Karl Ochsenbein
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Karl Ochsenbein | |
---|---|
Dictator of West Besmenien | |
In office 4 December 1920 – 7 March 1948 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Karl Ochsenbein 29 August 1882 Waldtket, Sedakanien |
Died | 7 March 1948 Melmingen, Heraldsteinland |
Cause of death | Suicide |
Military service | |
Years of service | 1917-1920 |
Battles/wars | Besmenian Civil War |
Karl Ochsenbein (29 August 1882 - 7 March 1948) was a Besmenian politician. He rose to power as the king of the Besmenian Kingdom/West Besmenien. During his dictatorship from 1920 to 1948, he abolished the office of head of government and took over himself. Ochsenbein banned all political parties in the country and closed the border with East Besmenien. Many people died under his leadership, especially political opponents and border refugees. He is considered a right-wing radical among historians.
Early Years
Childhood
Karl Ochsenbein was born on 29 August 1882 in Waldtket, Sedakanien. He was the second of four children born to Albert Ochsenbein (1839-1898) and his wife, Ursula Ochsenbein (1843-1910). Whereby Gustav, the fourth child, died at the age of 2. The family lived on a farm and where poor. His father was a racist and nationalist and brought up Karl and his siblings in this way.
Early Adulthood
In 1900 Ochsenbein left Waldtket to live and study fine music in Helmfurt, financed by orphan's benefits and support from his older brother. He applied for admission to the Academy of Music Helmfurt but was rejected twice. The director suggested Ochsenbein should apply to the School of Architecture, but he lacked the necessary academic credentials because he had not finished secondary school.
Ochenbein was homeless between 1900 and 1902. He made his living out of public singing.
From 1902 until he entered the war in 1917, he worked as a writer for the right-wing newspaper The Besmenian Worker.
Soldier in the Civil War
Between August 1917 and the end of the war in February 1920, Ochsenbein fought on the side of the Royal Army. According to Ochsenbein himself, the civil war has changed his political views drastically and he should have started to detest democracy.
During the Battle of the Könlenz in March 1918, he was wounded in the left thigh when a shell exploded in the dispatch runners' dugout. Ochsenbein spent almost two months in hospital at Hildberg, returning to his regiment on 21 May 1918. On 15 November 1919, he was temporarily blinded in a mustard gas attack and was hospitalised in Doltham for 4 months. While there, Hitler learned of Besmenien's defeat, and—by his own account—upon receiving this news, he suffered a second bout of blindness.