Werner Karl Otto Theodor von Haeften (9 October 1908 – 21 July 1944) was an
Oberleutnant in 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 ...
who took part in the military-based 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 ...
known as the
20 July plot.
Early life
Haeften and his brother
Hans were born in Berlin, the sons of Hans von Haeften, an army officer and President of the ''Reichsarchiv'' (German National Archives). He studied law in his home town and then worked for a bank in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
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until the outbreak of 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 ...
when he joined the
German Army.
War service
In 1943, having recovered from a severe wound he had suffered on the
Eastern Front, Haeften became adjutant to
Oberst
''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
Claus Schenk Graf 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 ...
, one of the leading figures in the
German Resistance.
On 20 July 1944, Haeften accompanied Stauffenberg to the military high command 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 ...
'' near
Rastenburg,
East Prussia (now Kętrzyn, in Poland), where Stauffenberg planted a briefcase bomb in a conference room at Hitler's
Wolfsschanze
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 ...
(
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 ...
) headquarters. After the detonation, Stauffenberg and Haeften rushed to Berlin and, not knowing that Hitler had survived the explosion, attempted to launch the long-planned ''
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'', which would swiftly fail.
![Bendler Block Memorial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Bendler_Block_Memorial.jpg)
On the same day, Haeften, along with Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators General
Friedrich Olbricht
Friedrich Olbricht (4 October 1888 – 21 July 1944) was a German general during World War II and one of the plotters involved in the 20 July Plot, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. He was a senior staff officer, with the rank of ...
and ''
Oberst
''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
''
Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim
Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim (25 March 1905 – 21 July 1944) was a German Army colonel and a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany involved in the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler.
Early life
Quirnheim was born in Munich, the son of Herma ...
, was arrested after a summary court martial and sentenced to death by General
Friedrich Fromm
Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar Fromm (8 October 1888 – 12 March 1945) was a German Army officer. In World War II, Fromm was Commander in Chief of the Replacement Army (''Ersatzheer''), in charge of training and personnel replacement for combat divi ...
, who was himself later arrested and executed by the Nazi regime for his tacit complicity. All four plotters were shot after midnight by a ten-man
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...
from the
Grossdeutschland Guards Battalion in the courtyard of the War Ministry, 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'') ...
.
When Stauffenberg was about to be shot, in a last gesture of loyalty and defiance, Haeften placed himself in the path of the bullets meant for Stauffenberg.
[(Fest, 1996) pg. 278]
Haeften's brother,
Hans, who had also been involved in the anti-Hitler plot, was executed on 15 August 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 ...
.
Fictional portrayals
In the Eastern Bloc co-production ''
Liberation: Direction of the Main Blow'' (1971), Haeften was depicted by the East German actor
Hans-Edgar Stecher. In the German production ''
Stauffenberg'' (2004), his part was played by the actor
Hardy Krüger, Jr., and in the film ''
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: ...
'' (2008) he was portrayed by the British actor
Jamie Parker
Jamie Parker (born 14 August 1979) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Harry Potter in the original cast for the West End play ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', for which he received a Laurence Olivier Award f ...
.
* In the 2000
alternate history novel ''
Fox on the Rhine'', the bomb delivered by Haeften and Stauffenberg succeeds in killing Hitler, but
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 ...
avoids their attempts to arrest him and seizes control of the Third Reich (although his reign lasts for less than a year). While Beck, Olbricht, and many others ultimately flee, Haeften refuses to abandon Stauffenberg. When the SS arrive to arrest his superior, he opens fire at them with a pistol and attempts to shield Stauffenberg with his body before both men are gunned down. The sequel novel, ''
Fox at the Front
''Fox at the Front'' is a 2003 alternate history novel written by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. It is a sequel to the 2000 novel '' Fox on the Rhine''.
Plot summary
The story picks up on December 27, 1944, just minutes after the climax to ' ...
'', mentions that his brother Hans-Bernd managed to escape to neutral territory and, along with other surviving plotters, has formed a government-in-exile.
See also
*
German Resistance
*
List of members of the 20 July plot
On 20 July 1944, Adolf Hitler and his top military associates entered the briefing hut of the Wolf's Lair military headquarters, a series of concrete bunkers and shelters located deep in the forest of East Prussia, not far from the location of t ...
Footnotes
References
*
*
External links
* film and TV matches for Werner von Haeften
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haeften, Werner Von
1908 births
1944 deaths
Executed members of the 20 July plot
German resistance members
German untitled nobility
German Army officers of World War II
Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class
People from Berlin executed by Nazi Germany
People from the Province of Brandenburg
People executed by Nazi Germany by firing squad