Captain von Brauchitsch
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'''Captain von Brauschitz''' was a cold, calculating Gestapo officer stationed at the [[Schloss-Adler]]. In fact, he was in charge of all the Gestapo activity in the region surrounding the castle. He often butted heads with his SS superior, [[Paul Kramer]], who disliked him and attempted to discredit him at every turn, or at least the paranoid von Brauschitz thought. He was angry when Kramer didn't tell him that the captured American [[George Carnaby|general]] being held at the Schloss Adler supposedly knew information about the Allies' planned second front, and even angrier when the "army deserters" picked up by [[Colonel Weissner]] were in fact suspected British spies. | '''Captain von Brauschitz''' was a cold, calculating Gestapo officer stationed at the [[Schloss-Adler]]. In fact, he was in charge of all the Gestapo activity in the region surrounding the castle. He often butted heads with his SS superior, [[Paul Kramer]], who disliked him and attempted to discredit him at every turn, or at least the paranoid von Brauschitz thought. He was angry when Kramer didn't tell him that the captured American [[George Carnaby|general]] being held at the Schloss Adler supposedly knew information about the Allies' planned second front, and even angrier when the "army deserters" picked up by [[Colonel Weissner]] were in fact suspected British spies. | ||
| − | + | [[Image:von_hapen.jpg|thumb|289px|"Major von Hapen" in the film.]] | |
Drowning his sorrows at the [[Zum Wilden Hirsch]], von Brauschitz met barmaid [[Ethel (Where Eagles Dare)|Heidi Schmidt]] and her cousin [[Mary Ellison|Maria Schenck]]. Enamored with the two, he accepted Heidei's request to get Maria a job at the Schloss Adler as a serving girl, and even personally escorted the two women by cable car up to the castle and turned them over to [[Anne-Marie Schwartz]], the head of Kramer's personal staff. When Heidi returned to the inn, von Brauschitz took Maria out on a date, but during their evening noticed some discrepancies in her story of how she grew up in Dusseldorf. After escorting her back to her room, he left to find Kramer in the dining room and tell him he thought Maria was a spy. | Drowning his sorrows at the [[Zum Wilden Hirsch]], von Brauschitz met barmaid [[Ethel (Where Eagles Dare)|Heidi Schmidt]] and her cousin [[Mary Ellison|Maria Schenck]]. Enamored with the two, he accepted Heidei's request to get Maria a job at the Schloss Adler as a serving girl, and even personally escorted the two women by cable car up to the castle and turned them over to [[Anne-Marie Schwartz]], the head of Kramer's personal staff. When Heidi returned to the inn, von Brauschitz took Maria out on a date, but during their evening noticed some discrepancies in her story of how she grew up in Dusseldorf. After escorting her back to her room, he left to find Kramer in the dining room and tell him he thought Maria was a spy. | ||
Revision as of 17:22, 29 December 2012
Captain von Brauschitz was a cold, calculating Gestapo officer stationed at the Schloss-Adler. In fact, he was in charge of all the Gestapo activity in the region surrounding the castle. He often butted heads with his SS superior, Paul Kramer, who disliked him and attempted to discredit him at every turn, or at least the paranoid von Brauschitz thought. He was angry when Kramer didn't tell him that the captured American general being held at the Schloss Adler supposedly knew information about the Allies' planned second front, and even angrier when the "army deserters" picked up by Colonel Weissner were in fact suspected British spies.
Drowning his sorrows at the Zum Wilden Hirsch, von Brauschitz met barmaid Heidi Schmidt and her cousin Maria Schenck. Enamored with the two, he accepted Heidei's request to get Maria a job at the Schloss Adler as a serving girl, and even personally escorted the two women by cable car up to the castle and turned them over to Anne-Marie Schwartz, the head of Kramer's personal staff. When Heidi returned to the inn, von Brauschitz took Maria out on a date, but during their evening noticed some discrepancies in her story of how she grew up in Dusseldorf. After escorting her back to her room, he left to find Kramer in the dining room and tell him he thought Maria was a spy.
Instead, he found not only Kramer and General Rosmeyer and the captive American general, but also several strangers. He drew his Luger and held it on the group, demanding answers. One man, who identified himself as Johann Schmidt, revealed that everyone present had just been implicated in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He claimed he had evidence to prove it. Von Brauschitz believed Schmidt because of his stressful relationship with Kramer. He came near and demanded the evidence. Suddenly Maria entered. When von Brauschitz looked over at her, Schmidt attacked him and knocked him out. While he was unconscious, he was injected with a sleeping drug. His fate after this is unknown.
Comments
- It is unlikely that von Brauschitz would've been a member of the Gestapo or the SS. The "von" in his name implies noble lineage, and German nobility tended to look down on the SS as being working-class thugs. Likewise, the almost exclusively middle-and-lower-class SS disliked the "bluebloods" and probably wouldn't have let someone from an old, important family like von Brauschitz join the Gestapo. More than likely, Alistair MacLean, like many authors before and since, simply thought the "von" made von Brauschitz's name sound "more German," without regarding to its actual meaning in German naming conventions.
- In the film, von Brauschitz's name is changed to von Hapen, and instead of being a captain, he is a major. His antagonistic relationship with Kramer is retained. He dies when Morris Schaffer shoots him twice in the head after Mary's entrance distracts him.
