Prussia, Imperial. A Group of Early Career Documents to Colonel Hans Ludwig Müller

Item #G30234

Price:

$190

Prussia, Imperial. A Group of Early Career Documents to Colonel Hans Ludwig Müller

Four promotion certificates, two from the emperor of Prussia, two from the interior ministry, all promotions for soldier/police officer Hans-Ludwig Müller (1893–1970).

After serving in WWI, Müller left the army as a senior lieutenant to join the police forces in 1920. In 1935 he joined the Wehrmacht. In 1939 he was the commander of the Wehrmacht Signal Headquarters in Brünn (modern day Brno, Czech Republic). Between 1940 and 1943 he commanded the Army Signal Regiment 512 of the 1st Army. During this time he was promoted to Major General in 1942, his final promotion. After WWII he spent ten years as a Russian POW.

He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, and the War Merit Cross 2nd and 1st Class with Swords.

The first certificate is dated to Mar 22nd, 1913. It states that Müller has been promoted from Sergeant in the Signal Battalion no. 4 to Ensign of the Mobile Troops. It carries an imperial seal.

21.4 x 35.8 cm.

The second certificate is dated to Jan 30th, 1914. It states that Müller has passed his officer’s exam on Dec 16th, 1913 and is signed by the chairman of the Supreme Military Examining Commission von Deitzen (?). The certificate also includes the leaving certificate of the royal war school in Hanover, signed by Lieutenant Colonel and Commander von Danaus (?), who predicts a successful officer’s career for Müller.

21.1 x 32.9 cm.

The third certificate is dated to Berlin on June 20th, 1921, in which Müller is promoted from Senior Lieutenant of the Protection Police (Schutzpolizei) to Captain. It carries two postage stamps, franked in Berlin-Wedding, and the seal of the Prussian Interior Ministry – looking very similar to the former imperial seal – and the signature of Minister Alexander Dominicus (1873–1945).

21 x 32.9 cm.

The fourth certificate is dated to Berlin on Aug 11th, 1931. Müller is being promoted from Police Captain to Police Major in Hanover. The certificate carries the seal of the Prussian Interior Ministry, but it is very different from the one that was in use ten years earlier. It is signed on behalf of the minister.

20.9 x 29.1 cm.
 
Footnote: Hans Ludwig Müller was born in 1893 in Mannheim, southwest Germany. He joined the German army in 1912 and made Lieutenant by early 1914. In 1917 he was promoted to Oberleutnant (Senior Lieutenant). Between the wars he joined the police force in Berlin. Müller rejoined the army in 1935. He was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel) in 1936, to Oberst (Colonel) in 1939, and to Generalmajor (Major General) in 1942. Müller commanded various Signal units, most notably the Army Signals Regiment 512, and was stationed in Belgium and Northern France between 1940 and 1944. However, at the end of the war he was redeployed to Latvia where he was taken prisoner by the Russians. He was released and returned home in 1955. Müller died in 1970. During his military career he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class, and the War Merit Cross 2nd and 1st Class with Swords.