Karl Freiherr von Thüngen
Karl Freiherr von Thüngen was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who was executed in 1944 after the failed 20 July Plot.Biography
During World War II, Thüngen served on the Eastern Front, in 1942 and 1943 with the 18th Panzer Division. On 6 April 1943 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 20 July 1944, he was appointed by the conspirators as the commander of the defense group III, succeeding the arrested General Joachim von Kortzfleisch. He did not follow the conspirators' orders and later took part in the interrogation of Major Hans-Ulrich von Oertzen, a supporter of the plot under his command.
He was nevertheless subsequently arrested by the Gestapo. He was dismissed from the army by the court of honor and was then tried by the People's Court, sentenced to death by Roland Freisler on 5 October 1944 and shot by firing squad in Brandenburg-Görden Prison on 24 October 1944.Family
Karl Freiherr von Thüngen was the son of Karl Ernst Freiherr von Thüngen and Eva Elisabeth Maier. He was married twice. His first marriage took place on 11 February 1919 to Margit Edle von Schultes. On 5 April 1934 he married Marie Freiin von Michel-Raulino. Karl Freiherr Michel von Tüßling was her cousin.
