Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg | |
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Stauffenberg at the Volksgerichtshof
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Born |
Jettingen, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
15 March 1905
Died | 10 August 1944 Berlin, Nazi Germany |
(aged 39)
Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
Nationality | German |
Known for | 20 July plot coordinator |
Home town | Albstadt, Germany |
Spouse(s) | Maria (Mika) Classen |
Parent(s) |
Alfred Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg Caroline Schenk Gräfin (von Stauffenberg family) |
Relatives | Claus 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 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944, alongside his younger brother, Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. After the plot failed, Berthold was tried and executed by the Nazi regime.
Berthold was the oldest of four brothers (the second being Berthold's twin Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg) born into an old and distinguished aristocratic South German Catholic family. His parents were the last Oberhofmarschall of the Kingdom of Württemberg, Alfred Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, and Caroline née von Üxküll-Gyllenband. Among his ancestors were several famous Prussians, including most notably August von Gneisenau.
In his youth, he and his brothers were members of the Neupfadfinder, a German Scout association and part of the German Youth movement.
After having studied law at Tübingen, he became assistant professor of international law at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Foreign and International Law in 1927. He and his brother Claus were introduced by Albrecht von Blumenthal to the circle of the mystic symbolist poet Stefan George, many of whose followers became members of the German Resistance to National Socialism. He worked at the Hague from 1930 to 1932 and in 1936 married Maria (Mika) Classen (1900–1977). They had two children: Alfred Claus Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1937–1987) and Elisabeth Caroline Margarete Maria Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg (b. 13 June 1939).