ThetimeintheGrenzschutzOstwasnottheonly‘schoolofviolence’for
HansTröbst,yetthisunitwasalreadyseenasa“wildbandofsoldiers[...]like
[inFriedrichSchiller’s]Wallenstein’scamp”bytheIstanbulwartimeGerman
navalattaché.¹³⁴ThiswastobesecondedonlybytheIronDivision,Tröbst’s
next‘stagingpost’.¹³⁵WritingaboutthebrutalskirmishesinLatviain1 919 ,his
memoirsincidentallyrefertotheviolencehehadwitnessed.Fouryearsofwar
asaregularsoldierhadturnedTröbstintoahard-bittenman.Thecasualremarks
inTröbstʼsmemoirsreferringtobrutalwarfareareshocking.Whenhisunittook
BolshevikprisonersduringthebattleforRiga,Tröbstevenvolunteeredtoexecute
themtogetherwithhisownmen.However,thiswasonlyaforetasteofwhathe
sawinthecity:
“[...][N]earlyinthetwinklingofaneyeaditheringhumanheapsprinkledwithbloodand
innerorganslaidinfrontofus.[...]EverywhereinthestreetsthedeadBolshevikswerestill
lyingaround.CrossingthenewbuiltbridgeovertheDünainimpeccablemarchingorder
singing‘Deutschlandüberalles!’wewenttotheoldcity.”¹³⁶InasimilarveinTröbsthaddevelopedaradicalanti-semiticworldview.He
didnothidehisfeelings;astepping-stoneforhisideaslaterexpressedinMu-
nich.LongbeforehistimeinAnatolia,hewroteabouttheJewishsettlements
inLatvia,LithuaniaandNorthernPoland,callingforpersecutionmeasures:
“Pogromandoncemorepogrom!ThatistheonlysolutionfortheJewishquestion.Hope-
fullywewillreachthissolelyculturalattitude[Kulturstandpunkt]inGermanyprettysoon.
[...]ThewholenestwasinhabitedbyJewsandonecouldseesuchdisgustingfaces,thatone
couldslapthemforhoursandhours.”¹³⁷ForTröbstthekillingofinnocentpeople,a“refreshingincident”,wasoneofthe
unavoidablecircumstancesofwar.¹³⁸Heexpressedasimilaropinionwhenhe
waswiththeFreikorpsErhardt,statingthatduringtheputschinBerlinhefelt
“likeinReval,ortheentrytoaconqueredcity.”¹³⁹Healsousedtheopportunity
HansHumantoOttovonLossow,28May 1919 .BayHStAIVHS3158,3.Humannwasab-
solutelyrightinhisassumption;seetheSchillerquotationinTröbst,Soldatenblut,XI.
OntheGermanparticipationinthisfrontoftheRussianCivilWarseeBorisBarth,Dolch-
stoßlegendenundpolitischeDesintegration:DasTraumaderdeutschenNiederlageimErsten
Weltkrieg 1914 – 1933 (Düsseldorf:Droste, 20 03), 255 – 290.
Tröbst,GrenzschutzOst,n.p.
Tröbst,GrenzschutzOst,n.p.
Tröbst,GrenzschutzOst,n.p.
Tröbst,GrenzschutzOst,n.p.
CaptainHansTröbstintheGreco-TurkishWar,1 920 – 1922 191