Heinrich Burggraf und

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

Dohna Dohna is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, Saxony, Germany. It is located south of Heidenau, in the Müglitz valley and lies at the northeastern foot of the Eastern Ore Mountains. It is accessed by the Pirna interchange ...

- Schlobitten (15 October 1882 – 14 September 1944) 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 ...

major general and resistance fighter in the 20 July Plot 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 ...

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 Ost ...

in East Prussia. He was a Knight of Justice of the Order of St John, which was regarded with disfavour by the Nazis.

Early life

Dohna-Schlobitten was born in Waldburg (now Nikolajewka,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

) near

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 ...

, East Prussia, the son of a famous Prussian noble family. He began his career as a professional soldier and was already an ensign (''Fahnenjunker'') by 1901. In the

First World War 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 ...

, he served as a General Staff officer, but had to leave the shrunken army in 1919. He subsequently became a member of the '' Baltische Landwehr'' but on ethical grounds he chose to leave the military. Later on he opposed

Nazism 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) i ...

and found himself active in the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German ...

's ''Bruderrat'' ("brother council") in the old-Prussian Ecclesiastical Province of East Prussia.Biography
at

German Resistance Memorial Center The German Resistance Memorial Center (german: Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand) is a memorial and museum in Berlin, capital of Germany. History It was opened in 1980 in part of the Bendlerblock, a complex of offices in Stauffenbergstrasse (fo ...

World War II

In 1939, Dohna-Schlobitten was remobilized as a General Staff officer and was appointed as Chief of Staff in Defence District I in Königsberg, later to be promoted to Chief of Staff, Army Group Centre. He acted as a corps leader in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Dohna-Schlobitten's last post was as major general and Chief of the Acting General Command in Danzig (now Gdańsk,

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 populou ...

), before leaving 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 ...

'' at his own request in 1943. Thereafter, he earned his livelihood from farming in Tolksdorf (now Tołkiny, Poland) in East Prussia. Dohna-Schlobitten maintained contacts with resistance leader

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 ...

, and was soon involved in Helmuth James von Moltke's

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 ...

through fellow aristocrat

Peter Yorck von Wartenburg Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (13 November 1904 – 8 August 1944) was a German jurist and a member of the German Resistance against Nazism. He studied law and politics in Bonn and Breslau from 1923 to 1926, gaining his doctorate in Breslau i ...

. Had the attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July 1944 succeeded, Dohna-Schlobitten was foreseen as East Prussia's new provincial administrator. The day after

Claus Schenk 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 20 July plot, failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lai ...

's failed assassination attempt with a briefcase bomb, Dohna-Schlobitten was arrested, and on 14 September 1944, he was sentenced to death in

Roland Freisler Roland Freisler (30 October 1893 – 3 February 1945), a German Nazi jurist, judge, and politician, served as the State Secretary of the Reich Ministry of Justice from 1934 to 1942 and as President of the People's Court from 1942 to 1945. As ...

's infamous Nazi '' Volksgerichtshof'' (People's Court). He was executed 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 ...

, along with Nikolaus von Üxküll-Gyllenband, Hermann Josef Wehrle and Michael von Matuschka.Biography
of

Michael Graf von Matuschka Michael Graf von Matuschka (29 September 1888 – 14 September 1944) was a German politician who took part in the 20 July plot. Biography Matuschka was born in Schweidnitz, Silesia (today Świdnica, Poland) and studied law at the Univers ...

Dohna was married to Maria Agnes née von Borcke, with whom he had a daughter and three sons.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dohna-Schlobitten, Heinrich Zu 1882 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Königsberg People from East Prussia Counts of Germany Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Prussian Army personnel German anti-communists German Army personnel of World War I Protestants in the German Resistance Executed military leaders Executed members of the 20 July plot People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison