Stauffenberg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Stauffenbergs are an old Catholic south German family, whose best known member was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, an Army officer who was the central figure in the July 20 plot to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944.
The Stauffenbergs originally came from near Hechingen in Württemberg, and gained the rank of Freiherr (Baron) in 1698 and also held the title Schenk (cupbearer). Marquard Sebastian Schenk von Stauffenberg was Bishop of Bamberg in the 17th century and Johann Franz Schenk von Stauffenberg was Bishop of Konstanz and Augsburg in the 18th century.
The Stauffenbergs were raised to the rank of Graf (Count) in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1874. After 1918, when the Weimar Republic abolished all noble titles, the family adopted the surname Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg to preserve the titles Graf and Schenk in their names.
[edit] Recent prominent members of the Stauffenberg family
- Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1907-1944), officer and resistance fighter
- Alfred Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg, Württemberg Army officer, father of Claus
- Caroline Gräfin Schenk von Stauffenberg (née von Üxküll-Gyllenbrand), mother of Claus
- Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg (1913-2006) wife of Claus
- Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1905-1944), brother of Claus, lawyer and resistance fighter
- Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1905-1964), twin brother of Berthold, historian
- Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg (1903-1945), wife of Alexander, aviatrix and engineer
- Berthold Maria Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg (born 1934), son of Claus, Army officer
- Franz Ludwig Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (born 1938), son of Claus, politician
