Albrecht Theodor Andreas Graf von Bernstorff (, ; 6 March 1890 – 24 April 1945) was a German

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and member of the resistance to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Biography

Albrecht Bernstorff was the oldest of Andreas von Bernstorff's and Augusta von Hottinger's five children. The Bernstorff family was known for its eminent statesmen and diplomats. He grew up in Berlin and on the family estate Stintenburg, and embarked upon a short agricultural apprenticeship before being chosen for a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

for the year 1909. In 1909, Bernstorff learned that his application for a Rhodes scholarship had been accepted; he abandoned his studies in agriculture, and enrolled on October 8, 1909 as a

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

student at Trinity College. He studied at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

, from 1909 to 1911. During his stay at Oxford, he co-founded the Hanover Club, an Anglo-German student debating society, and co-authored a small booklet containing advice for future German students. He completed his degree at

Kiel University Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, following a short stint of voluntary military service. After being admitted to diplomatic service in 1914, Bernstorff spent the next three years at the German Embassy in Vienna, from where he was recalled in 1917. He was later involved in the

Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission The Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission was created by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919, to supervise the occupation of the Rhineland and "ensure, by any means, the security and satisfaction of all the needs of the Armies of Occupation" ...

. He then took a one year leave from his diplomatic career to gain experience in the banking business, joining the bank Delbrück, Schickler & Co. in Berlin. Bernstorff worked at the

German Embassy in London The Embassy of Germany in London is the diplomatic mission of Germany in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located at Belgrave Square, in Belgravia. It occupies three of the original terraced houses in Belgrave Square and a late 20th-century ex ...

from 1923 to 1933 and was considered an important figure in British-German relations. He was forced into retirement for his open opposition to the

Nazi government The government of Nazi Germany was totalitarian, run by the Nazi Party in Germany according to the Führerprinzip through the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany began with the fact that the Enabling Act was enacted to give Hitler's gover ...

. After returning to Germany, he joined the Jewish bank A.E. Wassermann, which was engaged in transferring Jewish assets abroad. In 1940, he was sent to

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

but was released a few months later. Through

Adam von Trott zu Solz Friedrich Adam von Trott zu Solz (9 August 1909 – 26 August 1944) was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative resistance to Nazism. A declared opponent of the Nazi regime from the beginning, he actively participated in ...

, he had established relations with both the

Solf Circle The Solf Circle (german: Solf-Kreis) was an informal gathering of German intellectuals involved in the resistance against Nazi Germany. Most members were arrested and executed after attending a tea party in Berlin on 10 September 1943 at the resid ...

and the

Kreisau Circle The Kreisau Circle (German: ''Kreisauer Kreis'', ) (1940–1944) was a group of about twenty-five German dissidents in Nazi Germany led by Helmuth James von Moltke, who met at his estate in the rural town of Kreisau, Silesia. The circle was com ...

and used his wide range of contacts in Germany and abroad to help connect resistance members to influential circles which helped lay preparation for the

20 July plot On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...

. After a second arrest in July 1943, Bernstorff was imprisoned at the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

headquarters, then in February 1944 at the Ravensbrück concentration camp. In December 1944, he was transferred to Lehrter Strasse prison, in Berlin's

Moabit Moabit () is an inner city locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany. As of 2016, around 77,000 people lived in Moabit. First inhabited in 1685 and incorporated into Berlin in 1861, the former industrial and working-class neighbourhood i ...

district, where the Gestapo interrogated him under torture. At the end of April 1945, he was assassinated by the SS.

Studies in Berlin and Kiel (1911-1914)

The return from the United Kingdom was not easy for Bernstorff. He first enrolled in law at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, but from October 1, 1911, he had to do his military service. He carried out it as a voluntary aspirant and chose the prestigious regiment of cuirassiers of the guard. After only six months, he was exempted due to his hay fever and his asthma attacks, due to an allergy to horse hair. Bernstorff never got involved in the army.Bernstorff, Albrecht Graf von
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstorff, Albrecht Graf von German resistance members Dachau concentration camp survivors 20th-century German diplomats 1890 births 1945 deaths Resistance members killed by Nazi Germany Executed German Resistance members 20th-century German military personnel