Sippenhaft

Last evening, I watched "Valkyrie," starring Tom Cruise. Although I was aware of this unsuccessful 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler -- headed by a Nazi military officer, Count Claus von Stauffenburg -- I wanted to see the dramatization of it to understand more about it, and also because I generally like Tom Cruise movies.

Count von Stauffenburg's plot was foiled and he was executed along with others involved in the event. I then wanted to know about the Count's wife, Nina Schenk Grafin von Stauffenburg, and what happened to her, after her husband's anti-Nazi treachery. They had four children when he was executed and his wife, Nina was pregnant with their fifth child, born after his death.
As the result of Count von Stauffenburg's failed attempt, his wife and family were subjected to "Sippenhaft." I didn't know this word, but it didn't sound good.

Sippenhaft means "bad blood" and/or "kin liability." It is an ancient concept that many other countries developed and used before the Nazis incorporated the practice into their laws. It is among the ways that the Nazis kept discipline in their country during the war, because if you were convicted of some heinous act -- treason, cowardice, espionage -- you could cause your family to be severely punished also, as a way of eliminating the "bad blood" in the perpetrator's lineage -- and the "bad blood" in future generations.

The rule of Sippenhaft exposed your family and extended family to horrible punishment -- perhaps even death -- as the result of your act. Count von Stauffenburg's wife, Nina, was arrested and imprisoned; her children were taken from her as the result of the Count's attempt on Hitler's life. Later, after the war, Nina was reunited with her children.

Nina von Stauffenburg never remarried and lived to the age of 92, passing away in 2006.



Nina Schenk and Claus von Stauffenburg in 1933. They were married two months after this picture was taken.