Wichard von Alvensleben (19 May 1902 – 14 August 1982) was a Captain of the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who defied orders from the government and freed several prisoners (including Fabian von Schlabrendorff) from the Waffen-SS as they were taken from Dachau concentration camp to Tyrol.
Biography[]
Wichard von Alvensleben was born on 19 May 1902 in Wittenmoor, Saxony-Anhalt, German Empire. In 1939, he joined the Wehrmacht as a Captain after studying law, agriculture, and forestry, and he was given the Iron Cross for his bravery after being wounded in Operation Barbarossa during World War II. In late April 1945, Alvensleben led a Wehrmacht unit to protect a group of 140 prisoners (including Fabian von Schlabrendorff) that were to be executed by the Waffen-SS. The outnumbered SS left the prisoners behind, and the Wehrmacht freed them. In the autumn of 1945, after only a few weeks in US Army prison, he was released and worked at a Lutheran charity organization, being a devout Christian. He died in 1982 at the age of 80.