Germany’s aristocratic Schulenburg family were irreconcilably divided over Hitler—some followed him devoutly while others joined the Resistance. One brother was decorated with the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, the Third Reich’s highest military award. Another recruited Hitler’s would-be assassin for Operation Valkyrie.
This book chronicles the untold history of the Schulenburgs, whose clashes at the apex of German society illustrate the complex relationship between Nazis and the nobility. Their story spans the airborne campaigns and war crimes through Holland, Crete, Russia, Italy and Normandy, as seen through the eyes of warring siblings.

Edward Jarvis is an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of London, England. He is the author of six books, which all explore lesser-known cases from history.

Edward Jarvis
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 197
Bibliographic Info: appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9189-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4938-2
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Richard Corbett, CBE 1
Preface 3
Introduction 9
1. “Bewitched by English Ways”: The House of Schulenburg, 1865–1933 19
2. “United by Pain, Divided by Politics”: The Schulenburg Family and the Reich, 1933–1939 36
3. “A Statesman Bent Upon Action”: Diplomacy and Dissent in the East, 1934–1941 54
4. “The Land That Is in Need of Heroes”: War and Resistance, 1939–1943 71
5. “The Positions Will Be Held; If Necessary, to the Last Man!”: War and War Crimes, 1943–1944 88
6. “We Want to Create Sacred, Inviolable Law Again”: The July Plot, 1944 105
7. “Demanding a Better Future”: Survivors and Surviving, 1945 and Beyond 122
8. “A Grave Legacy”: Recriminations, Restitution, and Reconciliation 138
Appendix I—Schulenburg Family Tree 157
Appendix II—Biographical Notes 159
Appendix III—Timeline 179
Bibliography 183
Index 187