Albert Herrmann
"Men! This is the home stretch! You have performed admirable work sifting through the rubble of the Former Oberkommando, recovering all that is of value, and now we are almost ready to turn these precious items to their new rightful owners: Our brave leaders of the UFN! It is not glamorous work. It is, however, the most crucial part in fighting terrorism. Facilitating the return to the order and stability our civilization was built upon. Hold your head high and finish the mission."―Albert Herrmann’s speech to his troops
"We have lots to do, many valuable parts that must be saved from ending up in the landfill. But we are highly capable. You are good, strong men with love in your hearts and a belief in a brighter future for all of us. Believe in yourselves, because I believe in you. Make our Dear Leaders proud. Carry on!"―Albert Herrmann’s speech to his troops
"Men, listen up. I want you to do this by the numbers but you have to stay focused. Efficiency is key when you are working in a hazard zone. Any valuable intelligence you come across, log the time and location and pack it up for delivery to the Federal Command. The remains of our fallen men must be identified, tagged and sealed in the body bags provided, and please...keep your eye on your counters at all times. Carry on."―Albert Herrmann issuing instructions to his men
Albert Hermann |
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Albert "al" Herrmann, also known as The Savior of Boston, is an Über-KampfKommandant of the FRAF, He is the head of the Z-Tech biological warfare division. he's a former SS-Brigadeführer until he defected to join Z-Tech after the nazi's excuted his childern for posting anti Nazi posters and refusing to support the war effort. He earned the two nicknames, the savior of boston and the butcher of Main Street for saving the us city of boston and for the execution of Nazi and Gray Gravel POWs in main Street (including the ones who killed his childern). History Klinger was a highly decorated officer, such that by 1961 he was considered to be among the circle of Übercommanders, the most senior members of the Nazi hierarchy in the American Territories. He led such operations as the Nainpur campaign in 1948-1950, the Purge of Haines Creek in 1955 and the assault on Greenwood in 1958. During his career he killed one notable resistance leader and captured five others. He was responsible for overseeing the training of Klansmen and other American Nazi sympathizers to provide additional manpower for the regime. He courted an American woman named Henrietta, writing a letter to her and buying her father a television set.
Assassination In July 1961, Klinger led troops to restore a nuclear bunker in Manhattan whose previous garrison had been wiped out. As a high-value target in an area subject to multiple recent terrorist attacks he was heavily guarded; however the resistance forces aboard the Eva's Hammer had intercepted a transmission detailing his deployment and the assassin sent after him was none other than William J. Blazkowicz himself, back from the dead. Klinger's troops proved to be no more capable of stopping Blazkowicz's rampage within the bunker than their predecessors and he would become the first of sixteen Übercommanders to meet their ends at the hands of Terror-Billy.
He was a decorated officer for his heroism during the battle of Chengdu in 1947. He was also known to have lead the assault on Idaho Falls, where he successfully killed 31 American resistance fighters and captured 21. He also led a 3-year campaign in Death Valley which earned him great respect from the Nazi high command.
Before 1961 Eckstein first rose to significance within the Nazi party sometime in the early 1940s. In 1952, during the Nazi conquest of the United States, he took part in an assault on "Tennessee Station" wherein he was acclaimed for heroism. He was responsible for the capture, torture and execution of eighteen resistance leaders during an initiative known as Operation Strange Seas and commanded at least one other operation which led to the deaths of eleven resistance fighters and the capture of sixteen more. Eckstein is most infamous for his command of Camp Boston, where such atrocities occurred that the mere mention of them after the fact make even hardened Nazi soldiers who were present for those events uncomfortable. This is what gave him his moniker as "the Butcher of Boston".
Before 1961 Albert Grosse was a well-known soldier with 12 years of service, and was wounded in battle that caused him to receive a blind eye. He was a highly decorated officer for defending a moon base in Antarctica from an attempted attack in 1949, as well as heroism in an incident in Nebraska in 1959, and for killing 2 as well as capturing 12 terrorists in the American Territories. This record allowed him to be placed under the command of General Irene Engel.
Assassination "Thank you Blazkowicz. I'll let Horton know you're still looking out for New Orleans. Grace out." ―Grace following Grosse's death Grosse was sent to the New Orleans Lakeview District to salvage the remains of the Zitadelle robot which B.J. had destroyed while the Kreisau Circle had assaulted the ghetto. This was seen as necessary by the military leadership as a cost-cutting method, as a single Zitadelle would cost millions of Reichsmarks to build, so salvage would save military funding.
However, upon finding the robot's remains, Grosse quickly realized that it was beyond repair. Knowing his men were quickly losing morale on their "junk collector" job, Grosse has been forced to give many motivational speeches to keep their spirits up. Grosse knows that these pep talks are ineffective, and in the "Überkommandant Grosse's e-post" readable, he requests for his superior, Sturmbannführer Hans Wechsler, to transfer his team to a different and more worthwhile assignment.
Ultimately, he is killed by B.J. while he is giving one such speech as part of the latter's efforts to hunt down the Nazi military leadership and pave the way for revolution in the United States.
Personality and relationships Albert Grosse has more character development than most of the Ubercommanders. He is shown to be an effective, influential leader, as indicated by his speech to his soldiers.
Eckstein recieves notably more character development than most of the Übercommanders, though much of it is indirect. A conversation between two soldiers at the beginning of the side mission featuring him reveals that between his unnerving gaze and his reputation he manages to scare even his own troops. Based on his dialogue, He values efficiency, loyalty and a calm demeanor from the troops under his command, especially when working in a hazardous environment such as the irradiated ghetto. He is also very specific when giving instructions.
The Unnamed Überkommandant's Note found in the sewers beneath Bienville Street suggests that Eckstein is greatly conflicted at the time of his assassination. He mentions that he no longer takes pride in the reputation his nickname gave him, and is now filled with doubt. Despite his current marriage, he is haunted by the death of his past lover Elize, and becoming a father has also changed his views of his past actions. Sudden bouts of guilt have surfaced over his actions in Boston, and his faith in the Nazi philosophy has also been shaken by the revelation of the truth behind the Reich's technological triumphs, classified information revealed to him as he rose to his current rank. Eckstein contends that he no longer believes in the righteousness of the Nazi cause, but will continue his duties simply for the "love and respect" of the men under his command.
While Grace has no love for any Nazi she seems to hold especial contempt for Eckstein specifically, describing his death as the proudest moment of her tenure in the resistance. It is unknown whether this implies some personal history between the two or if Grace was just more generally aware of Eckstein's past and found his actions exceptionally repulsive. Personality Corrupt, treacherous and megalomaniacal to the point of mental illness, Lothar Brandt is a towering figure in the German military; intelligent, ruthless and ambitious, but charismatic and capable of improvisation. After over two decades of holding Paris for the Reich in his iron grip, he has developed a massive power base with an ego to match. Over the years, Lothar had grown tolerant to indulgences by his subordinates and used his position to enrich himself and solidify the loyalty of his men. In addition to the establishment of Drei Brüder, the three military installations that control Paris, he had the Eiffel Tower razed and rebuilt as the monstrous Siegturm as a monument to his own power, with a luxurious penthouse for himself and his wife. He commissioned Der Nachtfalter, a new class of zeppelin that was to serve as his private luxury craft that would be appropriated for more practical purposes by General Winkler.
To a degree, Lothar's arrogance and increasing contempt of the central Nazi government is justified - he is one of only a handful of high-ranking officials who recognize or at least are willing to publicly opine that the recent freak weather patterns are not natural phenomena and has at some point become directly aware of the nature of Hitler's doomsday weapon. He is also willing to accept the reality of the Third Reich's diminished position in the world and acknowledge the existence of other nations (their former vassals) implicitly as equals. Despite his brutal rule of Paris, the Nazi military has benefited from his lateral thinking - he has consolidated various aspects of his army into four major strongholds that all support each other - Brother One, controlled by the Gestapo, controls the flow and ebb of information around France, Brother Two is responsible for the supply of the zeppelin fleet and mechanized army units around the city and can deploy reinforcements anywhere around Paris through the use of the Fallturm drop pods and Supersoldaten cannons. Brother Three, before it's destruction, was responsible for secret research on experimental weapons, though likely intended for Lothar's own goals. Finally, the Siegturm, ostensibly just a monument and a penthouse, serve as his red herring base of operations, covering the existence of the mysterious Lab X.
Brandt's understanding of the Nazi administration allows him to work around them - he is aware that his maverick nature will earn him a reckoning in Berlin and uses it as a critical component of his plan. Believing his vision is the only thing that can save Germany, he devises a scheme to funnel the cream of the Nazi's technological powerhouse to Paris and begin the Ascension - to literally raise the cities of the Reich, his new Fourth Reich, above the clouds using engines powered by artificially created protostars and rule from the skies as the Earth below is reduced to a wasteland. In Lothar's eyes, such a feat would literally make him a God, and fulfill his destiny as successor to Adolf Hitler.
Even by the standards of the Nazis, Lothar is psychotically egotistical. Despite his intelligence, much of his behavior is fueled by delusions of grandeur and possible symptoms of autism - in one of his diary entries, Lothar is implied to frequently examine his own stool. As his plan comes closer to fruition, he becomes increasingly paranoid and lonely, detached from reality and other people in what he has decided is his God-given quest. Even Julie Brandt, who he has relied on as a lover, confidant, partner and mother of his children and who in turn is slavishly devoted to him, is no less expendable than any one of his men - he cheerfully uses her and his remaining loyalists as human shields, finding the sight of the Blazkowicz twins slaughtering them to be a 'beautiful' sight - Lothar himself is excited at the prospect of personal combat, and frequently reveals a deeply bloodthristy nature. His ego, however is easily damaged - he is infuriated when the Twins and Abby turns the tables on him, finding the experience humiliating. When he is defeated however, he accepts his fate, believing himself to have done nothing more than serve his holy cause.
While not anticipating Winkler shutting him out of the Paris defense network, Lothar is resourceful enough to adapt an existing plan and improvise. Despite the fact that members of the Paris Resistance had seen Lothar in person, his injuries and affected muteness allowed him to convincingly remain undercover and serve as a useful agent for at least several months. Through Julie, he is able to use his insider intelligence and experience as a commander to guide the Resistance against his own security apparatus and get the Twins to compromise Paris' defenses until Winkler was dead and all three Brothers were under Resistance control.
Though he considers himself Hitler's successor, evidence exists that Lothar has been creating distance from the late Führer for several years during his rule of Paris. His introduction of the brutalist Brothers and the Siegturm, not to mention much of the military additions around the city, was a demonstration of his architectural preferences compared to Hitler's long desire for the more classical style. In addition, he as allowed for the relative liberalization of the military by allowing all-female SS special-ops units called Jägers to operate semi-independently of his main forces. His use of them on the Siegturm indicates as a class they privately owe their allegiance to him.
Lothar also has a talent for woodworking. In his guise as Jacques, he mills a king chess piece and gives it to Jess, possibly as a subtle taunt. His station in the Catacombs can be used to refill the Twin's melee weapons. Personality A truly evil woman, Irene Engel is the darkest ideal in a world ruled by the Third Reich; a sadistic, fanatical and ruthless military officer, and like so many of her fellow Nazis, ran high on her own ego and power. She wholeheartedly follows the Party line of maintaining racial and physical purity and considers other races and religions as unworthy of life. Her behaviour around B.J. (before she even knows his identity) and her conduct at Camp Belica shows she delights in holding the power of life and death over people no matter who they are - the 'racial purity' test she performs on B.J. she happily admits is a farce, and both Bubi and her bodyguard Bernhardt disclose she plays sadistic games with strangers as a hobby. She promises salvation and reintegration to society for the inmates at her camp, presenting herself as a figure of reverence and worship - but in reality, like in all such camps created by the Nazis, they are simply there to work until they perish, unworthy to be a part of the New Order.
She is intensely cruel, reveling in the bloody killing, pain and suffering she inflicts on others, as shown with her camp inmates, Caroline, Fergus/Wyatt, Super Spesh and B.J. Engel rarely, if ever, demonstrates compassion or consideration for others, even her own daughter, whom she treats with utter contempt due to her good nature and obesity. The only person Irene seems to have real care and respect for is Bubi; his death apparently moving Engel to spend months hunting for B.J.. However, whether or not Engel truly cared for Bubi is questionable; despite her aghast reaction to his death, she never mentions him again, even to B.J. Similarly, her presumed ex-husband with which she had her six children is never mentioned either, and it is unknown if he is even still alive. The deaths of her allies and soldiers are personal affronts, not likely because she truely cares for them, but because they are extensions of her power and self. Engel almost appears intoxicated whenever she has B.J. or other Resistance characters under her thumb - she is on a perpetual power trip, and is never more at home than when torturing those she is given licence to torture, often with an emphasis on cruel spectacle than any pragmatism. In a way, she embodies the most disturbing aspect of the Nazis real-world legacy - that the ideology she claims to follow is merely an excuse, and she would hurt, control and destroy anybody she could, simply because her professed beliefs justify the impulse, similar to how Deathshead experiments on people he dismisses as subhuman.
In an interview with Jimmy Carver in Hollywood, she admits she considered euthanising Sigrun simply because of her weight - it's implied that this largely motivated by her own image as a general rather than any real concern for her daughter's quality of life, and possibly because Sigrun is her only daughter within the patriarchal Reich. When being interviewed, she puts on the facade of a caring mother who loved her daughter and was devastated by her defection. Despite being domineering towards Sigrun, Irene shows real fear and panic when Sigrun actually stands up to her; she pins her down with a fire axe and Engel is forced to scream for help from a Supersoldier, revealing the cowardly nature of a bully who flees when they can no longer control their prey.
Irene is otherwise sneering and condescending towards all those who aren't the men under her command. If B.J. listens during her interview with the unctuous Jimmy Carver, Engel can be heard berating him for his poor German ("Fauler Amerikaner...") warning him to either do his next interview completely in German, or face the consequences - though in fairness, virtually all German characters throughout the series, Nazi or otherwise, are shown speaking near-perfect English. Her reputation by the middle of The New Colossus is that of a superstar within the German military - guardian angel of the American Territories, hunter of terrorists, and executioner of Terror-Billy. An officer on Venus even has a shrine dedicated to her in his quarters, including some apparently candid photographs of her smoking.
An interesting if disturbing aspect of Engel is her relationship with B.J. Despite her initial hate for him due to her disfigurement and the deaths of Bubi and Deathshead, she appears to develop some twisted physical attraction towards B.J., mockingly simulating kisses with Caroline's bloody and decapitated head (which she does to Sigrun as well) and holding her smoking gun in his mouth a la the 'human ashtray' sex act, singing a popular love song. While it may simply be a form of psychological torture, the ease with which she does this implies that for all her posturing, she might be sexually depraved - her guards can be seen exchanging looks while she flirtatiously tortures B.J. with the smoke of "the bullet that killed your friend.". The depth of her psychopathy is alluded to with the hint that if, hypothetically, Adolf Hitler died, she would neither mourn him nor have any hesitation in attempting to take his place.
Finally, her fatal flaw is revealed in the end: ego. After "executing" Blazkowicz publicly, she believed that nothing could stop her from reigning over America. Upon hearing that Hitler planned to make a film of B.J's execution (and taking all the credit), she decides to promote her own image by setting up an interview on international television. She completely blocked all the communications from her subordinates and attended the Jimmy Carver show to flaunt her accomplishment and fluff her rising-star status. As she was unable to be informed that the Ausmerzer had been taken over and that Blazkowicz returned from the dead, she was unguarded. Consequently, during the middle of the live television show, she was publicly and brutally killed by Blazkowicz.
If Engel has a single redeeming quality, it would be that she is shown to be a charismatic military leader, setting herself apart from other Nazi villains by her competency. She builds up a rapport with her men, who clearly admire her and generally indulge in her depraved behaviour - she, in turn, treats them like comrades, praising them and thanking them as equals as she encourages them to partake in her cruelty reminiscent of the way a school bully might feign magnanimity with their gang while confronting a helpless victim. However, she is also something of a martinet - she makes it clear she is appalled at the sloppiness of the crew of the Ausmerzer, and sends numerous missives to her forces to take the threat of the American Resistance and B.J. seriously. She is cunning enough to use the hateful Rip Blazkowicz as a diversion for his son, and to anticipate that Super Spesh would attempt a reckless rescue by posing as his lawyer. Ultimately, her love of power and attention, arrogance and failure of imagination eclipsed her abilities - her very public and well-earned death demonstrates to the world that the Nazis are not invincible, and ignites an American and later global uprising with catastrophic consequences for the Third Reich. History Not much is known about Zimmermann's history, other than the fact that his actions in battle earned him a position under the command of Irene Engel, when she began hunting down B.J. Blazkowicz.
Personality Based on his brief appearance, he is shown to be callous and deceptive, as he is shown lulling Super Spesh into a false sense of security to draw his attention away from Irene Engel, who promptly shoots him, as well as bluntly declaring, in English, his refusal to remove the ball-gag affixed to B.J.'s mouth, indicating also that he is among the few Nazis who have any level of understanding of the English language. He is also shown to be gracious, as he was willing to grant Super Spesh privacy after he had asked for some. He seems to be rather gruff and soft-spoken as evident by the sound of his voice. He is also shown to be quiet and reserved, as he barely speaks unless spoken to, during his already brief appearance. As seen by his brief interaction with Irene Engel, he is shown to be observant, as he noticed that Super Spesh was still twitching after having been shot, as well as by-the-book, as he addressed Engel as “General”, as a sign of respect.
The New Colossus Zimmermann was assigned to guard Blazkowicz when he was captured. He got into a heated argument with the Lawyer, who was secretly Super Spesh in disguise. Spesh asked for the ball-gag to be removed, to which Zimmermann refused, even going as far as to declare that it was “not [his] problem”, before asking him for some privacy. Zimmermann silently obliged and left the room, only to later return upon hearing Spesh ask for help, entering the room and finding him with a bloodied nose saying B.J. punched him and escaped through a door to his right.
"Good shot, General. He is still twitching!" ―Zimmermann to Frau Engel's kill on Spesh. Frau Irene mentioning Zimmermann Irene mentioning Zimmermann.
Zimmermann feigned going to investigate, only for Spesh to try to stab him in the skull. This fails, as he is shot by Engel who was outside the door, revealing they knew about the attempted rescue mission.
He, along with his fellow guards, watched as Engel mocked Blazkowicz (while Engel claims Zimmermann is talented for movies), doing things such as putting her gun in his mouth and asking him what was the taste of the gun that killed his friend. After Engel left to "join in on the fun" with the remaining Resistance members in the garage, Zimmermann placed the hood back on Blazkowicz's head. (Zimmermann could've been a spy, an actor or a wrestler, though this remains unknown.)
It is unknown what happened to him after his sole appearance in The New Colossus. The Resistance members organize the Second American Revolution, and manage to kill Engel, so it can be hypothesized he either was killed by rebels during the revolutionary riots, or escaped America and returned back to Germany along with other fellow soldiers who survived the revolution. Biography Before 1961 Albert Grosse was a well-known soldier with 12 years of service, and was wounded in battle that caused him to receive a blind eye. He was a highly decorated officer for defending a moon base in Antarctica from an attempted attack in 1949, as well as heroism in an incident in Nebraska in 1959, and for killing 2 as well as capturing 12 terrorists in the American Territories. This record allowed him to be placed under the command of General Irene Engel.
Assassination "Thank you Blazkowicz. I'll let Horton know you're still looking out for New Orleans. Grace out." ―Grace following Grosse's death Grosse was sent to the New Orleans Lakeview District to salvage the remains of the Zitadelle robot which B.J. had destroyed while the Kreisau Circle had assaulted the ghetto. This was seen as necessary by the military leadership as a cost-cutting method, as a single Zitadelle would cost millions of Reichsmarks to build, so salvage would save military funding.
However, upon finding the robot's remains, Grosse quickly realized that it was beyond repair. Knowing his men were quickly losing morale on their "junk collector" job, Grosse has been forced to give many motivational speeches to keep their spirits up. Grosse knows that these pep talks are ineffective, and in the "Überkommandant Grosse's e-post" readable, he requests for his superior, Sturmbannführer Hans Wechsler, to transfer his team to a different and more worthwhile assignment.
Ultimately, he is killed by B.J. while he is giving one such speech as part of the latter's efforts to hunt down the Nazi military leadership and pave the way for revolution in the United States.
Personality Albert Grosse has more character development than most of the Ubercommanders. He is shown to be an effective, influential leader, as indicated by his speech to his soldiers.