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Gerhard ("Gerd") Helmuth Detloff Graf von Schwerin (23 June 1899 – 29 October 1980) was a German army General in World War II. As General der Panzertruppe, he was tasked with defending the city of Aachen while in command of the 116th Panzer Division "Windhund" (the "Greyhound Division").[1]
In February 1939, just before the outbreak of the conflict, von Schwerin, then with the rank of Major, at great personal risk made a covert approach whilst in London to the British Foreign Office's German Department. He suggested that if the British Government abandoned its policy of appeasement towards the III Reich and moved to a stance of open military opposition towards its escalating aggression in Europe, this would provide a rallying point and catalyst for elements in the Wehrmacht that were willing to stage a coup d'etat against the Nazi government. Frank Roberts, the Foreign Office official who dealt with the issue, dismissed the approach as purely an internal German matter.[2]
As the 3rd US Armored Division reached Aachen on 13 September 1944, the once-formidable 116th Panzer-Division, commanded by von Schwerin, had been reduced to 600 men, 12 tanks and no artillery pieces. In an attempt to prevent civilian casualties and to protect the city's historical architecture and relics (it was the ancient centre of Charlemagne's empire, or the First Reich), he left a letter at the telegraph office to be given to the American commander, General Courtney Hodges, informing him of his intent to surrender the city without contest. Later, when he learned that the Americans had stopped to regroup and an attack wasn't imminent he tried to retrieve the message but it had fallen into the hands of Nazi party functionaries. Upon learning of the note's contents Adolf Hitler ordered von Schwerin's arrest and trial for treason. With the aid of General Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt and Walter Model however he escaped death and received only a severe reprimand. He was then ordered to the Italian front and even promoted to General der Panzertruppe, commanding General of the LXXVI. Panzerkorps. On April 26, 1945 he was captured by the British Army, and subsequently released at the end of 1947. Although the town was heavily damaged by fighting after the note incident and his arrest and removal, post-war von Schwerin styled himself "The Savior of Aachen".
In May 1950, Schwerin was appointed as chief advisor on military issues and security policy to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and head of the covert government agency Dienststelle Schwerin (with the code name "Zentrale für Heimatdienst"), responsible for preparations for German rearmament. However, after he talked to the press about his work, he was replaced by Theodor Blank in October 1950. Schwerin subsequently was active as an advisor on military policy for the parliamentary group of the liberal Free Democratic Party of Germany.
Regarding personal names: Graf was a title, before 1919, but now is regarded as part of the surname. It is translated as Count. Before the August 1919 abolition of nobility as a separate estate, titles preceded the full name when given (Prinz Otto von Bismarck). After 1919, these titles, along with any nobiliary prefix (von, zu, etc.), could be used, but were regarded as part of the surname, and thus came after a first name (Otto Prinz von Bismarck). The feminine form is Gräfin.
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