Ewald Christian von Kleist was a German poet and cavalry officer. His vast family was well-established in Farther Pomerania; 58 male members of his family fought in Frederick the Great's army of the Seven Years' War. Kleist was born at Zeblin, near Köslin (Koszalin) in Farther Pomerania, to the von Kleist family of cavalry leaders.
The Junkers were members of the landed nobility in Prussia. They owned great estates that were maintained and worked by peasants with few rights. These estates often lay in the countryside outside of major cities or towns. They were an important factor in Prussian and, after 1871, German military, political and diplomatic leadership. The most famous Junker was Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck held power in Germany from 1871 to 1890 as Chancellor of the German Empire. He was removed from power by Kaiser Wilhelm II.
The Pour le Mérite, also informally known as the "Blue Max", 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.
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina.
Ewald von Kleist may refer to any of the following persons:
The Order of the Black Eagle was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg. In his Dutch exile after World War I, deposed Emperor Wilhelm II continued to award the order to his family. He made his second wife, Princess Hermine Reuss of Greiz, a Lady in the Order of the Black Eagle.
Ewald-Heinrich Hermann Konrad Oskar Ulrich Wolf Alfred von Kleist-Schmenzin was a German publisher and convenor of the Munich Conference on Security Policy until 1998. A member of the von Kleist family and an officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II, his parents were active in the German resistance against Adolf Hitler. Von Kleist was designated to kill Hitler in a suicide attack and was the last surviving member of the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler.
Ewald Albert Friedrich Karl Leopold Arnold von Kleist-Schmenzin was a German lawyer, a conservative politician, opponent of Nazism, and a member of the 20 July Plot to assassinate Hitler, for which he was executed.
Friedrich Emil Ferdinand Heinrich von Kleist, granted the title Graf Kleist von Nollendorf from 1814 onwards, was a Prussian field marshal and a member of the old junker family von Kleist. He was a prominent figure in Prussian military during the Napoleonic Wars.
Kleist, or von Kleist, is a surname.
Events in the year 1890 in Germany.
Franz Alexander von Kleist was a German poet of the late 18th century.
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.
Henning Alexander von Kleist (1676/77–1749) was an 18th-century Prussian field marshal. He fought in the War of Spanish Succession, the Great Northern War, and in the Wars of Austrian Succession. In particular, his actions at the Battle of Mollwitz brought him acclaim, although he had long been a stalwart supporter of Prussian military developments by the Prussian kings Frederick (1740–1786) and Frederick William I (1713–1740).
Henning Alexander von Kleist was a Prussian Lieutenant-General and Chief of Fusiliers. He was a winner of the Order Pour le Merite and hereditary lord of properties at Juchow, Zammenz and Falkenhagen. He was also Governor of the Spandau Citadel.
Heinrich von Manteuffel, was a Prussian lieutenant general. He participated in the Pomeranian campaign of 1715 and the first two of Frederick's Silesian wars, was wounded at Chotusitz, and commanded an infantry regiment at the beginning of the Seven Years' War. He received the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order Pour le Merite and his name is inscribed on the Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great.
Friedrich Wilhelm Gottfried Arnd von Kleist, was a royal Prussian officer, who rose to the rank of major general. In the Seven Years' War, he organized and commanded the Freikorps Kleist. He was also known as Green Kleist for his command of the Green Hussar regiment, and to distinguish him from the 58 other members of the Kleist family who served in the war. He received the Order Pour le Mérite and is one of the 25 generals depicted on the Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great.
Dubislav Friedrich von Platen was a Prussian officer in Frederick the Great's army. A cavalry general, he was also Governor of Königsberg, a Knight of the Order of Saint John, and a recipient of the Order of the Black Eagle. An active cavalry officer in all of the wars fought by Frederick—the War of Austrian Succession, the Second Silesian War, the Seven Years' War and, finally, the War of Bavarian Succession — he was commemorated on Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great in 1851 erected by Frederick's great-great nephew, Frederick William IV.
Ruth von Kleist-Retzow was born into the German nobility and married into a Prussian army family. She was horrified by the rise of National Socialism, becoming involved both with the Confessing Church and, after 1933, with (illegal) opposition to the Hitler government. She was a particular supporter of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who became a regular guest, and whose students would frequently find a refuge at von Kleist-Retzow's Pomeranian estate. At the time of his execution Bonhoeffer was engaged to marry von Kleist-Retzow's granddaughter, with whom he was in love.
