Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg


Fritz-Dietlof Graf von der Schulenburg was a German government official and a member of the German Resistance in the 20 July Plot against Adolf Hitler.

Personal development

Schulenburg was born in London, as his father, Count Friedrich Bernhard von der Schulenburg, was at the time the German Empire's military attaché to the Court of St James's in the British capital. His mother was Freda-Marie . As a result of the nature of their father's work, Schulenburg, his four brothers, and their sister :de:Tisa von der Schulenburg#:~:text=Tisa von der Schulenburg in Recklinghausen.
As the son of a prominent old Prussian noble family, Schulenburg was a member of the German Empire's ruling class, which was defined by the two pillars of the state, the military and the civil service. Because of this background, Schulenburg immersed himself in practical subjects such as agrarian debt and land reform. His romantic vision of the farming community and of social justice soon earned him the nickname the "roter Graf" from his colleagues.

Joining the Nazi Party

Schulenburg's first contacts with the Nazi 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 to East Prussia, where he helped to build the Nazi rank and file. Schulenburg could be counted among the followers of "north German" National Socialism, characterized mainly by the brothers Gregor and Otto Strasser. Gregor Strasser was murdered during the Night of the Long Knives on Hitler's orders. Otto Strasser escaped into exile in following the 1930 Bamberg Conference where he opposed Hitler. He returned to Germany in 1956.
In March 1933, Schulenburg was appointed to the government council in Königsberg 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 establish Gleichschaltung 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 infamous Gauleiter of East Prussia. In 1934 he had himself transferred to the small town of Fischhausen, 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 Police Wolf 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 acting Oberpräsident of Upper and Lower Silesia. By this time, the Nazi régime had come to view him as politically untrustworthy, and in 1940 he was excluded from the Nazi Party.

Wartime experiences

Despite military officials' reservations about Hitler's plans for conquest, and despite shock over the seamy affair of Army Commander in Chief Werner von Fritsch's discharge in 1938, Schulenburg volunteered for military service at the front with patriotic enthusiasm. After his superior, the Gauleiter and Oberpräsident Wagner, had been dismissed, his position as Regierungspräsident in Breslau had become untenable anyway.
As a lieutenant in the reserves, Schulenburg was posted to the reserve battalion of Infantry Regiment 9 in Potsdam. With this elite unit, he participated in the Russian Campaign and was awarded the Iron 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 the resistance for the forcible removal of Hitler.

Resistance movement

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 National Socialism 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 was Count Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, another scion of a historically famous Prussian noble family. By 1942, he was regularly taking part in the opposition Kreisau 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 surrounding Carl Friedrich Goerdeler and the socialist group about Julius 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.

Attempted coup and execution

Schulenburg was one of the inner circle of the plotters against Hitler and was actively involved in the planning of Operation 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, the Bendlerstrasse 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 Nazi Volksgerichtshof. In this show trial, with the infamous Nazi Roland 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!" Freisler found him guilty and sentenced him to death.
Schulenburg was executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin later the same day, 10 August 1944.

Literature

Two of his daughters, Charlotte and Angela, married sons of Christabel Bielenberg, Nicholas and Christopher respectively; another, Adelheid, married Grey Ruthven, 2nd Earl of Gowrie.

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