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Albrecht von Hagen (11 March 1904 – 8 August 1944) was a German jurist and a resistance fighter in the time of the
Albrecht von Hagen (11 March 1904 – 8 August 1944) was a German jurist and a resistance fighter in the time of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
Life
Von Hagen was born in Langen,Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
(today Łęgi), on the manor of the original East Brandenburg-Pomeranian noble family in which he was rooted. After studying law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
in Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, where he joined the Corps Saxo-Borussia Heidelberg (a Studentenverbindung
(; often referred to as Verbindung) is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousan ...
), and in Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
, where he did his articling, he worked for the Osthilfe (a Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
programme for developing the agrarian economy in eastern Germany) and a private bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
. In 1935, he willingly took part in Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
officer training courses, so that at the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, he entered the military as a lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in the reserves. During an assignment in the Africa campaign, he got to know Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
Despite ...
, under whose influence he joined the resistance movement against the Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
. The plotters got Von Hagen his post at the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, where he was responsible for the courier service between military posts in Berlin and the so-called ''Führerhauptquartier "Wolfsschanze
The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II.
The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ost ...
"'' (the Wolf's Lair, Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's secret military headquarters near Rastenburg in East Prussia). In May 1944, Hagen, together with Joachim Kuhn, arranged for the explosive that was to be used in the attempt on Hitler's life. It was delivered through Hellmuth Stieff to Claus von Stauffenberg, who used it in the attack on the Wolf's Lair on 20 July 1944.
Von Hagen was arrested straightaway after the failed attempt to assassinate the Führer. A few days later, his family was also taken into custody. On 8 August 1944, the '' Volksgerichtshof'' sentenced him to death in a show trial, and Von Hagen was hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
later the same day at Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison (german: Justizvollzugsanstalt Plötzensee, JVA Plötzensee) is a juvenile prison in the Charlottenburg-Nord locality of Berlin with a capacity for 577 prisoners, operated by the State of Berlin judicial administration. The d ...
in Berlin. In his farewell letter to his wife is the line:
:''... mit meinem Schicksal kann ich nicht hadern.''
:("... with my fate I cannot quarrel.")
Von Hagen was a Knight of Honour of the Order of St John.
Literature
*Dagmar Albrecht, ''Mit meinem Schicksal kann ich nicht hadern. Sippenhaft in der Familie Albrecht von Hagen''; Berlin (Dietz) 2001 ()See also
*List of members of the 20 July plot
On 20 July 1944, Adolf Hitler and his top military associates entered the briefing hut of the Wolf's Lair military headquarters, a series of concrete bunkers and shelters located deep in the forest of East Prussia, not far from the location of t ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hagen, Albrecht von 1904 births 1944 deaths People from the Province of Pomerania Protestants in the German Resistance German jurists Executed members of the 20 July plot German Army officers of World War II Heidelberg University alumni University of Königsberg alumni People executed by hanging at Plötzensee Prison German people executed by Nazi Germany