Friedrich von der Schulenburg

Friedrich Bernhard Karl Gustav Ulrich Erich Graf von der Schulenburg (21 November 1865 – 19 May 1939) was a German professional army officer who became a Royal Prussian Army general during World War I. He became a member of the Nazi Party during the inter-war period and joined the Nazi paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS), attaining the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer. He also served as a Nazi Reichstag deputy from 1934 to his death.

Early 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). Schulenburg entered the Royal Prussian Army in 1888 as a member of the 2nd Guards Uhlans. On 13 December 1888, he was commissioned a Leutnant. In 1890, Schulenburg was attached to the Life Guards. He spent time in the Prussian Staff College. In 1895, Schulenburg was promoted to Oberleutnant. In 1900, he joined the German General Staff and was considered a capable general staff officer. In 1900, Schulenburg was advanced to the rank of Hauptmann. From 1902 to 1906, he served as a military attaché at the German embassy in London. In 1907, Schulenburg was promoted to Major. On 18 February 1913, he became the commander of the Life Guards and aide-de-camp to Wilhelm II. On 2 September 1913, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant.

First World War 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 was part of the 2nd Army. In 1915, Schulenburg was promoted to 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. In October 1916, he joined Wilhelm, German Crown Prince 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. In December 1931, Schulenburg joined the Nazi Party (membership number 852,947). Since he had a good relationship with Kurt von Schleicher, he advised Adolf Hitler as liaison to the Reichswehr but he was not effective. In 1933, Schulenburg joined the Nazi paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) where he served on the Supreme SA Leadership and reached the rank of SA-Oberführer. He survived the Night of the Long Knives purge of 30 June to 2 July 1934 in which high-ranking SA officers were killed. In August 1934, he was appointed to a Reichstag vacancy in constituency 6, Pomerania. At the 1936 Reichstag election, he was returned for his former constituency in Mecklenburg, and retained that seat until his death. In March 1936, Schulenburg transferred from the SA to the Schutzstaffel (SS number 162,240) and was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer on 30 January 1939. He died in Sankt Blasien on 19 May 1939. Hitler attended his funeral and met with Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, Schulenburg's son, who later joined the resistance. Fritz-Dietlof (1902–1944) Elisabeth (1903–2001) Wilhelm (1904–1936)

Awards and decorations Kingdom of Prussia: Order Pour le Mérite with Oakleaves Pour le Mérite (24 July 1917) Oakleaves (23 March 1918) Kingdom of Prussia: Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class with Swords, Oakleaves and the Royal Crown (gazetted on 5 October 1918) 4th Class with the Royal Crown Kingdom of Prussia: Royal House Order of Hohenzollern Knight's Cross with Swords (5 June 1915) Commander's Cross with Swords (gazetted on 12 January 1918) Kingdom of Prussia: Order of Saint John, Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) Kingdom of Prussia: Iron Cross (1914) 1st and 2nd Class Kingdom of Prussia: Service Decoration Cross for 25 Years' Service Grand Duchy of Baden: Order of the Zähringer Lion, Commander's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (10 January 1918) Kingdom of Bavaria: Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords (30 October 1914) Kingdom of Bavaria: Military Merit Order, 3rd Class