Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim (25 March 1905 – 21 July 1944) was a

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

and a resistance fighter in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

involved 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 ...

against

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

Quirnheim was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

, the son of Hermann Mertz von Quirnheim, a captain on the Bavarian General Staff, and the nephew of Walter Hohmann. He spent his youth in the Bavarian capital before his father became head of the Imperial Archive (the ''Reichsarchiv'') and the family moved to

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

. As a child he befriended

Hans-Jürgen von Blumenthal Hans-Jürgen Graf von Blumenthal (23 February 1907 – 13 October 1944) was a German aristocrat and Army officer in the Second World War who was executed by the Nazi régime for his role in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Biog ...

and as a young man came to know the brothers

Werner von Haeften Werner Karl Otto Theodor von Haeften (9 October 1908 – 21 July 1944) was an Oberleutnant in the Wehrmacht who took part in the military-based conspiracy against Adolf Hitler known as the 20 July plot. Early life Haeften and his brother Hans ...

and

Hans Bernd von Haeften Hans Bernd von Haeften (18 December 1905 – 15 August 1944) was a German jurist during the Nazi era. A member of the German Resistance against Adolf Hitler, he was arrested and executed in the aftermath of the failed 20 July plot. Biography ...

, through family connections; these were all future fellow-conspirators.

Military career

Following his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen ye ...

'', Quirnheim joined 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 ...

'' in 1923. His friendshipHoffman, P. (1995) Stauffenberg (A Family History), 1905-1944, Mcgill-Queen's University Press, Canada
p. 81p. 223
with

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 ...

, who would become the key conspirator in the

, began in 1925, but it was Blumenthal who introduced him to the circle of conspirators in 1943.

Second World War

On 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 ...

, Quirnheim was appointed a Staff Officer at the General Staff's organisational division. He had initially welcomed Hitler's seizure of power, but began to distance himself from the new government as he became more aware of its brutality. In 1941, for example, his support for the more humane treatment of civilians in Nazi-occupied

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

triggered a dispute between Alfred Rosenberg, the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories, and Erich Koch, Reich Commissar for

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. In 1942, while being promoted to lieutenant colonel and then to Head of Staff of the 24th Army Corps at the Eastern Front, Quirnheim strengthened his ties to the Resistance through his brother-in-law Wilhelm Dieckmann. He was promoted to colonel in 1943, and the same year he married Hilde Baier.

20 July plot

By September 1943, Quirnheim had become involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler. He, his superior General Friedrich Olbricht and Stauffenberg planned

Operation Valkyrie Operation Valkyrie (german: Unternehmen Walküre) was a German World War II emergency continuity of government operations plan issued to the Territorial Reserve Army of Germany to execute and implement in the event of a general breakdown in ci ...

, a plan of action to be implemented as soon as Hitler had been killed. Meanwhile, Quirnheim succeeded Stauffenberg as Chief of Staff at the Army's General Office in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. Immediately after the attempt on Hitler's life 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 ...

on 20 July 1944, Quirnheim urged General Olbricht to activate Operation Valkyrie, even though they could not be sure whether Hitler was dead. At about the same time, however, news began to arrive that Hitler had survived the assassination attempt. Nevertheless, Olbricht eventually activated the plan and Stauffenberg joined them in Berlin. Ultimately, largely because news of Hitler's survival became common knowledge, the plot collapsed. Within hours, Quirnheim, Stauffenberg, Olbricht, and

had been arrested, summarily tried by Colonel-General Friedrich Fromm—a quiet supporter who betrayed them once he saw the plot had failed—and taken into the courtyard of the Bendlerblock, where they were shot by a firing squad. Quirnheim was the second of the four to be shot, after Olbricht. The bodies were buried in the Matthäus Churchyard in Berlin's Schöneberg district; a stone in memory of the event stands in the churchyard.

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 ...

subsequently ordered the bodies to be exhumed and cremated, and the ashes scattered. A few days later, Quirnheim's parents and one of his sisters were arrested by 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 ...

and his brother-in-law Wilhelm Dieckmann was executed on 13 September 1944. There is a now a memorial on the wall of the Bendlerblock, where Quirnheim and his fellow conspirators were shot.

Notes

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