Alfred von Tirpitz
Schulze-Boysen was born in Kiel as the son of decorated naval officer Erich Edgar Schulze and Marie Luise (née Boysen). On his paternal side he was the grandnephew of Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz and on the maternal side, the German economist and philosopher Ferdinand Tönnies. In 1913 the family moved to Berlin when his father received a posting. His sister Helga was born a year later and his brother Hartmut was born in 1922 and died in 2013.