Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (Retrieved on October 6, 2009 from http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_Schenk_Graf_von_Stauffenberg and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_Schenk_Graf_von_Stauffenberg ) Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer and Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to kill German dictator Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from power in World War II Germany. Along with Henning von Tresckow and Hans Oster, he was one of the central figures of the German Resistance movement within the Wehrmacht. Early life Stauffenberg was the third of four sons (the others being the twins Berthold and Alexander and his own twin brother Konrad Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who died in Jettingen on 16 November, 1907) of Alfred Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the last Oberhofmarschall of the Kingdom of Württemberg, and Caroline Schenk Gräfin (Countess) von Stauffenberg, née Gräfin von Üxküll-Gyllenband. Claus was born in the Stauffenberg castle of Jettingen between Ulm and Augsburg, in the eastern part of Swabia, at that time in the Kingdom of Bavaria, part of the German Empire. The Stauffenberg family is one of the oldest and most distinguished aristocratic Catholic families of southern Germany. Among his maternal Protestant ancestors were several famous Prussians, including Field Marshal 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. Like his brothers, he was carefully educated and inclined toward literature, but eventually took up a military career. In 1926, he joined the family's traditional regiment, the Bamberger Reiter- und Kavallerieregiment 17 (17th Cavalry Regiment) in Bamberg. It was around this time that the three brothers were introduced by Albrecht von Blumenthal to poet Stefan George's influential circle, Georgekreis, from which many notable members of the German resistance would later emerge. George dedicated Das neue Reich ("the new Empire") in 1928, including the Geheimes Deutschland ("secret Germany") written in 1922, to Berthold. The work outlines a new form of society ruled by a hierarchical spiritual aristocracy. George rejected any attempts to use it for mundane political purposes, especially Nazism. Stauffenberg was commissioned as a Leutnant (second lieutenant) in 1930. He studied modern weapons at the Kriegsakademie in Berlin-Moabit, but remained focused on the use of the horse — which continued to carry out a large part of transportation duties throughout the Second World War - in modern warfare. His regiment became part of the German 1st Light Division under General Erich Hoepner, who had taken part in the plans for the September 1938 German Resistance coup, cut short by Hitler's unexpected diplomatic success in the Munich Agreement. The unit was among the troops that moved into the Sudetenland, the part of Czechoslovakia that had a German-speaking majority, as agreed upon in Munich. However, Stauffenberg disliked the method by which the Sudetenland was annexed and strongly disapproved of the invasion of Prague. Pre-war misgivings Although Stauffenberg agreed with some of the Nazi Party's nationalistic aspects, he found many aspects of its ideology repugnant and never became a member of the party. Moreover, Stauffenberg remained a practicing Catholic. The Catholic Church had signed the Reichskonkordat in 1933, the year Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power. Stauffenberg vacillated between a strong personal dislike of Hitler's policies and a respect for what he perceived to be Hitler's military acumen. On top of this, the growing systematic ill-treatment of Jews and suppression of religion had offended Stauffenberg's strong personal sense of religious morality and justice. Tunisia, 1942 In November 1942, the Allies landed in French North Africa, and the 10th Panzer Division occupied Vichy France (Case Anton) before being transferred to the Tunisian Campaign, as part of the Afrika Korps. In 1943, Stauffenberg was promoted to Oberstleutnant i.G. (lieutenant-colonel of the general staff), and was sent to Africa to join the 10th Panzer Division as its Operations Officer in the General Staff (Ia). On 19 February, Rommel launched his counter-offensive against British, American and French forces in Tunisia. The Axis commanders hoped to break rapidly through either the Sbiba or Kasserine Pass into the rear of the British 1st Army. The assault at Sbiba was halted, so that Rommel concentrated on Kasserine Pass where primarily the Italians in the form of their 7th Bersaglieri Regiment and 131st Centauro Armoured Division had defeated the American defenders. During the fighting, Stauffenberg drove up to be with the leading tanks and troops of the 10th Panzer Division. The division, together with the 21st Panzer Division, took up defensive positions near Mezzouna on 8 April. While he was driving from unit to unit, directing them, his vehicle was strafed on 7 April, 1943 by British fighter-bombers and he was severely wounded. He spent three months in hospital in Munich, where he was treated by Ferdinand Sauerbruch. Stauffenberg lost his left eye, his right hand, and 2 fingers on his left hand. He jokingly remarked to friends never to have really known what to do with so many fingers when he still had all of them. For his injuries, Stauffenberg was awarded the Wound Badge in Gold on 14 April, 1943 and for his courage the German Cross in Gold on 8 May, 1943. Until in the middle of November 1942 the 10th Bis Mitte November 1942 war die 10. Panzer - armored division was still involved in the occupation Division noch an der Besetzung der bis dahin of the up to then vacant zone of France. Immediately unbesetzten Zone Frankreichs beteiligt. afterwards the division was moved to Tunis. Unmittelbar danach wurde die Division nach Tunis Stauffenberg was in the meantime in the general staff verlegt. Stauffenberg war zwischenzeitlich im of the army and on 1 January 1943 the lieutenant Generalstab des Heeres verwendet und war am 1. colonel i.G. (in the general staff) had been promoted. Januar 1943 zum Oberstleutnant i.G. (im Generalstab) befördert worden. In March 1943 as first general staff officer of the Im März 1943 wurde er als Ia (Erster Command Group he was transfered to the 10th Generalstabsoffizier der Führungsgruppe) zur 10. armored division, which would cover the retreat of Panzer-Division versetzt, die den Rückzug von general field marshal Erwin Rommels army against Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommels Armee the Allies that had landed in North Africa. During a gegen die in Nordafrika gelandeten Alliierten low flier attack on 7 April 1943 he was badly decken sollte. Bei einem Tieffliegerangriff am 7. wounded. In field hospital 200 in Sfax his left eye was April 1943 wurde er schwer verwundet. Im removed, and his right hand and two fingers of the left Feldlazarett 200 bei Sfax wurde sein linkes Auge, hand were amputated. He was transferred first to the die rechte Hand und zwei Finger der linken Hand military war hospital 950 in Carthage and from there amputiert. Er wurde zunächst ins Kriegslazarett to the reserve military hospital Munich 1. After that 950 bei Carthago überführt und gelang von dort ins Reservelazarett München 1. Darüber hinaus führte he had a further recovery leave in Lautlingen. er mehrere Genesungsurlaube in Lautlingen. Er war He was a patient of the famous surgeon Ferdinand Patient des berühmten Chirurgen Ferdinand Sauerbruch. For his wounds the golden wounding Sauerbruch. Für seine Verwundung wurde ihm am badge was awarded to him on 14 April 1943. This 14. April 1943 das Goldene Verwundetenabzeichen was presented personally by colonel general Kurt verliehen. Zeitzler. He would have also made this however, Dieses wurde persönlich vom Generaloberst Kurt according to Zeitzler themselves, as an officer of the Zeitzler überreicht. Dies hätte er aber, laut Zeitzler general staff with every other badly wounded general selbst, als Chef des Generalstabes bei jedem staff officer. anderen schwer verwundeten Generalstabsoffizier On 8 May 1943 Stauffenberg was distinguished with auch gemacht. the German cross in gold. Am 8. Mai 1943 wurde Stauffenberg mit dem Deutschen Kreuz in Gold ausgezeichnet. (Translated from the German Wikipedia page) (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claus_Schenk_Graf_von_Stauffenberg) In the resistance, 1943–1944 For rehabilitation, Stauffenberg was sent to his home, Schloss Lautlingen (today a museum), then still one of the Stauffenberg castles in southern Germany. Initially, he felt frustrated not to be in a position to stage a coup himself. But by the beginning of September 1943, after a somewhat slow recovery from his wounds, he was positioned by the conspirators and was introduced to Henning von Tresckow as a staff officer to the headquarters of the Ersatzheer ("Replacement Army" - charged with training soldiers to reinforce first line divisions at the front), located on the Bendlerstrasse (later Stauffenbergstrasse) in Berlin. There, one of Stauffenberg's superiors was General Friedrich Olbricht, a committed member of the resistance movement. The Ersatzheer had a unique opportunity to launch a coup, as one of its functions was to have Operation Valkyrie in place. This was a contingency measure which would let it assume control of the Reich in the event that internal disturbances blocked communications to the military high command. Ironically, the Valkyrie plan had been agreed to by Hitler but was now secretly changed to sweep the rest of his regime from power in the event of his death. A detailed military plan was developed not only to occupy Berlin, but also to take the different headquarters of the German army and of Hitler in East Prussia by military force after the suicide assassination by Axel von dem Bussche in late November 1943. Stauffenberg had von dem Bussche transmit these written orders personally to Major Kuhn once he had arrived at Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) near Rastenburg, East Prussia (today K ętrzyn, Poland).