Walter Schellenberg
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| Walter Schellenberg | |
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| 16 January 1910 - 31 March 1952 | |
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| Place of birth | Saarbrücken, Germany |
| Place of death | Turin, Italy |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service/branch |  Schutzstaffel |
| Years of service | 1933-1945 |
| Rank | Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei |
| Unit | Sicherheitsdienst |
| Commands held | Chief of Amt VI, Ausland-SD |
| Awards | Iron Cross First Class Iron Cross Second Class War Merit Cross First Class with Swords War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords |
Walter (correctly Walther) Friedrich Schellenberg (16 January 1910 – 31 March 1952) was a German SS-Brigadeführer who rose through the SS to become, following the abolition of the Abwehr in 1944, head of foreign intelligence.
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[edit] Biography
Schellenberg was born in Saarbrücken, Germany, but moved with his family to Luxembourg when the French occupation of the Saarland after the First World War triggered an economic crisis in the Weimar Republic.
Schellenberg returned to Germany to attend university, first at the University of Marburg and then, in 1929, at the University of Bonn. He initially studied medicine, but soon switched to law. After graduating he joined the SS in May 1933. He met Reinhard Heydrich and went to work in the counter-intelligence department of the SD. From 1939 to 1942 he was Heinrich Himmler's personal aide and a deputy leader of the Reich Main Security Office under Heydrich who answered only to Himmler. In addition Himmler bestowed upon Schellenberg a unique position beyond that of a simple aide, making him his special-plenipotentiary (Sonderbevollmächtigter). Since Himmler held the position of general plenipotentiary to the whole Reichs administration (Generalbevollmächtigter für die Verwaltung), this effectively gave Schellenberg enormous influence within Nazi Germany.
In November 1939 Schellenberg played a major part in the Venlo Incident, which led to the capture of two British agents, Captain Sigismund Payne-Best and Major Richard Stevens. In 1940 he was charged to compile a list of 2300 prominent Britons to be arrested after a successful invasion of Britain. He also arranged many other plots of subterfuge and intelligence gathering, including the bugging of a Berlin brothel.
In 1940 he was also sent to Portugal to intercept the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and try to persuade them to work for Germany. The mission was a failure; Schellenberg managed only to delay their baggage for a few hours.
By the time he led the hunt for the Soviet spy ring Red Orchestra, Schellenberg had become a general (Brigadeführer) in the Allgemeine-SS (General-SS). Schellenberg had been involved in planning operations in neutral Ireland including Operation Osprey, a plan involving No.1 SS Special Service Troop.[1] According to his memoirs, he was a friend of Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr, whom he replaced in 1944. He was infamous for his "office fortress" desk, which had two automatic guns built into it that could be fired by the touch of a button.[2]
At the end of the War Schellenberg persuaded Himmler to try negotiating with the Western Allies through Count Folke Bernadotte and personally went to Stockholm in April 1945 to arrange their meeting. He was in Denmark attempting to arrange his own surrender when Allied troops arrested him in June 1945.
During the postwar Nuremberg Trials, Schellenberg testified against other Nazis. In the 1949 Ministries Trial he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, during which time he wrote his memoirs, The Labyrinth. He was released in 1951 on grounds of ill-health (a worsening liver condition) and moved to Switzerland before settling in Verbania Pallanza, Italy. The following year he died of cancer in Turin.
[edit] Fictional depictions
In 1976, Schellenberg was portrayed by Helmut Berger in the heavily fictionalized film version of the Salon Kitty incident, Salon Kitty, directed by Tinto Brass. He was also portrayed by Oleg Tabakov in the Soviet TV series Seventeen Moments of Spring, and featured in the Jack Higgins novel The Eagle Has Flown. Jack Higgins also depicted him in his novel The Judas Gate also known as To Catch A King. To Catch A King was filmed in 1984, directed by Clive Donner and with Horst Janson as Schellenberg. Additionally, Schellenberg is portrayed in the novel The Sands of Sakkara by Glenn Meade and is depicted in Timothy Findley's 1981 novel, Famous Last Words. Schellenberg is featured in Daniel Silva's 1996 spy thriller, The Unlikely Spy. He was featured as a main character in the Gordon Stevens book, And All the Kings Men. The author Stevens uses Schellenberg as the head of the SS in Britain after a successful Nazi invasion. He was fictionally depicted in German cartoons. Schellenberg also appears as a major character in Philip Kerr's 2005 novel, Hitler's Peace. One of the most convincing images of Schellenberg by general repute was by Oleg Tabakov: relatives of real Schellenberg sent a letter to actor after viewing the film (see above), expressing appreciation to Tabakov for his acting of "memorable nunky Walther". They also used the film as the media to remember Schellenberg and to give younger family members the feel of him.
[edit] Summary of his military career
[edit] Dates of rank
- SS-Mann - 10 January 1934
- SS-Sturmmann - 17 October 1934
- SS-Rottenführer - 15 January 1935
- SS-Unterscharführer - 15 May 1935
- SS-Scharführer 9 November 1935
- SS-Oberscharführer 13 September 1936
- SS-Untersturmführer - 20 April 1937
- SS-Obersturmführer - 30 January 1938
- SS-Hauptsturmführer - 1 August 1938
- SS-Sturmbannführer - 30 January 1939
- SS-Obersturmbannführer - 1 September 1941
- SS-Standartenführer - 21 June 1942
- SS-Oberführer - 21 June 1943
- SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei - 21 June 1944
[edit] Notable decorations
- Iron Cross Second Class
- Iron Cross First Class
- SS-Honour Ring
- War Merit Cross First Class with Swords
- War Merit Cross Second Class with Swords
- Honor Sword of Reichsführer SS
[edit] References and Notes
- ^ Later becoming SS Parachute Battalion 500 (SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500) an amalgamation of No.1 Troop and various penal battalions. Notably participating in Operation Rösselsprung, the raid against Tito's HQ. in 1944.
- ^ Infield, Glenn B. (1981). Skorzeny. New York: St. Martin's. pp. pages 22-23. ISBN 0-312-7277-1.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Walter Schellenberg |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Walter Schellenberg |
- Louis Hagen and Andre Deutsch, The Schellenberg Memoirs (André Deutsch, 1956)
- Walter Schellenberg, translated Louis Hagen, The Labyrinth (Da Capo, 2000)
