Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz

Gero von Schulze-Gaevernitz (b. Freiburg, Germany, 27 September 1901; d. Canary Islands, 6 April 1970) was a German economist. He became a crucial assistant of Allen Dulles in Europe and was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1945 for his skillful negotiations in Ascona, Switzerland, for the surrender of a million Nazi forces in World War II, with specific reference to Italy (Operation Sunrise). He was the son of Gerhart von Schulze-Gävernitz, professor of Political Science at Freiburg University and a member of the Weimar parliament (b. Breslau, Silesia, 25 July 1865 - d. Krainsdorf, Silesia, 10 July 1943). His mother was Johanna Hirsch, (b. Mannheim, Germany, 23 May 1876 - d. Ascona, Switzerland, 1938).

Von Schulze-Gaevernitz had two sisters: Ruth Gaevernitz, a historian; and Margiana von Schulze-Gävernitz, who married entrepreneur and philanthropist Edmund Stinnes.