Wartime Experiences
Despite the officials' reservations about Adolf Hitler's plans and despite the shock after the affair over Werner von Fritsch's discharge (1938; see Blomberg-Fritsch Affair) at which the Reichswehr's old leadership had been virtually purged, von der Schulenburg volunteered for service at the front with enthusiasm. After his superior, the Gauleiter and Oberpräsident Wagner, had been dismissed, his position as Regierungspräsident ("Government President") in Breslau had become untenable anyway.
Since he was a lieutenant in the reserves, von der Schulenburg went to the reserve battalion of Infantry Regiment 9 in Potsdam. With this unit, he moved into the Russian Campaign and there received the Iron Cross, first class. However, not until his experiences at the front did he become a critic of the war in 1941-1942. During this time, his job changed often, for example, reporting back to the Ministry of Nutrition, ordinance officer in the Crimea, and in the end he came back to the reserve battalion in Potsdam. He saw his actual job in the organization of the resistance and the forcible removal of Hitler.
Read more about this topic: Fritz-Dietlof Von Der Schulenburg
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