Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

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opposed the official party line. He was later deeply grieved that his brothers had not asked him to join the attempted coup of 1944. His first wife was also a remarkable woman. Of Russian- Jewish background (her grandfather was from Odessa), she had made a career in aviation, both as a researcher in aerodynamics, and as a pilot. Because her work was deemed vital to the war industry, she and her family remained relatively immune to persecution. Commissioned (1937) as a Flugkapitän (air captain) in the Luftwaffe, she received the Iron Cross II (1943) and was nominated for the Iron Cross I (1944). While flying a Bücker 181 trainer on a visit to her husband on 8.4.1945, she was shot down by an American fighter. Although she landed her plane, she died soon afterwards of bullet wounds. Claus joined the 17 th Cavalry Regiment in 1926. He was successively promoted as follows: Leutnant (1.5.1933), Hauptman (1.1.1937), Major (1.1.1941), Oberstleutnant (1.1.1943) and Oberst (1.4.1944). In 1938, he served as a staff officer under Generalleutnant Erich Hoeppner during the occupation of the Sudetenland. He served in the Polish campaign (1939) and later in the French campaign (1940). It was soon after the Polish campaign, that his uncle, Nicholas, Graf v. Üxküll, and Fritz-Dietlof, Graf v. d. Schulenburg, approached Claus to join the resistance movement. They told him of the persecutions in Germany and the mass killings behind the lines in Poland. While sympathetic, he did not immediately join the resistance. Also that time (1939), he was approached by Peter, Graf Yorck v. Wartenburg (his cousin) and Ulrich, Graf Schwerin v. Schwanenfeld (1902-1944) to join the resistance movement by accepting a posting as adjutant to Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Walther v. Brauchitsch. On 31.5.1940, he was posted to the Army High Command, Army General Staff-Organization Branch. Gradually, and for many reasons, Claus came to see the necessity of taking an active role in the resistance. Not the least of these reasons was the persecution of religious groups by the Nazis, and Claus was particularly upset by the persecution of Jews and Catholics. Claus was also very upset when other reports reached him of the systematic mass killings of various groups. Early in 1942, he began criticizing the Nazi government in an open manner, and by September, had begun approaching leading military officials (including Generals and Field Marshals) to take the lead in overturning the government. These overtures were mildly rebuffed, but Claus and his colleagues were made anxious for his personal security. Claus decided to escape potentially serious trouble by applying for and accepting a posting in the field. On 15.2.1943, he was posted as senior staff officer to Generalmajor Freiherr v. Broich, commanding the 10 th Panzer division in Tunisia. On 7.4.1943, he was seriously wounded, eventually losing an eye, his right hand, and 2 fingers of his left hand. In autumn of 1943, Claus met with various members of the Kreisauer Circle, and joined the resistance. Operation Walküre After recovering from his wounds, Claus was appointed Chief-of-Staff to the General Army Office, located in the Bendlerstraβe, in Berlin, also the headquarters of the Home Army. On 1.6.1944, he was appointed Chief-of-Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army, and Chief of Army Supplies, Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm. One of the functions of the Home Army was to carry out “Operation Walküre” in the event of an internal emergency. This plan, approved by Hitler, and reworked by Claus v. Stauffenberg, Olbricht, Quirnheim and Tresckow 2 , was a contingency plan involving the use of the Home Army to take temporary control of the government, in the event of both serious internal disturbances and a breakdown in communications with the Armed Forces High Command-the OKW (the Oberkomando der Wehrmacht), and the Führer’s Headquarters. Many of the senior members of the Home Army, were however, members of the resistance movement, unknown, of course, to the Nazi government. The members of this resistance group included members of the Kreisauer Circle, leading officials of the military, some recruited by Claus, as well as Fromm. Claus was recognized as their military leader, Goerdeler, the civilian leader. The plan of this resistance group was to activate Operation Walküre in assuming emergency control of government, after having disabled the Nazi government through the assassination of the leading Nazi officials. It was originally deemed essential that Hitler, Göring and Himmler be eliminated at about the same time. Claus was to play the key role in the assassination attempt, since he was the only member of the resistance group with easy and regular access to Hitler. On 9.1.1944, Helmuth James, Graf v. Moltke, was arrested and meetings of the Kreisauer group came to an end. Despite v. Moltke’s reservations, most members of the group supported the planned assassination. Later, in July 1944, Julius Leber and Adolf Reichwein were arrested. At that time, Claus decided to personally carry out the assassination, after several prior attempts had miscarried. At a meeting with Hitler on 11.7.1944, at the Berghof, Berchtesgaden, Claus was advised not to activate the bomb he carried because neither Göring nor Himmler were present. On 15.7.1944, at the Führer’s headquarters “Wolfsschanze” (Rastenburg, East Prussia), Claus was ready to set the bomb and so advised the military principals in Berlin, who requested that Claus delay the attempt because Himmler had not appeared at the Wolfsschanze. Preliminary activities in Berlin were camouflaged as a “practice drill”. On 20.7.1944, Claus and his adjutant, Werner v. Haeften, flew to the Wolfsschanze. They succeeded in activating only one of two planned bombs. At 12.35, he entered the conference room, placed the bomb, but not exactly where he had wished, as the room was crowded, and left “to answer an urgent call from Berlin.” The bomb exploded at 12.42, killing 4 of the 24 persons in the room, wounding the rest, some seriously. By an odd happenstance, Hitler had been protected by the massive oak conference table and was only lightly wounded. Nevertheless, Claus thought, from what he had seen, that the attempt was successful and flew to Berlin, where a conflicting report had already reached Olbricht. At 15.00, Operation Walküre was finally activated, but with Fromm withdrawing his support. At 17.00, a radio broadcast announced that Hitler had survived the attempt, and military support for the coup melted away. At 22.30, Claus was arrested by officers loyal to the regime, and Fromm ordered the immediate execution of the known conspirators. This was due, perhaps, to camouflage his own involvement, and that of others. During the night, the following were shot on orders of Fromm and buried (in uniform with their decorations). A day later, Hitler ordered the bodies dug up and burned. Generaloberst (ret.) Ludwig Beck (1880- 20.7.1944), former Chief-of-Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Generalleutnant Werner Freiherr v. Fritsch, later Generaloberst Franz Halder. He had resigned (18.8.1938) because of Hitler’s policies in the Czech crisis, and was then asked to take retirement. Oberst Claus Schenk v. Stauffenberg (1907-20.7.1944), Chief-of-Staff, Home Army Leutnant Werner v. Haeften (1908-20.7.1944), Adjutant to v. Stauffenberg General Friedrich Olbricht (1888-20.7.1944), Commander, General Army Office Oberst Albrecht Ritter Mertz v. Quirnheim (1905-20.7.1944), Chief-of-Staff, General Army Office Other members of the resistance group were arrested soon afterwards, including Berthold v. Stauffenberg. Many suffered a slow and terrible death by strangulation in Plötzensee prison (Berlin). Those executed a few days later in Plötzensee included: Generalfeldmarshall Erwin v.Witzleben (1881-8.8.1944) Generaloberst Erich Hoeppner (1886- 8.8.1944) Generalmajor Helmuth Stieff (1901- 8.8.1944) Generalleutnant Paul v. Hase (City Commander-Berlin) (1885-8.8.1944) Oberstleutnant Robert Bernardis (1908- 8.8.1944) Hauptmann Friedrich Karl Klausing (1920- 8.8.1944) Oberleutnant Albrecht v. Hagen (1904- 8.8.1944) Oberleutnant (res.) Dr. Peter, Graf Yorck v. Wartenburg (1904-8.8.1944) Dr. Berthold Schenk, Graf v. Stauffenberg (1905-10.8.1944) Marine Oberstabsrichter (navy court judge) Oberleutnant (res.) Fritz-Dietlof, Graf v. d. Schulenburg (1902-10.8.1944) Korvettenkapitän Alfred Kranzfelder (1908-10.8.1944) (Commander-Navy) Family members of the resistance group were also arrested. Some were also to have been killed but many escaped death owing to 62 - Preservings No. 26, 2006
the rapid Allied advance. In total, the execution of some 200 persons was directly linked to the attempt of July 20. Included with later causalities were: Generalfeldmarshall Erwin Rommel (1891-14.10.1944) Commander Army Group B. He was in essence forced to commit suicide. Generalfeldmarshall Günther v. Kluge (d. 19.8.1944) Commander-in-Chief, West. Committed suicide. Generaloberst Friedrich Fromm (1888- 12.3.1945) Commander-in-Chief Home Army Generalleutnant Karl-Heinrich Stülpnagel (1888-30.8.1944) Military Commander-in- Chief, France Admiral Wilhelm Canaris (1887-9.4.1945), Chief, Amt Ausland/Abwehr (foreign counterintelligence, to 1944) Dr. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (1884- 1.2.1945) former Mayor-Leipzig and Reichs Commisar for Prices (resigned 1937) Dr. Julius Leber (1891-5.1.1945) (former Reichstag deputy) Dr. Adam v. Trott zu Solz (1909-26.8.1944), legation counselor-Foreign Office Oberstleutnant (res.) Dr. Cäsar v. Hofacker (1896-20.12.1944), a cousin of Claus, aide to Stülpnagel The significance of the coup attempt of July 20 is twofold. Firstly, had the assassination itself been successful, which it very nearly was, the plans of the resistance group would likely have been implemented in full, with an earlier end to the war, and the saving of very many lives indeed. Nazi officials would have been prosecuted by Germans themselves, instead of through the Allied tribunals. Secondly, although unsuccessful, it demonstrated to the world, as it still does today, that many prominent Germans were willing to risk their lives to save the honour and lives of their fellow countrymen in the struggle against the Nazi regime. Today, there is a museum at the Plötzensee prison commemorating the resistance, and those who died in August, 1944 (I visited this museum in 1980, not knowing, at the time, of any Mennonite connection with the v. Stauffenbergs). The name of the Bendlerstraβe has been changed to Stauffenbergstraβe, and the former HQ building houses the German Resistance Memorial Centre Endnotes 1 Titles Used Titles of Nobility (in order of rank): (1) German- Fürst (female-Fürstin), English- Prince/Princess (2) Ger.- Herzog/Herzogin, Eng.-Duke/Duchess, Fr.- Duc/Duchesse (3) Ger.- Markgraf/Markgräfin, Eng.- Marquis/Marchioness, Fr.- Marquis/Marquise (4) Ger.- Graf/Gräfin, Eng. Earl/Countess, Fr.- Comte/Comtesse (5) Eng.- Viscount/Viscountess, Fr.- Vicomte/Vicomtesse (6) Ger.- Freiherr/Freifrau (also Baron/Baronin), Eng.- Baron/Baroness, Fr.- Baron/Baronne. The lesser nobility includes (7) Baronet (Eng. only) (8) Ger.- Ritter, Eng.- Knight, Fr.- Chevalier. The English “Margrave” applies to foreigners titled Markgraf. The English “Count” applies to foreigners titled Graf/Comte. In England, a Baron is usually addressed as Lord, and may sit in the House of Lords, along with the higher ranks. In Germany, the daughter of a Freiherr/Baron is a Freiin/Freifräulein/Baronesse. Military ranks: Generalfeldmarshall—Field Marshal Generaloberst—General General—Lieutenant-General Generalleutnant—Major-General Generalmajor—Brigadier (General) Oberst—Colonel Oberstleutnant—Lieutenant-Colonel Major—Major Hauptmann—Captain Oberleutnant—1 st Lieutenant Leutnant—Lieutenant 2 Generalmajor Henning v. Tresckow (1901-21.7.1944) committed suicide on the Russian front, the day after the attempted coup. References: Peters, K, Genealogy of Aron Martens (1754-1977), Winnipeg, 1977 (p. 25-47) Hoffmann, Peter, Graf von Stauffenberg und seine Brüder. Deutsch Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1992. Hoffmann, Peter, The History of the German Resistance 1933-1945, (tr.) The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1977. Johann S. Friesen (1853-1937), Aasel Friesen by great-grandson Roger Penner, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Medicine Hat, Alberta Johann S. Friesen was the son of Jakob K. Friesen (1822-75) and Katharina Schierling (1820-1909). Johann S. Friesen married Anna Barkman, daughter of Peter K. Barkman (1826-1917), owner of Steinbach’s first steam mill in 1880. The Johann S. Friesen family belonged to the “Friesens” Gemeinde of Joh. Friesen. They visited frequently at the home of Abr. F. Reimer, Steinbach, Borosenko. Johann S. Friesen must have been an enterprising individual. On June 11, 1872, he sold a mill to Abr. S. Friesen for 250 ruble. By 1874 the family, together with his parents, lived in the village of Nikolaithal, Zagradovka Colony, a new Molotschna daughter colony in Cherson Province, 100 miles west of Borosenko. In 1874 Johann and his young bride immigrated to America. During the journey they were accosted by thieves, whose robbery attempt was thwarted by the resolute response of Anna, by all indications a feisty woman. She recorded the events of the robbery in a journal that she kept. The young couple settled on Wirtschaft 17 in the village of Steinbach. In 1883 they sold their Wirtschaft to the widow Isaac L. Plett and moved to Blumenfeld. In 1896 the Johann S. Friesen family was resident in Hochstadt. For a few years they lived in Winnipeg, but in later years they moved back to Steinbach. Sources: Delbert F. Plett, “Peter K. Barkman 1826-1917,” in Preservings, (9) (1996): 41-46, has some information on this couple as well as a photograph. Johann S. Friesen (1853-1917), Anna Barkman Friesen (1854-1923) and their son. Klaas J. B. Reimer, “Historical Sketches.” Preservings No. 26, 2006 - 63
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D.F. Plett Foundation Names Executi
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Interior of the church in Witmarsum
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An engraving of Menno Simons by Pie
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this first wave of persecution. Som
Page 11 and 12: The Frisian-Flemish Division Causes
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Page 15 and 16: Inter-church conversations with the
Page 17 and 18: concerning the Points of the Christ
Page 19 and 20: to their children, for all inherita
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Page 29 and 30: The history of Mennonites in Amster
Page 31 and 32: Rembrandt van Rijn 1606-1956 . Van
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Page 37 and 38: Biographies Aeltester Johann Loeppk
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Page 45 and 46: Tribute to Aeltester Herman J. Buec
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Page 53 and 54: Hamm Family Journals Translated by
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Page 85 and 86: Another Look at the Creation-Evolut
Page 87 and 88: Hutterite Life Hutterite Christmas
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Page 93 and 94: Mennonitische Forschungsstelle Gary
Page 95 and 96: For the 3,000 dead in the fall of t
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