Walter Schellenberg
| Walter Schellenberg | |
|---|---|
Schellenberg as a SS-Oberführer
|
|
| Born | 16 January 1910 Saarbrücken, Prussia, Germany |
| Died | 31 March 1952 (aged 42) Turin, Italy |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch |
 Schutzstaffel
|
| Years of service | 1933–1945 |
| Rank | Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei |
| Unit | Sicherheitsdienst |
| Commands held | Chief of Amt VI, Ausland-SD |
| Awards |
Iron Cross First Class War Merit Cross First Class with Swords |
Walter Friedrich Schellenberg (16 January 1910 – 31 March 1952) was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the ranks of the SS, becoming one of the highest ranking men in the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) and eventually assumed the position as head of foreign intelligence for the Reich following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944.
Schellenberg was born in Saarbrücken, Germany. He was the seventh child born to his parents and his father was a piano manufacturer. Schellenberg moved with his family to Luxembourg when the French occupation of the Saar Basin after the First World War triggered an economic crisis in the Weimar Republic. Like many young intellectuals who would later join the SD, Schellenberg was deeply affected by the economic woes which befell Germany in the wake of the First World War.
Schellenberg returned to Germany to attend university, first at the University of Marburg and then, in 1929, at the University of Bonn. He initially studied medicine, but soon switched to law. While in law school, Schellenberg performed some spy work for the SD. He reported actually having been recruited by two SD agents who were college faculty, who also advised him to join the Civil Service. After graduating he joined the SS in 1933. From what Schellenberg later wrote, the "better type of people" preferred the SS over the other Nazi organizations. While educated as a lawyer, Schellenberg distrusted administrative attorneys and was intent on ensuring the SD could operate outside the constraints of normal law. Subscribing to the Führer-Prinzip, Schellenberg also thought Hitler's directives were beyond the framework of the legal system and believed it was best to "unquestioningly" carry-out anything ordered by the Nazi leader.
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