Heinrich Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Ahasverus Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort (22 June 1909 – 4 September 1944) was a member of the July 20 Plot
against Adolf Hitler
.
, Germany
and studied economics
and business administration in Frankfurt am Main. In 1936 he took over the management of the family estate Steinort
in East Prussia
. After the Second World War broke out, he was first deployed in Poland
, and later, as a reserve lieutenant, posted to General Fedor von Bock
's staff, who later became supreme commander of Army Group Centre
(Heeresgruppe Mitte). During the German attack
on the Soviet Union
, Lehndorff became an eyewitness to a massacre of the Jewish population near Barysaŭ
in Belarus
by Einsatzgruppen
. Thereupon, Henning von Tresckow
won him over to the cause of military resistance against Hitler. As a first lieutenant in the reserves, Lehndorff was deployed as liaison officer to Defence District I (East Prussia) in Königsberg
(today Kaliningrad, Russia
). One day after the failed attempt on Hitler's life at the Wolf's Lair on 20 July 1944, Lehndorff was arrested. On 3 September he was sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof. He was hanged the next day at Plötzensee Prison
in Berlin. His wife Gottliebe née von Kalnein (1913–1993) and their four daughters (Marie Eleanore [who married Wieland Wagner's son, Wolf Siegfried; see Nike Wagner, The Wagners, London 2000, p. 290], Vera, Gabriele, and Katharina) spent the remainder of the war confined to concentration camps.
His daughter Vera von Lehndorff
(1939– ) became a well-known photographic model
and actress under the professional name Veruschka.
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...
against Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
Biography
Lehndorff was born in HanoverHanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, 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...
and studied economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and business administration in Frankfurt am Main. In 1936 he took over the management of the family estate Steinort
Sztynort
Sztynort is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Węgorzewo, within Węgorzewo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, close to the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia. It lies approximately south-west of Węgorzewo and north-east of the regional capital...
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...
. After the Second World War broke out, he was first deployed in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and later, as a reserve lieutenant, posted to General Fedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock was a German Generalfeldmarshall who served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. As a leader who lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland, he was nicknamed "Der Sterber"...
's staff, who later became supreme commander of Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...
(Heeresgruppe Mitte). During the German attack
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
on the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Lehndorff became an eyewitness to a massacre of the Jewish population near Barysaŭ
Barysau
Barysaw , also transliterated Barysau, is a city in Belarus situated near the Berezina River in the Minsk Voblast.-History:...
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
by Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen
Einsatzgruppen were SS paramilitary death squads that were responsible for mass killings, typically by shooting, of Jews in particular, but also significant numbers of other population groups and political categories...
. Thereupon, Henning von Tresckow
Henning von Tresckow
Generalmajor Herrmann Karl Robert "Henning" von Tresckow was a Major General in the German Wehrmacht who organized German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassinate Hitler in March 1943 and drafted the Valkyrie plan for a coup against the German government...
won him over to the cause of military resistance against Hitler. As a first lieutenant in the reserves, Lehndorff was deployed as liaison officer to Defence District I (East Prussia) in Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
(today Kaliningrad, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
). One day after the failed attempt on Hitler's life at the Wolf's Lair on 20 July 1944, Lehndorff was arrested. On 3 September he was sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof. He was hanged the next day at Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee 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. His wife Gottliebe née von Kalnein (1913–1993) and their four daughters (Marie Eleanore [who married Wieland Wagner's son, Wolf Siegfried; see Nike Wagner, The Wagners, London 2000, p. 290], Vera, Gabriele, and Katharina) spent the remainder of the war confined to concentration camps.
His daughter Vera von Lehndorff
Veruschka
Vera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort is a German model, actress, and artist who was popular during the 1960s...
(1939– ) became a well-known photographic model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and actress under the professional name Veruschka.