Friedrich Bernhard Karl Gustav Ulrich Erich Graf von der Schulenburg (21 November 1865 – 19 May 1939) was a German professional army officer who became a Royal Prussian Army general during World War I. He became a member of the Nazi Party during the inter-war period and joined the Nazi paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS), attaining the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer. He also served as a Nazi Reichstag deputy from 1934 to his death.

Early life Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg was born on 21 November 1865 as the second son of Count Werner von der Schulenburg (1832-1880) and his wife, Countess Marie Cäcilie von Maltzahn (1843-1900). Schulenburg entered the Royal Prussian Army in 1888 as a member of the 2nd Guards Uhlans. On 13 December 1888, he was commissioned a Leutnant. In 1890, Schulenburg was attached to the Life Guards. He spent time in the Prussian Staff College. In 1895, Schulenburg was promoted to Oberleutnant. In 1900, he joined the German General Staff and was considered a capable general staff officer. In 1900, Schulenburg was advanced to the rank of Hauptmann. From 1902 to 1906, he served as a military attaché at the German embassy in London. In 1907, Schulenburg was promoted to Major. On 18 February 1913, he became the commander of the Life Guards and aide-de-camp to Wilhelm II. On 2 September 1913, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant.

First World War At the outbreak of World War I, Schulenburg became the chief of staff of the Guards Corps commanded by Karl von Plettenberg. Schulenburg participated on the western front as part of the Guard Corps, which was part of the 2nd Army. In 1915, Schulenburg was promoted to Oberst. In 1916, Schulenburg became the chief of staff of the 5th Army replacing Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf, who held extremist political views. For a while, Schulenburg was the chief of staff of the 6th Army of Ludwig von Falkenhausen. In October 1916, he joined Wilhelm, German Crown Prince as chief of staff at the headquarters of the Army Group German Crown Prince. The two developed Operation Alberich which gave Germany some hope of winning the war. On 12 April 1917, Schulenburg received the Pour le Mérite. He added oak leaves on 23 March 1918. In June 1918, Schulenburg was promoted to Generalmajor. Schulenburg advised Wilhelm II to abdicate his title of German Emperor but keep the title of King of Prussia. He also advised Wilhelm II to order the army to fight against the revolutionary forces. Shortly after the end of the war, Schulenburg retired from the army in May 1919 and lived on his estate in Mecklenburg.

Involvement with the Nazi Party A member of the conservative German National People's Party, Schulenburg was elected as a deputy to the Reichstag from electoral constituency 35 (Mecklenburg) in December 1924 and served until the dissolution of March 1928. He still remained friendly with the former Crown Prince Wilhelm and had some profound political conversations. In December 1931, Schulenburg joined the Nazi Party (membership number 852,947). Since he had a good relationship with Kurt von Schleicher, he advised Adolf Hitler as liaison to the Reichswehr but he was not effective. In 1933, Schulenburg joined the Nazi paramilitary Sturmabteilung (SA) where he served on the Supreme SA Leadership and reached the rank of SA-Oberführer. He survived the Night of the Long Knives purge of 30 June to 2 July 1934 in which high-ranking SA officers were killed. In August 1934, he was appointed to a Reichstag vacancy in constituency 6, Pomerania. At the 1936 Reichstag election, he was returned for his former constituency in Mecklenburg, and retained that seat until his death.Friedrich Graf von der Schulenburg entry in the Reichstag Members Database In March 1936, Schulenburg transferred from the SA to the Schutzstaffel (SS number 162,240) and was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer on 30 January 1939. He died in Sankt Blasien on 19 May 1939. Hitler attended his funeral and met with Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, Schulenburg's son, who later joined the resistance.

Family On 21 July 1897, Schulenburg married Freda-Marie Gräfin von Arnim (1873–1939). They had 6 children:

Johann Albrecht (1898–1944) Wolf-Werner (1899–1944), SA-Brigadeführer Adolf-Heinrich (1901–1940), SA-Obersturmführer, married Jutta Freiin von Barnekow (1903–1945). They had two children: Sigrid Freifrau von Diergardt (1924–2013) and Friedrich Werner Graf von der Schulenburg (1927–1967, m. Suzanna/Susanna Huff) Fritz-Dietlof (1902–1944) Elisabeth (1903–2001) Wilhelm (1904–1936)

Awards and decorations Kingdom of Prussia: Order Pour le Mérite with Oakleaves Pour le Mérite (24 July 1917) Oakleaves (23 March 1918) Kingdom of Prussia: Order of the Red Eagle 2nd Class with Swords, Oakleaves and the Royal Crown (gazetted on 5 October 1918)Militär-Wochenblatt, 1918 4th Class with the Royal Crown Kingdom of Prussia: Order of the Crown, 3rd ClassPrussian War Ministry: Rangliste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und des XIII. (Königlich Württembergischen) Armeekorps für 1914, E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin, 1914, p. 353. Kingdom of Prussia: Royal House Order of Hohenzollern Knight's Cross with Swords (5 June 1915) Commander's Cross with Swords (gazetted on 12 January 1918)Militär-Wochenblatt, 1918 Kingdom of Prussia: Order of Saint John, Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) Prussian Ministry of State: Handbuch über den Königlich Preußischen Hof und Staat für das Jahr 1918, E.S. Mittler & Sohn, Berlin, 1918, p. 38 Kingdom of Prussia: Iron Cross (1914) 1st and 2nd Class Kingdom of Prussia: Service Decoration Cross for 25 Years' Service Kingdom of Prussia: Centenary Medal Hohenzollern Principalities: Princely House Order of Hohenzollern, Honor Cross 2nd Class with Swords (9 October 1914)Richard Lundström & Daniel Krause: Verleihungen des Fürstlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern und der Goldene Ehrenmedaille mit Schwertern 1914-1947, Phaleristischer Verlag Michael Autengruber, Konstanz am Bodensee, 2008, p.11 Grand Duchy of Baden: Order of the Zähringer Lion, Commander's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (10 January 1918)Erhard Roth: Verleihungen von militärischen Orden und Ehrenzeichen des Großherzogtums Baden im Ersten Weltkrieg 1914-1918, Phaleristischer Verlag Michael Autengruber, Offenbach am Main, 1997, p. 38 Kingdom of Bavaria: Military Merit Order, 3rd Class with Crown and Swords (30 October 1914)Erhard Roth: Verleihungen von militärischen Orden und Ehrenzeichen des Königreichs Bayern im Ersten Weltkrieg 1914-1918, Phaleristischer Verlag Michael Autengruber, Offenbach am Main, 1997, p. 37 Kingdom of Bavaria: Military Merit Order, 3rd Class Duchy of Brunswick: Order of Henry the Lion, Knight's Cross 2nd Class Principality of Lippe: War Merit Cross Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin: House Order of the Wendish Crown, Knight's Cross Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin: Order of the Griffon, Knight's Cross Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin: Military Merit Cross, 1st and 2nd Class Grand Duchy of Oldenburg: House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis, Honor Knight's Cross 2nd Class with the Silver Crown Kingdom of Saxony: Albert Order, Knight's Cross 1st Class Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Order of the White Falcon, Knight's Cross 2nd Class Saxon Duchies: Ducal Saxe-Ernestine House Order, Commander's Cross 1st Class Austria-Hungary: Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class with War Decoration Kingdom of Belgium: Order of Leopold II, Commander Kingdom of Denmark: Order of the Dannebrog, Knight Republic of France: Legion of Honor, Officer Kingdom of Greece: Order of the Redeemer, Commander United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Royal Victorian Order, Commander Kingdom of Italy: Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, Officer Kingdom of Romania: Order of the Crown of Romania, Knight Kingdom of Sweden: Order of the Sword, Knight Kingdom of Thailand: Order of the White Elephant, Officer Nazi Germany: Golden Party Badge of the NSDAP (1 April 1938)Klaus D. Patzwall: Das Goldene Parteiabzeichen und seine Verleihungen ehrenhalber 1934–1944. Studien der Geschichte der Auszeichnungen, Volume 4, Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 2004, ISBN 3-931533-50-6, p. 86.

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