Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg

Last updated
Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg
Born21 November 1865
Bobitz, Mecklenburg, Kingdom of Prussia
Died19 May 1939(1939-05-19) (aged 73)
Nazi Germany
AllegianceFlag of Prussia (1892-1918).svg  Kingdom of Prussia
Flag of the German Empire.svg  German Empire
Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg  Weimar Republic
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1888–1919
RankGeneralmajor
SS-Obergruppenführer
Commands held Garde du Corps
Chief of Staff Guards Corps
Chief of Staff 5th Army
Chief of Staff 6th Army
Chief of Staff Army Group German Crown Prince
Battles/wars World War I
Awards Pour le Mérite with oak leaves
Spouse(s)Freda-Marie Gräfin von Arnim
Children Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg

Friedrich Bernhard Karl Gustav Ulrich Erich Graf von der Schulenburg (21 November 1865 - 19 May 1939) was a Prussian General during World War I and a member of the Nazi Party during the inter-war period.

Contents

Life

Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg was born on 21 November 1865 as the second son of Count Werner von der Schulenburg (1832-1880) and his wife, Countess Marie Cäcilie von Maltzahn (1843-1900). [1] Schulenburg entered the army in 1888 as part of the 2nd Guards Uhlans. On 13 December 1888, Schulenburg was appointed Second Lieutenant. In 1890, Schulenburg was attached to the Life Guards. He spent time in the Prussian Staff College. In 1895, Schulenburg became Premier Lieutenant. In 1900, Schulenburg joined the German General Staff. He was considered a capable general staff officer. In 1900, Schulenburg became Hauptmann. From 1902 to 1906 he was part of the military attaches in London. In 1907, Schulenburg was promoted to Major. On 18 February 1913, Schulenburg became the commander of the Life Guards and Aide-de-camp of Wilhelm II. On 2 September 1913, Schulenburg was promoted to Oberstlieutenant. [2]

At the outbreak of World War I, Schulenburg became the Chief of Staff of the Guards Corps commanded by Karl von Plettenberg. Schulenburg participated on the Western Front as part of the Guard Corps, which is part of the 2nd Army. In 1915, Schulenburg became Oberst. In 1916, Schulenburg became the Chief of Staff of the 5th Army replacing Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf, who held extremist political views. For a while, Schulenburg was the Chief of Staff of the 6th Army of Ludwig von Falkenhausen. [3] In October 1916, he joined Crown Prince Wilhelm as Chief of Staff at the headquarters of the Army Group German Crown Prince. The two developed Operation Alberich which gave Germany some hope of winning the war. [1] On 12 April 1917, Schulenburg received the Pour le Mérite. He added oak leaves on 23 March 1918. In June 1918, Schulenburg became General Major. Schulenburg advised Wilhelm II to abdicate his title of German Emperor but keep the title of King of Prussia. He also advised Wilhelm II to order the army to fight against the revolutionary forces. [1]

After the war, Schulenburg retired from the army in May 1919. He lived in his estate, Mecklenburg. Schulenburg later joined the Nazi Party. From 1924 to 1928, he was a member of the Reichstag. He still remained friendly with Wilhelm, German Crown Prince and had some profound political conversation. [4] In December 1931, Schulenburg joined the Nazi Party. His number was 852,947. In 1933, Schulenburg joined Sturmabteilung. After the Weimar Republic fell, Schulenburg was a member of Reichstag again. [5] Since he had a good relationship with Kurt von Schleicher, he advised Hitler as liaison to the Reichswehr but he was not effective. From 1934 to 1936, Schulenburg was part of the Sturmabteilung as a staff officer. He also served as a member of the Reichstag from 1934 until his death. [2] Before his death, Schulenburg was promoted to Obergruppenführer. [6] He died on 19 May 1939. Adolf Hitler attended his funeral to meet with Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, Schulenburg's son, who later joined the resistance. [1]

Family

On 21 July 1897, Schulenburg married Freda-Marie Gräfin von Arnim (1873-1939). They had 6 children:

Awards

The following are the orders that Von der Schulenburg received: [7]

German States

Flag of Prussia (1892-1918).svg  Kingdom of Prussia

Nazi Germany

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William I, German Emperor</span> King of Prussia and first German Emperor

William I or Wilhelm I was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. He was de facto head of state of Prussia from 1858, when he became regent for his brother Frederick William IV. During the reign of his grandson Wilhelm II, he was known as Wilhelm the Great.

<i>Pour le Mérite</i> Kingdom of Prussias highest order of merit

The Pour le Mérite is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The Pour le Mérite was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eagle and the House Order of Hohenzollern, among the highest orders of merit in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order of merit was the highest royal Prussian order of bravery for officers of all ranks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885)</span> German general (1828–1885)

Prince Friedrich Karl Nikolaus of Prussia was the son of Prince Charles of Prussia (1801–1883) and his wife, Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1808–1877). Prince Friedrich Karl was a grandson of King Frederick William III of Prussia and a nephew of Frederick William IV and William I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal</span> Prussian field marshal (1810–1900)

Karl Konstantin Albrecht Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal was an officer of the Prussian Army and field marshal of the Imperial German Army, chiefly remembered for his decisive intervention at the Battle of Königgrätz in 1866, his victories at Wörth and Weißenburg, and above all his refusal to bombard Paris in 1870 during the siege, of which he was in command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gottlieb Graf von Haeseler</span>

Gottlieb Ferdinand Albert Alexis Graf von Haeseler was a German military officer of the Imperial Wilhelmine period, with final rank of Generalfeldmarschall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld</span> Prussian field marshal (1796-1884)

Karl Eberhard Herwarth von Bittenfeld was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall. He served in many military conflicts throughout the 19th century and was given major commands throughout each conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josias von Heeringen</span> German general (1850–1926)

Josias von Heeringen was a German general of the imperial era who served as Prussian Minister of War and saw service in the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August von Werder</span>

Karl Wilhelm Friedrich August Leopold Graf von Werder was a Prussian general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schulenburg (surname)</span> Surname list

The House of Schulenburg is the name of an old German noble family that goes back to 13th century. Members of the family held the title of Imperial Count. They had multiple political and military roles in the history of Germany and Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Warzecha</span>

Walter Wilhelm Julius Warzecha was a German naval commander and high-ranking officer of the Kriegsmarine. Serving in the rank of General Admiral he succeeded General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as the last Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine after the end of World War II.

Karl Graf von der Gröben was a Prussian general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince August of Württemberg</span>

Friedrich August Eberhard, Prince of Württemberg was a royal Prussian Colonel General of the Cavalry with the rank of Generalfeldmarschall and Kommandierender General of the Guards Corps for more than 20 years. August was a member of the House of Württemberg and a Prince of Württemberg by birth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince William of Baden (1829–1897)</span> Prussian general and politician

Prince Louis William Augustus of Baden was a Prussian general and politician. He was the father of Prince Maximilian of Baden, the last Minister President of the Kingdom of Prussia and last Chancellor of the German Empire. Wilhelm was a Prince of Baden, and a member of the House of Zähringen.

Joachim Freiherr von Willisen was a German public official and member of the Resistance against the Nazi régime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great</span> Monumental sculpture in Unter den Linden, Berlin

The equestrian statue of Frederick the Great on Unter den Linden avenue in Berlin's Mitte district commemorates King Frederick II of Prussia. Created from 1839 to 1851 by Christian Daniel Rauch, it is a masterpiece of the Berlin school of sculpture, marking the transition from neoclassicism to realism. The bronze statue shows "The Old Fritz" dressed in military uniform, ermine coat and tricorne hat on horseback above the leading generals, statesmen, artists and scientist of his time. Walled in during World War II, it was disassembled by East Germany in 1950, reassembled in Sanssouci Park in 1963, and returned to its original location in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugen von Falkenhayn</span>

Eugen von Falkenhayn was a German General of the Cavalry, commanding officer of the XXII Reserve Corps in World War I and Lord Chamberlain of Empress Auguste Viktoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Ludwig von Nostitz</span>

August Ludwig Ferdinand Count von Nostitz-Ransen was a Prussian general who acted as adjutant general to Frederick William III of Prussia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck</span> German general, diplomat, and writer (1783–1860)

Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Bismarck was a German lieutenant general, diplomat and military writer. He wrote several major military-political works and military histories, which were very pro-Napoleon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl von Wrangel</span> Prussian general (1812–1899)

Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Oskar Freiherr von Wrangel was a Prussian General of the Infantry who was notable for commanding at the Battle of Kolding during the First Schleswig War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erich von Tschischwitz</span> German World War I general (1870–1958)

Wilhelm Ludwig Erich Felix von Tschischwitz was a German General of the Infantry who participated in World War I. He was part of the Imperial German General Staff during the German spring offensive as well as commanding the Reichswehr after the war concluded.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg". prussianmachine.com. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  2. 1 2 Biographie, Deutsche. "Schulenburg, Friedrich Graf von der - Deutsche Biographie". www.deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  3. ↑ von Dellmensingen, Konrad Krafft (1930). Das Bayernbuch vom Weltkriege. p. 192.
  4. ↑ Stresemann, Gustav (1975). Das Reich zerfiel, die Reichen blieben. Deutschlands Geld- und Machtelite (in German). Munich. p. 139.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ↑ Ernst, Klee (2005). Das Personenlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945. Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag. p. 565. ISBN   3-596-16048-0.
  6. ↑ Bergien, Rüdiger (2015-03-10). Die bellizistische Republik: Wehrkonsens und "Wehrhaftmachung" in Deutschland 1918-1933 (in German). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 146. ISBN   978-3-486-70549-2.
  7. ↑ Mittler, Ernst Siegfried (1914). Kriegsministerium (in German). Berlin. p. 353.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ↑ Patzwall, Klaus D. (2004). Das Goldene Parteiabzeichen und seine Verleihungen ehrenhalber 1934-1944 (in German). Patzwall. p. 86. ISBN   978-3-931533-50-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.