Friedrich von Rabenau (10 October 1884 – 15 April 1945) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

career-soldier, general, theologian, and opponent of

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Naz ...

Biography

Friedrich von Rabenau was born in Berlin to the physician Friedrich von Rabenau (1847–1885) and Wally, née Noebel. He joined the Prussian Army in 1903 as a member of the 72nd Field Artillery Regiment (stationed at Danzig), served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and remained in the Weimar-German

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

. In 1936, von Rabenau was assigned by the then head of the general staff,

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...

Ludwig August Theodor Beck, to establish (from the Reichsarchiv) the first central archive of the German army, in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

. Well suited to the task, Rabenau strove to prevent ideological falsifications with a scientific diligence in gathering sources that was second to none. His Christian beliefs led him to join the opposition to Nazism early. Von Rabenau was a ''Rechtsritter'' (Knight of Justice) in the supradenominational

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

. As a Protestant Christian and a general, he successfully applied to then Reichsführer SS

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

for permission to take over

Maria Laach Abbey Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel ...

, which had been seized from

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Cardinal Graf von Galen in

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...

. Von Rabenau joined no resistance group, though he did act as a conduit between Generaloberst

Ludwig Beck Ludwig August Theodor Beck (; 29 June 1880 – 20 July 1944) was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II. Although Beck never became a member of the Na ...

and

Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed some anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was ...

, whom he knew from his time as an ''Abteilungskommandeur'' (Section Commander) in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

(now

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

). In mid-1942 von Rabenau was relieved of his office, transferred to the

Führerreserve The (“Leaders Reserve” or "Reserve for Leaders") was set up in the German Armed Forces during World War II in 1939 as a pool of temporarily unoccupied high-ranking military officers awaiting new assignments. The various military branches an ...

(a classification for high-ranking officers who were without billet which was often used by Hitler to push aside officers with whom he was displeased) at his current rank of ''

General der Artillerie General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean: 1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württembe ...

'' (General of the Artillery), and thus sent into premature retirement. He studied protestant theology at the

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 ...

and in 1943 was made ''Licentiatus theologiae'', writing his dissertation on military chaplaincy. Von Rabenau was arrested in the aftermath of the plot which culminated in the attempt on

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's life on 20 July 1944. On 15 April 1945, without having been charged or tried, General von Rabenau, one of the last inmates remaining in the

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flo ...

, was shot on Himmler's specific orders. The execution order was issued by Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller with additional orders to report his death as resulting from a low-flying allied air attack. The Flossenburg Memorial erroneously gives von Rabenau's date of judicial murder as 9 April 1945. He was survived by his wife Eva Kautz and their two daughters.

Awards and decorations

* Knight of Justice of the Order of St John *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

of 1914, 1st and 2nd class * Knight's Cross of the Royal

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

with Swords * Friedrich Cross * Military Merit Cross, 3rd class with War Decoration (Austria-Hungary)

Works

*''Die alte Armee und die junge Generation''; Berlin: Mittler, 1925. *''Operative Entschlüsse gegen einen an Zahl überlegenen Gegner''; Berlin: Mittler, 1935. *''Seeckt''; Leipzig: V. Hase & Koehler, 1938. *'' Scharnhorst nach 1808 - Seeckt nach 1918''; Berlin: Landesgeschichtl. Vereinigg. f. d. Mark Brandenburg, 1939. *''Buch und Schwert''; Leipzig: Oberbürgermeister, 1940. *''Von Geist und Seele des Soldaten''; Berlin: Eher, 1940. *''Geistige und seelische Probleme im jetzigen Krieg''; Berlin: Eher, 1940. *''Vom Sinn des Soldatentums''; Köln: Du Mont Schauberg, 1941. **''Hans von Seeckt. Aus seinem Leben 1866-1917''. **''Hans von Seeckt. Aus seinem Leben 1918-1936''. From ''Liste der auszusondernden Literatur'' (Berlin: Zentralverlag, 1946), Deutsche Verwaltung für Volksbildung in der sowjetischen BesatzungszoneDatenbank Schrift und Bild 1900-1960
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Sources

* Mühleisen, Horst: „Friedrich von Rabenau : Soldat, Archivar und Gelehrter ; zu seinem fünfzigsten Todestag.“ In: Archivalische Zeitschrift 79 (1996) 127 - 140

* Ramm, Hans-Joachim: Mich trägt mein Glaube. Friedrich von Rabenau. General und Christ im Widerstand. Tagebuch einer Gestapohaft, Saarbrücken 2011

External links

*

Memorial of the German Resistance, Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabenau, Friedrich Von 1884 births 1945 deaths People from Berlin executed in Nazi concentration camps Protestants in the German Resistance 20th-century German Protestant theologians Humboldt University of Berlin alumni German Army generals of World War II Generals of Artillery (Wehrmacht) Executed members of the 20 July plot People who died in Flossenbürg concentration camp Military personnel who died in Nazi concentration camps Resistance members who died in Nazi concentration camps Executed military leaders People executed by Nazi Germany by firearm Major generals of the Reichswehr German Army personnel of World War I