Ludwig Freiherr von Leonrod
Ludwig Freiherr von Leonrod
Born(1906-09-17)17 September 1906
Munich, Bavaria, German Empire
Died26 August 1944(1944-08-26) (aged 37)
Plötzensee Prison, Berlin, Nazi Germany
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Allegiance Weimar Republic (to 1933)
 Nazi Germany
Service/branchArmy
Years of service1926–44
RankMajor
Battles/warsWorld War II
AwardsIron Cross

Ludwig Freiherr von Leonrod (17 September 1906 – 26 August 1944) was a German Army officer who took part in the 20 July plot to kill Adolf Hitler. He was a descendant of the von Leonrod noble family.

Leonrod was born in Munich and joined the Reichswehr on 1 April 1926 in the Reiter (Cavalry) Regiment 17 in Bamberg next to Claus von Stauffenberg.[1] In World War II Leonrod was severely wounded in late 1941 on the Eastern Front and remained unfit for front service.

In December 1943 Stauffenberg informed Leonrod about the plans for a coup d'état. Leonrod asked chaplain Hermann Josef Wehrle, who was later sentenced to death for his knowledge, about the theological justification of a tyrannicide.

Leonrod was supposed to become a liaison officer in military district VII (Munich). After the plot failed, Leonrod was arrested by the Gestapo on 21 July 1944, sentenced to death by the Volksgerichtshof on 21 August and hanged on 26 August at Plötzensee Prison.[2]

Leonrod was married to Monika née von Twickel since 1943.

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Notes

Regarding personal names: Freiherr was a title before 1919, but now is regarded as part of the surname. It is translated as Baron. Before the August 1919 abolition of nobility as a legal class, titles preceded the full name when given (Graf Helmuth James von Moltke). Since 1919, these titles, along with any nobiliary prefix (von, zu, etc.), can be used, but are regarded as a dependent part of the surname, and thus come after any given names (Helmuth James Graf von Moltke). Titles and all dependent parts of surnames are ignored in alphabetical sorting. The feminine forms are Freifrau and Freiin.

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