Fritz - Dietlof von der Schulenburg Fritz - Dietlof Graf von der Schulenburg - Tressow ( 5 September 1902 – 10 August 1944 ) was a German government official and a member of the German Resistance in the July 20 Plot against Adolf Hitler . Personal development . Von der Schulenburg was born in London , as his father Friedrich Bernhard Graf von der Schulenburg was the German Empire ' s military attaché in the British capital . His mother was Freda - Marie ( née von Arnim , 1873 ) . Von der Schulenburg and his four brothers as well as his sister Tisa von der Schulenburg grew up , as a result of the nature of their father ' s work , in various places , among them Berlin , Potsdam , Münster , and the family ' s mansion , Schloss Tressow , in northwestern Mecklenburg province . In accordance with traditional Prussia n noble practices , the children were at first strictly educated privately by a governess . In 1920 , von der Schulenburg passed his " Abitur " exam in Lübeck , and thereafter chose not to pursue a career as a military officer , which had been the family tradition , but rather he studied law at the universities of Göttingen and Marburg . At that time , he became a member of the Corps Saxonia Göttingen , a German student fraternity , and during his membership he sustained several sword cuts as a result of traditional fencing with swords . In 1923 , he did the state examination in Celle and became for the next five years a government trainee in Potsdam and Kyritz . In 1924 , he interrupted his training for three months and went on a steamship as a sailor to South America . In 1928 , he completed his training and became a graduate civil servant ( " Assessor " ) in Recklinghausen . As a son of a prominent old Prussian noble family , Von der Schulenburg saw himself as part of the national élite , which was defined by the two pillars of the state , the military and the civil service . Citizens outside these structures were to him , at best , " civilians " — or simply the mob . However , this élite saw itself in a patriarchal role in which officials and military men had a duty to act in the people ' s best interests . For this reason , von der Schulenburg busied himself with such themes as agrarian debt and land reform . His romantic vision of the farming community and of social justice soon brought him the nickname " roter Graf " ( " the Red Count " ) from his colleagues . Joining the Nazi Party . Von der Schulenburg ' s first contacts with the Nazi Party ( came in 1930 , and he became a member by 1932 , at about the same time as the rest of the family joined . In the same year , he was posted to East Prussia , where he helped build the Nazi rank and file . Von der Schulenburg could be counted among the followers of " north German " National Socialism characterized mainly by the brothers Gregor and Otto Strasser , who later were eliminated by Hitler . In March 1933 , von der Schulenburg was named to the government council in Königsberg and gained increasing influence , both as a government official and as a member of the Party . He married Charlotte Kotelmann in the same month . His new jobs at this time were mainly to establish " Gleichschaltung " ( the Nazi policy of forced " coordination " of societal groups ) among officials in the realm of his influence , and also to delegate jobs to NSDAP members . However , von der Schulenburg increasingly came into conflict with his superior , Erich Koch , the infamous Gauleiter of East Prussia . In 1934 he had himself transferred to the small town Fischhausen , west of Königsberg , as a district administrator . The conflicts with Koch increased as time went on , but in 1937 he was promoted by the Reich Interior Ministry and posted to Berlin as police vice president . His immediate superior was Berlin Police President Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf , who resisted having von der Schulenburg assigned for a long time . Contrary to expectations , however , the two very different officials got along well together . By 1939 , the year Hitler attacked Poland , von der Schulenburg was named acting " Oberpräsident " of Upper and Lower Silesia . By this time , the régime had come to view him as politically untrustworthy , and in 1940 he was barred from the Nazi Party . Wartime experiences . Despite military officials ' reservations about Adolf Hitler ' s plans for conquest , and despite shock over the seamy affair of Army Commander in Chief Werner von Fritsch ' s discharge in 1938 ( see " Blomberg - Fritsch Affair " ) , von der Schulenburg volunteered for service at the front with patriotic enthusiasm . After his superior , the " Gauleiter " and " Oberpräsident " Wagner , had been dismissed , his position as " Regierungspräsident " ( " Government President " ) in Breslau had become untenable anyway . Von der Schulenburg , a lieutenant in the reserves , went to the reserve battalion of Infantry Regiment 9 in Potsdam . With this elite unit , he participated in Russian Campaign and was awarded the Iron Cross , first class . However , not until his experiences in the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 - 1942 did he become a critic of Hitler ' s war . During this time , his job changed often , and in the end he returned to the reserve battalion in Potsdam . By this time he viewed his duty as organization of the resistance and the forcible removal of Hitler . Resistance movement . On the Eastern Front , the crises that became apparent involving provisioning , military leadership , and treatment of civilian populations in conquered lands gave von der Schulenburg reason to distrust the Nazis . His attitude towards National Socialism changed radically at this time . Von der Schulenburg observed with growing anxiety and disgust the lawlessness of the Nazi régime , and he made contacts with like - minded opposition forces from a spectrum of political circles , including Prussian aristocrats like himself . One of the greatest friends to the circle at that time was Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg , another son of a historically famous Prussian noble family . By 1942 , he was regularly taking part in the opposition Kreisau Circle ' s meetings . A remarkably forward - looking 1943 resistance - group plan for postwar Europe , co - authored by von der Schulenburg , says : As a nobleman , official and officer , von der Schulenburg had multiple contacts , which he used over time to recruit plotters . Due to these ties , especially with the civilian resistance circles about Carl Friedrich Goerdeler and the socialist group ( " Reichsbanner Schwarz - Rot - Gold " ) about Julius Leber , he stood out as an important link . By 1943 , von der Schulenburg had fallen under suspicion of working against the régime and spent a night under arrest . However , owing to his aristocratic status and connections , he was released . Attempted coup and sentence . Von der Schulenburg belonged to the inner circle of the plotters and was actively involved in the planning of Operation Valkyrie . He was designated by the plotters to head the Interior Ministry after Hitler was overthrown . On 20 July 1944 , von der Schulenburg found himself in the headquarters of the revolt , the " Bendlerstrasse " military intelligence headquarters in Berlin . There he was arrested on the same day , after the attempt on Hitler ' s life went awry . On 10 August 1944 he was tried at the notorious Nazi " Volksgerichtshof " . In this show trial , with the infamous Nazi henchman Roland Freisler presiding , von der Schulenburg explained his actions thus : During the trial von Schulenburg conducted himself with courage and never lost his nerve . At one point Freisler , who had been addressing von der Schulenburg as " Scoundrel Schulenburg , " inadvertently called him by his hereditary title " Count Schulenburg " — whereupon Schulenburg interrupted him by humorously saying , " Scoundrel Schulenburg , please ! " A furious Freisler instantly sentenced him to death . Von der Schulenburg was hanged at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin on the same day , Aug . 10 , 1944 . Family . Two of his daughters , Charlotte and Angela , married sons of Christabel Bielenberg , Nicholas and Christopher respectively ; another , Adelheid , married Grey Ruthven , 2nd Earl of Gowrie .