Hans Ulrich von Oertzen (6 March 1915 – 21 July 1944) was a German officer who served in Army Group Centre of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He took part in the military-based 20 July Plot conspiracy against

Adolf 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 ...

and many letters to his wife have been published that provide an insight into his thoughts during that period. Born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

to an aristocratic family, Oertzen followed his father into the army and trained as a general staff officer. During the Second World War he was promoted to Major and by 1943 was serving in Army Group Centre under Generalmajor

Henning von Tresckow Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the German Army who helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassina ...

, who was one of the leading members of the resistance. He then helped

Claus von Stauffenberg Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair. Despite ...

to develop Operation Valkyrie. On 26 March 1944, he married Ingrid von Oertzen Langenn, and a selection of 240 letters he wrote to her from 1942 to 1944 were recently published in book form in Germany. On 20 July 1944 Oertzen was the liaison officer to the commander of the defense group III (Berlin) and passed on the first Valkyrie orders. After the failure of the coup attempt, he was arrested and interrogated by General Joachim von Kortzfleisch and Generalleutnant Karl Freiherr von Thüngen, who was himself a member of the resistance. There was no evidence of complicity in the plot until the next morning when a secretary reported having seen him with Stauffenberg. With the arrival of 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 orga ...

imminent he killed himself by detonating two hand grenades.

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GDW-Biographies
1915 births 1944 deaths German untitled nobility German Army officers of World War II German resistance members Members of the 20 July plot who committed suicide 1944 suicides Deaths by hand grenade Suicides by explosive device {{Germany-mil-bio-stub