 The son of an officer, he attended schools in Gießen and Marburg before studying mining science at the University of Marburg and the Clausthal University of Technology.He went to work as a referendary in 1897 before becoming an assessor in 1901, eventually becoming an important figure in the running of mines around Dortmund and ultimately nationally.In 1908 he married Freda von Arnim-Suckow, a daughter of the military officer Theodor von Arnim-Suckow.