Hans-Otto Bräutigam

Hans-Otto Bräutigam
Hans-Otto Bräutigam, 1962
Representative of the Foreign Office in Reichskommissariat Ukraine
Details
Date of Birth	14th May 1895
Place of Birth	Wessel, German Empire
Age at start	67 years old
Nationality	German
Role	Potential Leader of Reichskommissariat Ukraine
Political Party	AOdNSDAP
Ideology	Reformed National Socialism

"...when we came to the east we found the people of eastern Europe,
ready to be our partners..."

Hans-Otto Bräutigam (born 14th of May, 1895) is a German diplomat serving as the Representative of the Foreign Office in Reichskommissariat Ukraine. He received this post with the help of his uncle (Influential official in the Reich's Foreign Ministry). Yet despite owing his career to nepotism, Otto Bräutigam is an exceptionally hard worker, often driving himself to exhaustion in the name of his goals.

While he holds a relatively cushy job in the Reichskommissariat, Bräutigam is plagued by a restless need to prove himself and help the Ukrainian natives, for who he harbors profound sympathy. His radical reformist views resulted in him getting perceived as a pest by Reichskommissar Erich Koch, as well as other senior officials in the colony, Georg Leibbrandt and Otto Ohlendorf. However, as they've all been forced to accept, Bräutigam isn't as easy to get rid of.

In-Game Description

Hans-Otto Bräutigam is a young man with big dreams and a lot to prove. Despite receiving his position after just a bit of nepotism from his uncle, Hans-Otto has not become complacent like other young men given cushy jobs by their family in the elite. Behind a facade of adhering to National Socialist ideology, Bräutigam dreams of a new, free Germany in a new, free Europe.

He wonders if his dream, moving on from National Socialist tyranny and building a future of freedom, is even possible. He wonders if it is even possible to make things right. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But that won't stop Bräutigam from trying to do the right thing and make Ukraine a better place, even if he has to sacrifice his greater ambitions.

Biography

Early Life & Career

Hans-Otto Bräutigam was born in the city of Wesel on 14th of May 1895 in the German Empire. From 1913 he studied law at various western European universities including Grenoble and Oxford. His studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War, in which he fought. He finished his studies in Germany in 1919, and has received a doctrine in 1922.

He joined the Reich's Foreign Office in 1920, and worked in various German embassies. In 1928 he was sent to Moscow, where he met Alfred Rosenberg.

World War 2

During the war he worked in the Ostministreum. He spearheaded the idea of integrating the local populations into the Wehrmacht, and voiced his concerns about the brutality and oppression being perpetrated against the Slavs;

"...when we came to the east we found the people of eastern Europe, ready to be our partners in destroying Bolshevism; we need to re-place our cards. Promise them something that guarantees their future... due to our cruel policies the Russian nationalists are uniting with the Bolsheviks against us. It did not take the population of the east long to recognize that we are not there to destroy Bolshevism, but we are there to replace it."

While his concerns for the local population were ignored, his requests for integrating the locals into the Wehrmacht peaked Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler's interest, and by 1942 the Reich had created and supported multiple collaborator divisions including the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In 1942, Bräutigam wrote an almost scolding report to his superiors in Reichskomissariat Ostland, in which he wrote;

"We now experience the grotesque spectacle that after the tremendous starvation of prisoners of war, millions of foreign laborers must be recruited to fill the gaps which have appeared in Germany. With the usual unlimited abuse of Slavic people, "recruiting" methods were used which can only be compared with the blackest periods of the slave trade. (They are allowed only the most limited education, and can be given no welfare services.) We are interested in feeding them only insofar as they are still capable (and they are given to understand that in every aspect we regard them as inferior)."

Post War & Present

Hans-Otto Bräutigam was posted as a Representative of the Foreign Office presumably sometime after the West Russian War. His uncle, the previous Representative, received a promotion and went to live in Germania, but still wanted to keep a pulse on the Reichskomissariat, and so he got his nephew selected as his successor. Despite this, Bräutigam never appears to be in his uncle's pocket, and doesn't contact him often.

In-Game (Spoilers)

Hans-Otto Bräutigam becomes relevant once Reichskommissar Erich Koch gets put into a coma by Ukrainian rebels. Bräutigam, alongside Otto Ohlendorf becomes a member of the security council, a three person governing body headed by Georg Leibbrandt.

During the upcoming period of instability all members of the security council will vye for influence over the four main interest groups in the administration through events & decisions; the industrialists, the bureaucrats, the collaborators and the police. During the Civil War additional options will become available, one of which entails empowering the rebel forces in order for Bräutigam's influence to grow.

If Bräutigam holds influence over more interest groups than his rivals by the time the civil war ends, he will rise as the next Reichskommissar, finally getting a chance to try and realize his dreams of reform. That is the point where his path ends.