Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin
Encyclopedia
Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin (22 March 1890 – 9 April 1945) was a lawyer
, a conservative
politician
, resistance fighter in Nazi Germany
and a member of the July 20 Plot
.
-Schmenzin was the son of the Royal Prussian Rittmeister
Hermann von Kleist (1849–1913) and his wife Elisabeth (Lili) (1863–1945).
Born in Dubberow
near Belgard, Pomerania
, Germany
(now Dobrowo, near Białogard, West Pomeranian Voivodeship
), Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin supported the German National People's Party
(Deutschnationale Volkspartei). As a conservative, he supported the idea of monarchy
and Christian ideals, shown in part through his membership of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), to which he was admitted as a Knight of Honor in 1922 and in which he was promoted to Knight of Justice in 1935. He was a staunch, active opponent of Nazism
even before Hitler came to power in 1933. He ended up being arrested as a result in May and June of that year, although he was never held very long. He refused to fly the Nazi flag over his Schloss.
Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin went to the United Kingdom
in 1938 as Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
's and Colonel-General Ludwig Beck
's secret emissary. He was to make the British government aware of the resistance to Hitler's rule inside Germany
. He used his contacts with Winston Churchill
and Robert Vansittart
to try to shift British policy away from one of appeasement
to one based more on the use of force. He believed that only if the British were seen to be willing to use force to support Czechoslovakia
would the opposition in Germany have the support that it needed among Germany's High Command to move against the Führer. Churchill agreed that a change of leadership in Germany would be a good idea, and even sent Hitler a strongly worded letter, but since Churchill was not yet Prime Minister, it had no effect on Hitler. Kleist-Schmenzin's efforts to get the British to change their policy failed, as did a number of other later missions sent by the conspirators.
Kleist-Schmenzin nonetheless still supported the idea of overthrowing Hitler, and to that end, he met Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
in 1942 and 1943, a fellow conservative and resistance fighter, who also favoured a coup d'état
. Kleist-Schmenzin eventually found his way into the plot's inner circle and advocated a number of violent acts to get rid of Hitler. He urged his son, Lieutenant Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin
, to go through with a suicide
-assassination
plot in January 1944 which would have seen him blow up himself and the Führer with two hand grenade
s hidden under a new uniform that he was to "demonstrate" to Hitler. However, Hitler did not show up. Kleist-Schmenzin also supported Claus von Stauffenberg's plan to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb that the Count would take to the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia
. Stauffenberg appointed Kleist-Schmenzin political representative in the Stettin
military district in preparation for the coup d'état.
in Berlin on 9 April 1945.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, resistance fighter in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and a member of the July 20 Plot
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
.
Biography
Ewald von KleistVon Kleist
Von Kleist is a Pomeranian Prussian noble family. Notable members of this family include:* Ewald Jürgen Georg von Kleist ; co-inventor of the Leyden jar* Ewald Christian von Kleist ; German poet and soldier...
-Schmenzin was the son of the Royal Prussian Rittmeister
Rittmeister
Rotamaster was the military rank of a commissioned cavalry officer in charge of a squadron , the equivalent of O3 or Captain, in the German-speaking armies, Austro-Hungarian, Polish-Lithuanian, Russian and some other states.The exact name of this rank maintains a variety of spellings in different...
Hermann von Kleist (1849–1913) and his wife Elisabeth (Lili) (1863–1945).
Born in Dubberow
Dobrowo
Dobrowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Tychowo, within Białogard County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Tychowo, east of Białogard, and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin.Before 1945 the area was part of...
near Belgard, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(now Dobrowo, near Białogard, West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
West Pomeranian Voivodeship, , is a voivodeship in northwestern Poland. It borders on Pomeranian Voivodeship to the east, Greater Poland Voivodeship to the southeast, Lubusz Voivodeship to the south, the German federal-state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania to the west, and the Baltic Sea to the north...
), Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin supported the German National People's Party
German National People's Party
The German National People's Party was a national conservative party in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the NSDAP it was the main nationalist party in Weimar Germany composed of nationalists, reactionary monarchists, völkisch, and antisemitic elements, and...
(Deutschnationale Volkspartei). As a conservative, he supported the idea of monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
and Christian ideals, shown in part through his membership of the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), to which he was admitted as a Knight of Honor in 1922 and in which he was promoted to Knight of Justice in 1935. He was a staunch, active opponent of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
even before Hitler came to power in 1933. He ended up being arrested as a result in May and June of that year, although he was never held very long. He refused to fly the Nazi flag over his Schloss.
Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin went to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1938 as Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
's and Colonel-General Ludwig Beck
Ludwig Beck
Generaloberst Ludwig August Theodor Beck was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II....
's secret emissary. He was to make the British government aware of the resistance to Hitler's rule inside Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He used his contacts with Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Robert Vansittart
Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
Robert Gilbert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart GCB, GCMG, PC, MVO was a senior British diplomat in the period before and during the Second World War...
to try to shift British policy away from one of appeasement
Appeasement
The term appeasement is commonly understood to refer to a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to another power. Historian Paul Kennedy defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and...
to one based more on the use of force. He believed that only if the British were seen to be willing to use force to support Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
would the opposition in Germany have the support that it needed among Germany's High Command to move against the Führer. Churchill agreed that a change of leadership in Germany would be a good idea, and even sent Hitler a strongly worded letter, but since Churchill was not yet Prime Minister, it had no effect on Hitler. Kleist-Schmenzin's efforts to get the British to change their policy failed, as did a number of other later missions sent by the conspirators.
Kleist-Schmenzin nonetheless still supported the idea of overthrowing Hitler, and to that end, he met Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler
Carl Friedrich Goerdeler was a monarchist conservative German politician, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime...
in 1942 and 1943, a fellow conservative and resistance fighter, who also favoured a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. Kleist-Schmenzin eventually found his way into the plot's inner circle and advocated a number of violent acts to get rid of Hitler. He urged his son, Lieutenant Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin
Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin
Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin is a former German Army officer and publisher. A member of the von Kleist family, his parents were active in the German resistance against Adolf Hitler and participated in the July 20 Plot...
, to go through with a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
-assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
plot in January 1944 which would have seen him blow up himself and the Führer with two hand grenade
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s hidden under a new uniform that he was to "demonstrate" to Hitler. However, Hitler did not show up. Kleist-Schmenzin also supported Claus von Stauffenberg's plan to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb that the Count would take to the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. Stauffenberg appointed Kleist-Schmenzin political representative in the Stettin
Szczecin
Szczecin , is the capital city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland. It is the country's seventh-largest city and the largest seaport in Poland on the Baltic Sea. As of June 2009 the population was 406,427....
military district in preparation for the coup d'état.
Arrest, trial, and death
Stauffenberg's briefcase bomb failed to kill Hitler on 20 July 1944, and Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin was arrested the next day. He was brought before the Volksgerichtshof on 23 February 1945, where he was sentenced to death for his part in the plot. He was guillotined at Plötzensee PrisonPlötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
in Berlin on 9 April 1945.