Margarethe von Oven (11 March 1904, Berlin – 5 February 1991, Göttingen) was a secretary in the Bendlerblock and an accomplice in 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 Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

Early life

Margarethe's parents were Prussian nobility. Her father was Lieutenant Colonel Ludolf von Oven of the 115th Guards Infantry Regiment of the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 18 ...

. Her father was killed on 22 August 1914 in the opening weeks of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Margarethe was raised with three siblings by her mother.

Career

In 1920, Margarethe began work as a secretary in order to support her family financially. In 1925, she took a position as a secretary in the Defense Ministry and in 1928 she was sent to the

military attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

's office in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

for six months, under an assumed name. She was on a secret mission at the time when the ''

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 ...

'' and

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

were still collaborating. From 1930 to 1935 she worked in Berlin at the ''Reichswehr'' Ministry. In 1938 she moved to

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

and in 1940 to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, as a secretary in the German military attaché office.

At the Bendlerblock

In her prewar Berlin days, Oven had worked as a secretary for Colonel General

Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord Kurt Gebhard Adolf Philipp Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord (26 September 1878 – 24 April 1943) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, the Weimar Republic's armed forces. He is regarded as "a ...

and Colonel General

Werner von Fritsch Thomas Ludwig Werner Freiherr von Fritsch (4 August 1880 – 22 September 1939) was a member of the German High Command. He was Commander-in-Chief of the German Army from February 1934 until February 1938, when he was forced to resign after he ...

in the

Bendlerblock The Bendlerblock is a building complex in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, Germany, located on Stauffenbergstraße (formerly named ''Bendlerstraße''). Erected in 1914 as headquarters of several Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine'') ...

headquarters of the Defense Ministry. In the summer of 1943, Major General

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 ...

requested that she be transferred to his office, placing complete trust in her because she was his wife's best friend since childhood. Through her relationship with Tresckow, Oven was drawn into the preparations for the 20 July 1944 coup attempt against Hitler known as 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 ...

or the

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...

Conspiracy. When Tresckow was posted to the Eastern Front, Margarethe was reassigned as a secretary in the headquarters 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 for ...

, serving as a news headline monitor for the Berlin coup plotters. She also typed the orders and decrees in preparation for the coup. During the summer and fall of 1943 she frequently met with Tresckow and

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 ...

outside the Bendlerblock, in order to discuss and modify orders, and was fully aware of the plot. Ueberschär, Gerd R. (2004). Stauffenberg: der 20. Juli 1944. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer, , p. 107.

Arrest

After the failure of the assassination attempt on 20 July 1944, Oven was arrested and held for two weeks, but after questioning she was allowed to return to her job at the Bendlerblock.

Post-war

After the war, Margarethe von Oven worked for one year in Switzerland, then returned to Germany and worked as an assistant in a medical practice. In 1954, she was employed in the investment management office for

Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia (german: Louis Ferdinand Victor Eduard Adalbert Michael Hubertus Prinz von Preußen; 9 November 1907 – 26 September 1994) was a member of the princely House of Hohenzollern, which occupied the Prussian and G ...

, head of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

. In 1955, she married Wilfred Graf von Hardenberg, brother of Carl Hans Graf von Hardenberg, and lived in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

until her death.

Film portrayals

In the 2004 German production '' Stauffenberg'', von Oven is portrayed by actress Stefania Rocca. In the 2008 film ''

'', starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

, she was portrayed by Dutch actress

Halina Reijn Halina Reijn (; born 10 November 1975) is a Dutch actress, writer and film director. Early life and education Halina Reijn was born on 10 November 1975 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Fleur ten Kate and Frank Volkert Reijn (1931-1986). Reijn's pa ...