CK - Law and Administration

2003

CK -- Law and Administration

Abkürzungsverzeichnis der Rechtssprache [Index of Abbreviations in Legal Language]. Hildebert Kirchner; ed. Cornelie Butz. 5th completely rev. and expanded ed. Berlin: De Gruyter Recht, 2003. xvi, 646 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-89949-033-9 (hardbound): EUR 49.90. ISBN 3-89949-02-6 (pbk): EUR 24.95 [03-1-241]

In the fifth edition, cited as “Kirchner/Butz,” of this standard legal reference work, Butz has deleted obsolete terms and added the latest corpus arising from new legislation in the eastern German states. The work has expanded by almost 200 pages, while still maintaining the basic organization of the former editions. Of course, it does not include abbreviations used in Austria, Switzerland, or other European Union countries. All libraries that own a former edition should replace it with this one as soon as possible. [sh/mjc]

Die Ritter des Ordens Pour Le Mérite [The Knights of the Order of Merit]. Ed. Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand and Christian Zweng. Osnabrück: Biblio-Verlag. 25 cm. ISBN 3-7648-2503-0 [03-1-242]

Part 2. Die Ritter des Ordens Pour le Mérite des I. Weltkriegs: erstmalig mit Foto, Verleihungsbegründung, Dienstlaufbahn, Beförderungen und verliehenen Orden [The Knights of the Order of Merit of the First World War: For the First Time with a Photo, Reason for Award, Service Career, Promotions, and Other Orders Received]

Vol. 2. H–O. 2003. vi, 543 p. ill. ISBN 3-7648-2516-2: EUR 76.70

Part 1 of this work (see IFB 99-B09-343) comprised a listing of all 5,415 holders of the Order of Merit (although only the war orders, not the peace classifications) from 1740 to 1918, without any biographical data. Part 2, covering those who were decorated with the Order of Merit for their service during the First World War, began to include “real” biographies (see RREA 6:283 for a review of part 2, vol. 1). Th e second volume of part 2 (a total of four is planned) contains 226 biographies—mostly very short texts that confine themselves to the military aspect of their subjects’ careers, and also mainly to the time period of World War I. Very few post-1919 dates are mentioned: for Paul Hindenburg, for example, only his appointment as President of the German Empire and Commander in Chief of the German Army (April 26, 1925) and the date of his death (August 2, 1934). For the author Ernst Jünger at least information is given on his service career until his discharge in 1944; that he knew how to wield a pen as well as a sword one must either know already or find out elsewhere.

Similarly for Lieutenant General of the Air Force Theodor Osterkamp, whose military career is followed until he left his post on December 31, 1944, without, however, any mention that it was a dishonorable discharge, due to a memorandum he wrote on the condition of the Air Force that was considered unacceptable by his superiors. Th e biographical narratives are followed by chronological lists under the rubrics “Military Ranks,” “Military Sections,” “Decorations,” and “Honors.”

Not only Germans, also persons from countries allied with Germany are included in the volume, for example five members of the Austrian House of Habsburg, with Emperor Franz Joseph I at the fore (the only biographical information on him being that he was “supremely good in recognizing the achievements of the troops”). A failing is the lack of any bibliographical references. [sh/nb]

Ritterkreuzträger im österreichischen Bundesheer 1955–1985 [Soldiers in the Austrian Army Awarded the Knight’s Cross, 1955–1985]. Florian Berger with Christian Habisohn. Wien: Berger, 2003. 168 p. ill. 21 cm. ISBN 3-9501307-2-1: EUR 22 (F. Berger, Gablenzgasse 97/53, A-1150 Wien, e-mail:berger.florian@utanet.at ) [03-1-243]

The author (his previous work was Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern: Die Höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaf and Swords: Th e Most-Decorated Soldiers of World War II]; see IFB 02-2-428) has compiled biographies on 42 soldiers who served in the post-war Second Austrian Federal Army and who had been awarded the Knight’s Cross in World War II. This work includes information on the decoration, on the Austrian army, and, of course, on the particular individuals, with an old and a new (post-war) photo provided in almost every case. The biographies emphasize wartime activities rather than what happened in the period after 1945. An appendix includes related biographical material (soldiers awarded the Knight’s Cross in the German Bundeswehr, in the Austrian police, etc.). [sh/sl]

Register der k. (u.) k. Kriegsschiffe: von Abbondanza bis Zrinyi [Register of the Royal and Imperial Warships: From Abbondanza to Zrinyi]. Wladimir Aichelburg. Wien; Graz: NWV, Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2002. 544, 192 p. ill. 25 cm. ISBN 3-7083-0052-1: EUR 98 [03-1-244]

Although a country with no seacoast, until 1918 Austria maintained a navy that measured up well against those of the greater European powers. The “lives” of its ships appear here not only for the pleasure of ship-lovers, but as a solid source of military historiography. After an introduction to the navy, the main text treats each ship in detail, providing a “vita” of its construction, birth, christening, specifications, and battle history. It also provides construction blueprints and bibliographical references. [sh/mjc]

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