Franz Maria Liedig (2 February 1900 – 30 March 1967) was a ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official military branch, branche ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and member of the military resistance against

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Biography

Liedig volunteered the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly f ...

in October 1916, was educated at the

Naval Academy Mürwik A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

and served as an Artillery Officer on a

Torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

. After a short time of internment at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

in 1919, he started to study at the Technical University Munich. Liedig was a member of the

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

Marinebrigade Ehrhardt The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, also known as the Ehrhardt Brigade, was a Freikorps unit of the early Weimar Republic. It was formed on 17 February 1919 as the Second Marine Brigade from members of the former Imperial German Navy under the leade ...

, deployed in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

in 1919/20, and a participant of the

Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to ...

in March 1920. Liedig left the navy in September 1920 and was active in some rightwing organisations throughout the 1920s. Liedig studied law and worked as a lawyer. In 1936 he joined the ''

'' at the instigation of Admiral

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...

, who knew Liedig from the Freikorps episode. Here he came in contact to members of the German military resistance such as

Hans Oster ''Generalmajor'' Hans Paul Oster (9 August 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a general in the ''Wehrmacht'' and a leading figure of the anti-Nazi German resistance from 1938 to 1943. As deputy head of the counter-espionage bureau in the ''Abwehr'' (Ge ...

and

Hans von Dohnanyi Hans von Dohnanyi (; originally ''Johann von Dohnányi'' ; 1 January 1902 – 8 or 9 April 1945) was a Germans, German jurist. He used his position in the Abwehr to help Jews escape Germany, worked with German resistance to Nazism, German r ...

. Around September 20, 1938 the leading members of that opposition

Erwin von Witzleben Job Wilhelm Georg Erwin Erdmann von Witzleben (4 December 1881 – 8 August 1944) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''Wehrmacht'' and ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (Commander in Chief in the West), during the Second World ...

Hans Bernd Gisevius Gustav-Adolf Timotheus Hans Bernd Gisevius (14 July 1904 – 23 February 1974) was a German politician, ''Gestapo'' and ''Abwehr'' officer and diplomat during the Second World War. He was a member of the Military Resistance, who actively part ...

, Hans Oster, Hans von Dohnanyi, and assumedly

Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (; 31 July 1884 – 2 February 1945) was a German conservative politician, monarchist, executive, economist, civil servant and opponent of the Nazi regime. He opposed anti-Jewish policies while he held office and was op ...

met

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

Captain Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz and Franz-Maria Liedig at Oster's house in Berlin. Heinz and Liedig were instructed to form an assault group to arrest Adolf Hitler. After Witzleben left that meeting, both decided to shoot Hitler if possible. The plans were abolished after the

Munich Conference The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

. On October 8, 1939, Liedig drove Hans Oster to the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

Military attaché in Berlin, Colonel Bert Sas. After Oster returned to the car, he told Liedig, that he just committed treason. In fact Oster informed Sas about the planned date of attack of the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

in the West. In 1940 Liedig became the

Military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

at the German embassy in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

and later on in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In February 1944 he was removed as the First Officer of the

German cruiser Köln was a light cruiser, the third member of the that was operated between 1929 and March 1945, including service in World War II. She was operated by two German navies, the and the . She had two sister ships, and . was built by the in Wilhel ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. After von Dohnanyi, Oster and Canaris were arrested by the Gestapo and the

20 July plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...

failed, the plans of 1938 were found on September 22, 1944, at the

and Liedig was arrested in November 1944. He was imprisoned at several concentration camps like Flossenbürg,

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

and finally transferred to Niederdorf amongst about 140 prominent inmates in late April 1945, where the SS left them behind.Peter Koblank:
Die Befreiung der Sonder- und Sippenhäftlinge in Südtirol
', Online-Edition Mythos Elser 2006 Liedig was a founding member of the

Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German language, German: , CSU) is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic and Conservatism in Germany, conservative List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. Having a regionali ...

in 1946 and their political executive in 1946 – 48. Liedig died in 1967.

References

External links

Marineoffiziere in der Widerstandsbewegung - Fregattenkapitän Dr. Franz-Maria Liedig
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liedig, Franz Maria 1900 births 1967 deaths German resistance members 20th-century Freikorps personnel Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Reichsmarine personnel Kriegsmarine personnel Kapp Putsch participants Buchenwald concentration camp survivors Dachau concentration camp survivors Flossenbürg concentration camp survivors