Joachim Fest - Plotting Hitler's Death

Keitel, Wilhelm (1882-1946)

Career officer. Blomberg’s successor as chief of the newly created OKW or high command of the armed forces, serving from 1938 to 1945. Appointed field marshal in 1940. Although originally opposed to an attack on the Soviet Union, he became Hitler’s devoted and closest military assistant. Called Hitler the “greatest general of all times,” earning himself the nickname Lakaitel (a play on his surname and Lakai, the German word for lackey). Sentenced to death at the Nuremberg trials and executed on October 16, 1946.

Kleist-Schmenzin, Ewald von (1890-1945)

Estate owner, lawyer, and conservative politician with strong Christian and monarchical beliefs. Actively combated National Socialism in the dying days of the Weimar Republic. Twice arrested for short periods in May and June 1933. Traveled to London for political discussions in 1938 at the behest of Beck’s group. Met Goerdeler in 1942 and 1943 and agreed to support a coup. Was privy to Stauffenberg’s plans and approved the assassination at­tempt. Was the prospective political representative in the Stettin military district. Arrested after July 20 and condemned to death by the People’s Court in March 1945. Executed on April 9 in Plötzensee prison.

Kleist-Schmenzin, Ewald Heinrich von (b. 1922)

Son of the above. Lieutenant in the infantry. In early 1944 volunteered, like Bussche, to blow himself and Hitler up during a public ceremony. At the instigation of Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, went to Bendlerstrasse on July 20 to serve as the conspirators’ adjutant. The ensuing preliminary inves­tigation of him was broken off on December 12, 1944, and he was sent to the front, where he managed to survive the war.

Kluge, Hans Günther von (1882-1944)

Career officer. Appointed field marshal in 1940. Commander in chief of Army Group Center from December 1941 to October 1943. Strongly influ­enced by Tresckow while with Army Group Center but dodged active partic­ipation in plans for a coup, although he realized that Germany was headed for catastrophe. In July 1944 became commander in chief in the West and commander in chief of Army Group B. Dismissed on August 18, 1944, be­cause he failed to report the conspiracy and was suspected of seeking to negotiate with the Western Allies. Committed suicide rather than face trial in Germany.

Knochen, Helmut (b. 1910)

SS Standartenführer. Chief of security police in Paris from 1940 to 1944. Clashed with the German military administration in France under Stülpnagel. Held in custody for a while by the conspirators in Paris on July 20, 1944. Condemned to life imprisonment in 1946 by a British military tribunal for having executed captured pilots. Sentenced to death by a mili­tary tribunal in Paris in 1954. Granted a pardon in 1962.

Kordt, Erich (1903-70)

Lawyer specializing in administrative law. Diplomat. From 1936 to 1938 counselor in the German embassy in London, where he established political contacts for the resistance. Chief of the Bureau of Ministers in the German Foreign Office from 1938 to 1941. Planned to attack Hitler in November 1939. Was German envoy in Tokyo and Nanjing from 1941 to 1945. Member of the resistance circle within the Foreign Office. Became a private lecturer at the University of Cologne in 1951. Later served in the state government in Dusseldorf.

Kordt, Theodor (1893-1962)

Lawyer specializing in administrative law. Diplomat. Brother of Erich Kordt. Entered the foreign service in 1923. German ambassador in London in 1938-39. Attempted, with his brother, to persuade the British government to make a public statement warning Germany about the danger of a world war. Informed the British of Hitler’s intention to go to war, but their efforts, like those of many other members of the resistance, foundered on Britain’s appeasement policy. Ambassador in Bern after 1939. Made political contacts for the resistance at his foreign postings. From 1953 to 1958 served as ambassador to Greece for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Leber, Julius (1891-1945)

Social Democratic politician. Volunteered to serve in World War I and be­came an officer. Deputy in the Reichstag from 1924 to 1933. Official SPD spokesman on defense policy. Imprisoned from 1933 to 1937 in Wolfenbüttel prison and the Esterwegen and Sachsenhausen concentration camps. Worked in the private sector from 1938 to 1944. After the Casablanca Con­ference in January 1943, maintained, in contrast to many of his friends in the resistance, that the Allies would never drop their demand for unconditional surrender. Was close to the Kreisau Circle and had contacts with other Social Democrats. Stauffenberg preferred him to Goerdeler as federal chancellor after the coup. Arrested on July 5, 1944, alter being betrayed by a Communist resistance circle that had been infiltrated. Sentenced to death by the People’s Court on October 20, 1944, and executed in Plötzensee prison on January 5, 1945.

Leuschner, Wilhelm (1888-1944)

Social Democrat and trade union leader. Minister of the interior in Hesse from 1929 to 1933. Acting chairman of the General German Trade Union Federation. Held in a concentration camp in 1933-34. Worked as a small manufacturer in Berlin from 1934 to 1944. Active in the underground. Strove to form a single, united labor union. Chosen in 1944 to become vice-chancellor of the Reich after the coup. When his wife was arrested in August 1944, turned himself over to the Gestapo. Executed in Plötzensee prison on September 29.

Mackensen, August von (1848-1945)

Field marshal. The oldest of the German generals. Attempted to salvage the honor of Generals Kurt von Schleicher and Kurt von Bredow, murdered in the Röhm putsch. Together with Hammerstein wrote a letter of protest to Hindenburg, which apparently was not delivered.

Manstein, Erich von (1887-1973)

Field marshal. From 1935 to 1938 chief of operations on the army general staff. Appointed commander in chief of the Eleventh Army in 1941. Com­mander in chief of Army Group Don and Army Group South from 1942 to 1944. Dismissed in 1944 when he urged retreat on the eastern front. Consid­ered a leading strategist and field commander. Despite the exhortations of Beck and Stauffenberg, refused to turn against Hitler, even after Stalingrad. Considered himself “just a soldier” who had to obey. In 1949 sentenced by a British court to eighteen years in prison for failing to protect the civilian population. Released in 1953. Later a military adviser to the West German government.

Mertz von Quirnheim, Albrecht Ritter (1905-44)

Career officer with the rank of colonel. Had himself assigned to the SA after the Nazi seizure of power. An early friend of Stauffenberg’s and succeeded him in June 1944 as Olbricht’s chief of staff. Deeply involved in planning the coup, especially Operation Valkyrie. Present at Bendlerstrasse on the eve­ning of July 20 and executed there that night.

Mierendorff, Carlo (1897-1943)

Politician and journalist. Joined the Social Democrats in 1920. In Hesse became the chief press officer for Interior Minister Wilhelm Leuschner. Became a Reichstag deputy in 1930. Held in a concentration camp from 1933 to 1938. Because of his enormous popularity, which did not fade during his years in the camp, was ordered after his release to take another surname. Inspired by his early enthusiasm for literature, he chose Willemer, the pseudonym of a character in one of Goethe’s works. Through Adolf Reichwein met Helmuth von Moltke and the Kreisau Circle, among whom his impressive, forceful personality soon earned him a leading role. Reichwein and others thought he would make the best representative of the new Ger­many. Killed in December 1943 in an air raid on Leipzig.