Meno Burg - Enlistment in The Prussian Army During The War of Liberation

Enlistment in The Prussian Army During The War of Liberation

Burg was awaiting his final exam at the Academy of the Arts (German: Akademie der Künste) in Berlin, when he volunteered on 14 February 1813 for the military service to fight for ‘Prussia’s freedom and rebirth’, as he put it. The troop of his choice was the Guard Infantry Battalion (German: Garde-Normal-Bataillon) in Breslau, an elite unit of the infantry. After only a few days, he was discharged from this unit on the grounds that Jews were “under the existing laws and the prevailing circumstances” not allowed to serve in the Guard. The rejection of Jewish soldiers in the Guard appears to have been a matter of course for the established circles. State Chancellor Karl August von Hardenberg, usually a supporter of equal rights for the Jews, left Burg’s two requests for re-enlistment in the Guard unanswered. Hereupon, Burg decided to apply at the artillery, a branch of the service, which was considered less prestigious by the Prussian nobility and more suitable for the middle-classes. To not risk another discharge, Burg applied to the service chief of the Artillery (German: Generalinspekteur der Artillerie), Prince August of Prussia, who secured for him the admission. Since Burg’s accomplishments were widely recognized, the lieutenants of his unit recommended him after just nine months of service to become an officer. However, the promotion was vetoed by the base commander (German: Platzkommandant) Captain Karl Moritz Ferdinand von Bardeleben, stating that “as long as (he) had something to say, no Jew shall be officer in the artillery”. Consequently officer cadets, who had been trained by Burg, were promoted before him. Even his transfer to a combat unit did not help him to get promoted earlier. Only a mention of bravery could have accelerated his promotion. But his unit did not receive a front deployment.

Burg was not the first Prussian officer of Jewish faith. Other Prussian Jews had already become officers at the beginning of the war. They were soldiers in combat units who had been promoted during combat, or they belonged to the militia, the Free Corps (German: Jägerdetachements) or the Landwehr (National Guard). Burg became finally second lieutenant on 18 August 1815 and was transferred to the First Artillery Brigade (East Prussia) in Danzig as a company officer.