Heinrich Ahasverus Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort (22 June 1909 – 4 September 1944) was an East Prussian

junker Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...

and aristocrat who became a member of 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 ...

to assassinate

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 ...

Biography

Heinrich von

Lehndorff The House of Lehndorff is the name of an old German noble family from former East Prussia, first recorded in 1236. Members of the family occupied many important military positions within the Kingdom of Prussia. They held the title of Imperial Count ...

was born in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and studied economics and business administration in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. In 1936 he took over the management of the family estate Steinort in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

. After 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 opposin ...

broke out, he was first deployed in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, and later, as a reserve lieutenant, posted to General Fedor von Bock's staff, who later became supreme commander of

Army Group Centre Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...

(''Heeresgruppe Mitte''). During

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

(the German attack on the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

), Lehndorff became an eyewitness to a massacre of the Jewish population near Barysaŭ in

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

Einsatzgruppen (, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the im ...

. Thereupon, Henning von Tresckow won him over to the cause of military resistance (''

Widerstand German resistance can refer to: * Freikorps, German nationalist paramilitary groups resisting German communist uprisings and the Weimar Republic government * German resistance to Nazism * Landsturm, German resistance groups fighting against France d ...

'') against Hitler. As a first lieutenant in the reserves, Lehndorff was deployed as liaison officer to Defence District I (East Prussia) 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 named ...

(today Kaliningrad, Russia). One day after the failed attempt on Hitler's life at the

Wolf's Lair The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ostp ...

on 20 July 1944, Lehndorff was arrested. Along with Kurt Hahn,

Gerhard Knaak Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–19 ...

Hans Otto Erdmann Hans Otto Erdmann (18 December 1896 – 4 September 1944) was a German Army officer, and member of the German Resistance. Biography Erdmann was born in Insterburg, East Prussia (modern Chernyakhovsk, Russia). In the First World War Erdma ...

and

Max Ulrich von Drechsel Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

he was sentenced to death by the '' Volksgerichtshof'' under

Günther Nebelung Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse '' gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gu ...

on 4 September 1944. He was hanged the same day at

Plötzensee Prison Plötzensee Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt Plötzensee, JVA Plötzensee) is a juvenile prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The d ...

in Berlin. His wife Gottliebe née Gräfin von Kalnein (1913–1993) and their four daughters (Marie Eleanore ho married Wieland Wagner's son, Wolf Siegfried">Wieland_Wagner.html" ;"title="ho married Wieland Wagner">ho married Wieland Wagner's son, Wolf SiegfriedWagner, Nike (2000). ''The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. London. p. 290. Vera, Gabriele, and Katharina) spent the remainder of the war confined to concentration camps. His daughter Veruschka, Vera von Lehndorff (1939– ) became a well-known photographic model and actress under the professional name Veruschka.

Notes

References

External links

Plötzensee Prison
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehndorff-Steinort, Heinrich Graf Von 1909 births 1944 deaths Executed members of the 20 July plot People from Lower Saxony executed at Plötzensee Prison German Army officers of World War II People condemned by Nazi courts Nobility from Hanover People from the Province of Hanover Goethe University Frankfurt alumni People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison

Biography

Notes

See also

References

External links