Berthold Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Berthold Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (born 3 July 1934) is a German retired
Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
. Early in his career, he commanded Germany's largest military base. At the time of his retirement in 1994 he was Germany's longest serving soldier, having served in the Heer (Army) for thirty-eight years. He is the son of
World War II 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 ...
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 of ...
and resistance leader
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 ...
.


Biography

Stauffenberg is the oldest of five children of
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 ...
and a nephew of
Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg Berthold Alfred Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (15 March 1905, Stuttgart – 10 August 1944, Berlin-Plötzensee) was a German aristocrat and lawyer who was a key conspirator in the 20 July plot, plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 19 ...
, two German noblemen who were active 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 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 ...
. After the failed assassination and the subsequent executions, Stauffenberg's
pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...
mother
Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg Countess Nina von Stauffenberg (German: ''Elisabeth Magdalena Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg''; 27 August 1913 – 2 April 2006) was the wife of Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the leader of the failed plot to assassinate Adolf ...
was interned in a concentration camp and separated from her four children, who were taken to a foster home in
Bad Sachsa Bad Sachsa is a town in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town was one of the few municipalities in West Germany that imported electric power from former East Germany. This was done via Neuhof Substation. Geography Bad ...
. Until the end of the war they were forced to use a different family name, as ''Schenk von Stauffenberg'' was not accepted as their name. Berthold Maria Schenk von Stauffenberg was the oldest of the children and had just turned ten at the time of the failed assassination plot. Stauffenberg was educated at
Schule Schloss Salem Schule Schloss Salem (Anglicisation: ''School of Salem Castle'', ''Salem Castle School'') is a boarding school with campuses in Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It offers the German Abitur, as well as the Inter ...
before studying engineering and becoming an officer in
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
's new army as soon as it was established in 1956. From 1972 to 1974, he commanded Armoured Reconnaissance Training Battalion 11 at
Munster, Lower Saxony Munster (West Low German: ''Munste''), also called Munster (Örtze) or formerly Munsterlager, is a small town in the district of Heidekreis, in Lower Saxony, Germany almost equidistant from Hamburg and Hanover. The town is home to the German Ar ...
, Germany's largest military base. His career culminated in promotion to Supreme Commander of Territorial Command South, and he retired in 1994 with the rank of ''Generalmajor''. He was Germany's longest serving soldier, after 38 years in the ''Bundeswehr''. In Thurn on 22 September 1958, he married Mechthild Kunigunde Gräfin Bentzel von Sternau und Hohenau von Sturmfelder-Horneck (born 27 January 1938 in Bamberg), and they established a home in her family's hometown of
Oppenweiler Oppenweiler is a town in the Rems-Murr district in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Oppenweiler merged with Reichenberg on 1 April 1938. Geography The municipality ('' Gemeinde'') of Oppenweiler is located in the Rems-Murr district of Bad ...
in Southern Germany. They have three sons: * Claus Philipp Schenk, Graf von Stauffenberg (born 1 June 1959), married to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian Maryam Zahedi (born 31 January 1962), they have one daughter and one son: ** Valerie Roxana Monika Mechthild Maria Schenk, Gräfin von Stauffenberg (b.
Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian language, Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative d ...
, 17 February 1992) **Kilian Schenk, Graf von Stauffenberg (b. Erlangen, 26 August 1994) * Sebastian Heimrich Schenk, Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 2 December 1961), unmarried and without issue * Gottfried Schenk, Graf von Stauffenberg (b. 8 October 1964), unmarried and without issue In July 2004, for his 70th birthday and for the 60th anniversary of the 20 July plot in which his father took part, Stauffenberg was interviewed by several newspapers and was also invited to a ceremony at the former
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 ...
. In 2006, he participated with
Richard von Weizsäcker Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker (; 15 April 1920 – 31 January 2015) was a German politician ( CDU), who served as President of Germany from 1984 to 1994. Born into the aristocratic Weizsäcker family, who were part of the German nobilit ...
and others in the opening ceremony of the Stauffenberg Memorial in Stuttgart. In 2007, Stauffenberg voiced concerns about 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 (1997:36) ...
'', because the actor portraying his father,
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 Gol ...
, was a member of the
Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...
. He feared that the film could become "horrible
kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...
".


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stauffenberg, Berthold Maria Schenk Graf Von 1934 births Living people Counts of Germany Berthold Maria Bundeswehr generals Major generals of the German Army Alumni of Schule Schloss Salem Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg