Career
Gerhard Bechly was a professional soldier that rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and Adjutant in the 295th Infantry Division of the German Army. In 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Bechly was captured during the Battle of Stalingrad by the Soviet Army and became a prisoner of war at the Lunjowo Prisoner Of War camp 27 in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast. As a prisoner, he worked to establish the National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD) on July 12, 1943.
Subsequently, and through his leadership, the (BDO International) was formed September 11/12, 1943.
During the period 1943-1945, Gerhard was Staff Engineer at, "Freies Deutschland", newspaper and radio station "Free Germany". The 295th Infantry Division was decimated from those killed in action during the Battle of Stalingrad and the many thousands that died as prisoners.
Of the 300,000 Germans that were involved with the Battle of Stalingrad, only about 6000 lived to return to Germany. The survival rate was much higher for officers, and many of those that were able to return took positions in the new government of East Germany.
Lieutenant Colonel Bechly was able to return to Germany in September 1947, and in 1952 he joined the Kasernierte People"s Police, becoming Head of Department in the 6th Management of Staff of the Kasernierte Volkspolizei (Katholieke Volks Partij (Catholic People's Party)).
Shortly after the establishment of the National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD), a recruitment campaign was envisioned for German officers who were held as prisoners of war within the Soviet Union. In order to facilitate the recruitment of these officers, Bund Deutscher Offiziere (BDO International), known in English as the, was created on September 11/12, 1943. Starting with 95 officers in the Lunjowo Prisoner Of War camp, and with assistance of the Soviets, the BDO International grew to well over 1000 German officers held at Prisoner Of War camps within the Soviet Union.
After the war, the BDO International was dissolved by Joseph Stalin on November 2, 1945.