# First name of WW2 General \[ \] Miller, head of military government (in Germany)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640 "2018-04-18T14:42:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/1 "2018-04-18T14:42:47Z")
I saw this in a \*documentary, and was trying to identify him. Possibly I misheard the name, but I thought it was Miller. Thing is, Miller is such a common name, and I think I can rule out Henry ‘Loose Lips’ Miller. 😃 \*If you’re interested, the doc is [Memory of Justice (1976)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074891/reference)," and at least in my area, it’s available on HBO On Demand for free. It’s long (4:40!), and it jumps around a bit, but I found it enthralling. (And there’s actually some brief T&A that gets thrown in. . . for whatever reason.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/2 "2018-04-18T15:41:21Z")
None of the US military governors of the American Zone were named Miller. In order, they were Eisenhower, Patton, McNarney, Clay and Heubner. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/3 "2018-04-18T15:43:56Z")
Could it be Col Jesse I Miller, mentioned [here?](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0WMmCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA79&lpg=PA79&dq=col+jesse+i+miller&source=bl&ots=lDS8hYXjq6&sig=RJNQsc0u9sg9oOaqq7lrPIQRmWA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXiPTLlMTaAhXsKcAKHbGACtM4ChDoAQguMAI#v=onepage&q=col%20jesse%20i%20miller&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/4 "2018-04-18T17:36:48Z")
WW2 in Germany? Unlikely to br Miller. Sure it wasn’t [Müller](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_M%C3%BCller_(Gestapo))? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/5 "2018-04-18T17:42:03Z")
I’ll re-watch that part of the doc and come back with the exact narration. And bring pie. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/6 "2018-04-18T21:57:07Z")
Trivia: General Miller’s aide was Major —— de Coverley. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/7 "2018-04-18T23:38:36Z")
I haven’t seen the documentary, but could it be Colonel Francis Miller? He had been the executive officer of the Director of Intelligence at the Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.), and had caused a major scandal when he made allegations against the OMGUS, claiming that US soldiers were involved in the black market, that there was a breakdown of morale, that Negro troops were out of control and having sex with German women, and so on, and testified to the Meader Committee about soldiers’ behavior in the American Zone. Miller then retired from the army and got elected to the House of Delegates in Virginia, where he became one of the leading antis…the nickname for those Virginia Democratic politicians who opposed the Byrd machine…the political machine led by Senator Byrd that dominated Virginia politics at the time. His son Andrew became Attorney General of Virginia in the 1970s and unsuccessfully ran for US Senate. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/8 "2018-04-19T13:24:51Z")
OK, I’ve uploaded [a snippet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtv-tOJY8zg). The date on the book in question is 1946, and the general appears to have one star. The narrator (in German) pronounces his name as “Müller,” but it’s translated as ‘Miller.’ This snip from ‘Memory of Justice’ is itself a snip from a post-war (propaganda?) film titled “Frühling in Deutschland” (Springtime in Germany). Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m hearing Dick Shawn, too. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/9 "2018-04-19T15:42:08Z")
The German word “Müller” does mean “miller,” but in this case I don’t think it should have been translated. I believe that this is probably Brigadier General Walter J. Muller, who was Head of the Office of Military Government for Bavaria from 1945 to 1947. He was apparently too obscure to have much documentation online, apart from a few mentions in Google Books results like [this](https://books.google.com/books?id=U3HmrmD_4TwC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=walter+j.+muller+bavaria&source=bl&ots=ljdmf3ZArR&sig=T36-yMHQoIS8Y0C9hzxOHI_USbk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-rv2i1cbaAhUmxYMKHR9SCxo4ChDoAQgmMAA#v=onepage&q=walter%20j.%20muller%20bavaria&f=false) one. However, he does have a [stub](http://www.muenchenwiki.de/wiki/Walter_J._Muller) article in a German-language wiki about Munich. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-name-of-ww2-general-miller-head-of-military-government-in-germany/812640/10 "2018-04-19T15:47:29Z")
Thanks! That’s probably the man.