Comments on: Baron Ungern-Sternberg

By: JB

JB — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:38:12 +0000

Aceface:

Is Mänchen-Helfen’s critique of ‘Beasts, Men and Gods’ in ‘Journey to Tuva’ or someplace else? I don’t recall coming across it while reading that book. And you will notice that, while Ossendowski does have a fanciful style (and selective memory…), his depiction of Ungern is more or less consistent with what other contemporaries wrote, despite what some would have you believe…

By: Paul H.

Paul H. — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:13:27 +0000

“…the anti-soviet hatred and thirst for revenge were still alive and well in parts of the US when i was growing up. there was certainly no shortage of nutjobs coming out of the revolution.”

Well, they weren’t all like Ungern-Sternberg; this chap gets a brief mention in Ungern-Sternberg’s Wikipedia bio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Wrangel

Something (I forget what) caused me to look Wrangel him up on the internet not too long ago. The style (although not the exact method) of Wrangel’s probable poisoning death in Belgium in 1928 are certainly reminiscent of the recent assassination poisoning of Litvinenko in London last year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A....._poisoning

By: judge judy

judge judy — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 04:40:47 +0000

very interesting, most especially being from a family of white russians that did escape the communists. the anti-soviet hatred and thirst for revenge were still alive and well in parts of the US when i was growing up. there was certainly no shortage of nutjobs coming out of the revolution.

By: Lana

Lana — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:09:36 +0000

Dang…he does look like Viggo!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Aceface

Aceface — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:25:31 +0000

Nice. I’m getting a copy. I’m collecting anything related with Ungern.
Do you know there is even a children book titled “The Bloody Baron” by Nicholas J. Middleton?

“Beasts, Men and Gods” is a good reading. However, scholars like Otto J Manchen Helfen (author of Journey to Tuva) think it’s full of lies and frankly, I have to agree reading other books from Ossendowski.

By: R. Elgin

R. Elgin — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:31:22 +0000

This would make a useful novel plot indeed. The plot could be treated any number of ways.

By: dda

dda — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 08:50:20 +0000

Yeah Ungern-Sternberg is indeed fascinating. And Hugo Pratt did make him appear as crazy as he probably was in his book…

By: Ut videam

Ut videam — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:43:57 +0000

… he was batshit insane (just look at his photo)…

First thing I thought of when I looked at the photo was Viggo Mortensen.

And this wacko definitely sounds like the stuff movies are made of.