Bolko von Richthofen (September 13, 1899 – March 18, 1983) was a Germanarchaeologist and a distant relative of the family ofManfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron". He is sometimes confused with his distant cousin and namesake, Karl Bolko von Richthofen (1903–1971) – the youngest brother of thefighter ace.
Richthofen was born inMertschütz (PolishMierczyce),Silesia, and fought inWorld War I. After the war ended, he participated as aFreikorps volunteer during theSilesian Uprisings. In the early post-war period he entered tertiary studies and quickly became an eminent scholar.
A member of theNSDAP from 1933, he wrote several antisemitic and anti-Slavic works. DuringWorld War II he worked in the antisemiticAhnenerbe organisation.
He is well known for a bitter dispute about the ethnicity of theLusatian andPomeranian cultures with the Polish archaeologistJózef Kostrzewski.
In 1964 he received theBundesverdienstkreuz. He died inSeehausen am Staffelsee,Bavaria.
