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Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg | |
|---|---|
 Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg in 1944 | |
| Oberpräsident of theProvince of Silesia | |
Acting | |
| In office 1938–1940 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1902-09-05)5 September 1902 |
| Died | 10 August 1944(1944-08-10) (aged 41) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Spouse | |
| Parent(s) | Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg (father) Freda-Marie von Arnim (mother) |
| Education | Law |
| Alma mater | University of Göttingen University of Marburg |
| Profession | Assessor |
| Known for | Member of the20 July Plot |
| Nickname | Roter Graf |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service |  German Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant of the reserve |
| Unit | Infantry Regiment 9 Potsdam |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Fritz-Dietlof Graf von der Schulenburg (5 September 1902 – 10 August 1944) was a German government official and a member of theGerman Resistance in the20 July Plot againstAdolf Hitler.
Schulenburg was born inLondon, as his father,Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg, was at the time theGerman Empire'smilitary attaché to theCourt of St James's in theBritish capital. His mother was Freda-Marievon Arnim [de] (born 1873). As a result of the nature of their father's work, Schulenburg, his four brothers, and their sisterTisa von der Schulenburg, grew up in several different places, includingBerlin,Potsdam,Münster, and the family's country house, Schloss Tressow in northwesternMecklenburg. By the traditions of thePrussian nobility, the children were at first strictly educated at home by agoverness.
In 1920, Schulenburg passed hisAbitur exam inLübeck. He then decided not to pursue a career as amilitary officer, the family tradition, but instead studiedlaw at the universities ofGöttingen andMarburg. During that time, he became a member of the Corps Saxonia Göttingen, a German student fraternity, and he sustained several cuts as a result of the traditional dueling with swords. In 1923, he took the state examination inCelle, and for the next five years was employed as a traineecivil servant inPotsdam andKyritz. In 1924, he interrupted his training for three months and served as asailor on asteamship toSouth America and back. He completed his training in 1928, and became a graduate civil servant (Assessor) inRecklinghausen.
As a member of a prominent old Prussian noble family, Schulenburg was part of the German Empire'sruling class, which was defined by the two pillars of the state, the military and thecivil service. Because of this background, Schulenburg immersed himself in practical subjects such as agrarian debt andland reform. His romantic vision of the farming community and ofsocial justice soon earned him the nickname the "roter Graf" ("Red Count") from his colleagues.
Schulenburg's first contacts with theNazi Party came in 1930, and he had become a party member by 1932, at about the same time as the rest of the family joined. In the same year, he was posted toEast Prussia, where he helped to build the Nazi rank and file. Schulenburg could be counted among the followers of "north German" Nazism, characterized mainly by the brothersGregor andOtto Strasser. Gregor Strasser was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives on Hitler's orders. Otto Strasser escaped into exile in following the 1930Bamberg Conference where he opposed Hitler. He returned to Germany in 1956.
In March 1933, Schulenburg was appointed to the government council inKönigsberg and gained increasing influence, both as a government official and as a member of the Party. He married Charlotte Kotelmann in the same month. His new jobs at this time were mainly to establishGleichschaltung (the Nazi policy of forced "coordination" of societal groups) among officials in the realm of his influence, and also to delegate jobs to Nazi Party members.
However, Schulenburg increasingly came into conflict with his superior,Erich Koch, the infamousGauleiter of East Prussia. In 1934, he had himself transferred to the small town ofFischhausen, west of Königsberg, as a district administrator. The conflicts with Koch increased as time went on, but in 1937 he was promoted by the German Interior Ministry and posted to Berlin as vice president of police. His immediate superior was the Berlin President of PoliceWolf Heinrich von Helldorf, who resisted having Schulenburg assigned for a long time. Contrary to expectations, however, the two very different officials got along well together.
In 1939, the year Hitler attacked Poland, Schulenburg was appointed as actingOberpräsident of Upper and LowerSilesia. By this time, the Nazi régime had come to view him as politically untrustworthy, and in 1940 he was excluded from the Nazi Party.
Despite military officials' reservations aboutHitler's plans for conquest, and despite shock over the seamy affair of Army Commander in ChiefWerner von Fritsch's discharge in 1938 (seeBlomberg-Fritsch Affair), Schulenburg volunteered for military service at the front with patriotic enthusiasm. After his superior, theGauleiter andOberpräsidentJosef Wagner, had been dismissed, his position asRegierungspräsident ("Government President") inBreslau had become untenable anyway.
As a lieutenant in the reserves, Schulenburg was posted to the reserve battalion ofInfantry Regiment 9 inPotsdam. With this elite unit, he participated in theRussian Campaign and was awarded theIron Cross, first class. However, it was not until his experiences in the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941-1942 that he became a critic of Hitler's conduct of the war. During this period, his job changed often, and in the end he returned to the reserve battalion in Potsdam. By this time he viewed his duty as organizing a plot for the forcible removal of Hitler.
On the Eastern Front, the crises that became apparent involving the provisioning, military leadership, and treatment of civilian populations in conquered lands gave Schulenburg reason to distrust the Nazis. His attitude towards Nazism changed radically at this time. Schulenburg observed with growing anxiety and disgust the lawlessness of the Nazi régime, and he made contacts with like-minded opposition forces from a spectrum of political circles, including other Prussian aristocrats like himself. One of the greatest friends to the circle at that time wasCount Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, another scion of a historically famous Prussian noble family. By 1942, he was regularly taking part in the smallKreisau Circle's meetings.
A remarkably forward-looking resistance-group plan for postwar Europe, co-authored by Schulenburg in 1943, says:
As a nobleman, government official, and army officer, Schulenburg had multiple contacts, which he used over time to recruit plotters. Due to these ties, especially with the civilian resistance circles surroundingCarl Friedrich Goerdeler and the socialist group (Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold) aboutJulius Leber, he stood out as an important link.
By 1943, Schulenburg had fallen under suspicion of working against the régime and spent one night under arrest. However, owing to his aristocratic status and connections, he was released.
Schulenburg was one of the inner circle of the plotters against Hitler and was actively involved in the planning ofOperation Valkyrie. He was intended by the plotters to head the Interior Ministry after Hitler had been killed. On 20 July 1944, Schulenburg was in the headquarters of the revolt, theBendlerstrasse military intelligence headquarters in Berlin, and he was arrested there on that day, shortly after the attempt on Hitler's life had failed. On 10 August 1944 he was tried by the notorious NaziVolksgerichtshof. In this show trial, with the infamous NaziRoland Freisler presiding, Schulenburg explained his actions thus:
During the trial Schulenburg conducted himself with courage and never lost his nerve. At one point Freisler, who had been addressing him throughout the trial as "Scoundrel Schulenburg," inadvertently called him by his hereditary title of "Count Schulenburg" — whereupon Schulenburg interrupted him by humorously saying, "Scoundrel Schulenburg, please!"[citation needed] Freisler found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
Schulenburg was executed byhanging atPlötzensee Prison in Berlin later the same day, 10 August 1944.
Two of his daughters, Charlotte and Angela, married sons ofChristabel Bielenberg, Nicholas and Christopher respectively; another, Adelheid, marriedGrey Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie.
His grandson Andy Bielenberg is a professor atUniversity College Cork[1]
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