Bernardo Francisco Timmermann Buschung (18 August 1912 – 1 November 1986), was a Chilean politician, mountaineer, and photographer of German origin, accused during the World War II of espionage, being prosecuted for sending information to the Nazi Germany government, leading an espionage group with other Germans Chileans. which would be dismantled by the Chilean police, with the help of the FBI.[1] Decades after serving his prison sentence, he served as mayor of Cabrero,[2] being appointed by the Government of Chile, during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
Bernardo Timmermann Buschung | |
|---|---|
 Timmermann being interrogated by the Chilean police, accused of espionage | |
| Mayor of Cabrero | |
| In office 1976–1981 | |
| President | Augusto Pinochet Ugarte |
| Preceded by | Manfred Suiter Hertlein |
| Succeeded by | Luis Rivas Palma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 August 1912 Concepción, Chile |
| Died | 1 November 1986 (aged 74) Santiago de Chile |
| Political party | NSDAP (1945) Independent, nearby to National Party (1966–1986) |
| Spouse | Gertrudis Bethke Bade |
| Children | Five |
Early life edit
Bernardo Francisco Timmermann Buschung was born in Concepción, on August 18, 1912. He was the son of Richard Timmermann and Adelhaide Bouschong,[3] two German immigrants who arrived in Chile at the time of the German colonization of Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue.
Life at war edit
While World War II was taking place in the rest of the world, Timmermann lived in Chile, a country that did not have direct participation in the conflict until its end in 1945. At that time, according to an inquest by the Investigations Police of Chile, through its Departamento 50, German Chileans circles were formed that supported the Nazi Regime, to carry out a process of Nazification of the resident German community.[4][5] Those involved maintained a radio network, where they maintained communication of secret information to Germany. The Chilean police, with the help of the FBI, disrupted the network and mass arrests were made of those involved, among them its main leaders Albert von Appen, Augusto Kroll, and Timmermann himself.[4]
After the war edit
Having already served his sentence, Timmermann moved to Yumbel, where he acquired a series of properties between 1957 and 1963, adjacent to Laja Falls, some of which suffered expropriation in 1968,[6] during the Chilean land reform; and in addition, he suffered a series of attempts to illegally appropriate his land, when the reform became radicalized, during the Unidad Popular government of Salvador Allende.[7] His political differences with the Allende government, which was finally overthrown in 1973, made Timmermann approach the new dictatorial government of Augusto Pinochet, being appointed mayor of Cabrero in 1976, as successor to Manfred Suiter, renowned racing driver, also German Chilean.[2]
He died on November 1, 1986, in Santiago, Chile.[3] He is buried in Monte Águila, Cabrero.
References edit
- ^ "Descifrando las redes de espionaje nazi: historia del Departamento 50 (1) | Archivo Nacional". www.archivonacional.gob.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
- ^ a b Figueroa Mora, Tito (1999). Cabrero, Una aproximación histórica (PDF) (in Spanish). ISBN 956-288-329-9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2022.
- ^ a b Chilean Foxterrier (2021), 001-002, retrieved 2024-04-25
- ^ a b "CUADERNO 1: Cuaderno de investigación judicial por infracción a la Ley de Seguridad Exterior del Estado | Archivo Nacional". www.archivonacional.gob.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
- ^ "Los documentos del Departamento 50: Descifrando el espionaje nazi en Chile | Archivo Nacional". www.archivonacional.gob.cl (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
- ^ "Ley 17.059: Autoriza a la Municipalidad de Yumbel para expropiar los lotes de terrenos que señala: Ministerio de Tierras y Colonización". 19 December 1968.
- ^ "Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile - BCN". www.bcn.cl. Retrieved 2024-04-25.