on 13 January 1946 in Bremen married to Violet (née Lahusen) 1881: Sea cadet on SMS Leipzig; 1894: Commander of the mine training ship SMS Rhein, promotion to Captain Lieutenant 1900: I. Officer/Commander of SMS Odin 1900-1903: promotion to Corvette Captain 1903: Chief of Staff of II. (Reserve) Wing 1904: Chief of the Staff of the Cruiser Wing in East Asia on the SMS Fürst Bismarck 1906: Promotion to Captain at Sea, Employment in the Naval Office 1907: Commander of the SMS Wettin 1909: Chief of the Staff of the Naval Station Baltic Sea 1911: Promotion to Rear Admiral, 2nd Admiral of the II. 1913: Commander of the Mediterranean Division 1914: Commander-in-Chief of the Ottoman and Bulgarian Navy 1915: Promotion to Vice Admiral 1917: Commander of the 4th Battle Squadron of the Baltic Sea Fleet 1918: Chief of the Naval Station of the Baltic Sea, Governor of Kiel 1919: Pension Awards: Iron Cross I. and II. Class Pour le Mérite Red Eagle Order II. Class with star, oak leaves and swords Crown Order II. Class with Star Prussian Service Award Cross Lippisches Kriegsverdienstkreuz Commturkreuz I. Class of the Albrechts Order Grand Cross of the House Order of the White Falcon with Swords Cross for Merits in War Description: Correspondence, inter alia with Wilhelm II. and Tirpitz; lectures and elaborations on naval history; memoirs and diaries; documents from military service, including as chief of the Mediterranean Division (1911-1915), as commander-in-chief of the Turkish and Bulgarian navies (1915-1917) and as chief of the IV Squadron (1917-1918). State of development: Special conditions of use Citation method: BArch, N 156/...

History of the Inventory Designer: Georg von Müller, Admiral Born on 24 March 1854 in Chemnitz, died on 18 April 1940 in Hangelsberg November 1889 Married Elisabeth Luise von Montbart; March 1900 Elevated to hereditary nobility Military career (selection) May 1871: Entry into the Imperial Navy; August 1878: Appointment as lieutenant at sea; May 1879: Commanded torpedo weapon; 1882-1884: Travels abroad to West India and South America on S.M.S. "Olga" and S.M.S. "Blücher"; November 1884: Statistical Office of the Admiralty; May 1885 - March 1886: Military Political Advisor (Marine Attaché) at the German Embassy in Stockholm; March 1886: Promotion to lieutenant captain; until spring 1889: changing uses on board and on land, including participation in the company in Samoa in Aug./Sept. 1887 on board S.M.S. "Bismarck"; spring 1889: entry into the newly created Imperial Naval Cabinet; September 1891: Commander gunboat S.M.S. "Iltis"; November 1892: Head of Personnel in the High Command of the Navy; Autumn 1895 - February 1898: Personal Adjutant of Prince Heinrich of Prussia; November 1898: Commander of the Great Cruiser S.M.S. "Germany"; April 1899: Chief of the Staff Ostasiatisches Kreuzergeschwader; May 1899: Promotion to Captain at Sea; April 1900: Head of Department in the Navy Cabinet; October 1902 - September 1904: Commander Linienschiff S.M.S. "Wettin"; September 1904: Duty wing adjutant of Kaiser Wilhelms II; 1905: Appointment as rear admiral; July 1906: Head of Imperial Naval Cabinet; 1907: Appointment as vice-admiral; 1910: Appointment as admiral, also general adjutant of Kaiser Wilhelms II.November 1918: Farewell to active service Description of the inventory: As head of the naval cabinet, Georg Alexander von Müller had the opportunity to exert far-reaching influence on all naval affairs beyond his duties as head of personnel policy. His key position was based, on the one hand, on a special, personal relationship of trust with the Emperor and, on the other hand, on the fact that all personnel decisions of the Navy were in his hands and that Müller was called in for all lectures. Müller served as a link between the Emperor and the various Immediate Offices of the Navy. During the war, Müller increasingly met with reservations and criticism from the Naval Corps of Officers for the widespread view that the head of the Naval Cabinet delayed or blocked measures for a more aggressive naval war. Müller also entered into a permanent conflict with Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz and was publicly attacked by him and his followers during and especially after the war. Although Müller, in contrast to numerous other members of the Naval Corps, did not publish any memoirs, a whole series of published articles from Müller's pen testifies to this permanent conflict. Müller's influence on naval affairs in general and on warfare in particular declined as a function of the importance of Kaiser Wilhelm II. As Supreme Warlord. In October 1918, Müller was largely on the fringes of the project of a militarily senseless, but myth-founding sacrificial corridor of the deep-sea fleet. As the duty wing adjutant of Wilhelm II and chief of the naval cabinet, Georg Alexander von Müller belonged to the immediate circle of Wilhelm II for more than a decade and a half and throughout the First World War. His records reflect in a special way the court society as well as the personality and work of the monarch in the last years of the German Empire. Content characterisation: The collection comprises only the seven handwritten diaries of Georg Alexander von Müller. They extend over a period of 47 years, beginning with Müller's entry into the Imperial Navy in 1871 up to his retirement as Chief of the Naval Cabinet in 1918. The records are enriched with photos and drawings. Other documents from the estate edited by Walter Görlitz and his son Sven von Müller, on the other hand, are considered lost. Citation style: Barch, N 159/...