Karl Theodor von und zu Guttenberg

Karl Theodor von und zu Guttenberg   (deep politician)
Born	23 May 1921
Died	4 October 1972 (Age 51)
Nationality	German
Member of	Stauffenberg Service
German deep politician and hardline conservative anticommunist

Not to be confused with his grandson Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.

Karl Theodor Maria Georg Achatz Eberhart Joseph Buhl-Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg was a German deep politician. He belonged to the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU).

Family Background and Early Life

Guttenberg comes from the old Franconian noble family von Guttenberg, which dates back to the 12th century and was raised to the rank of imperial baron by Emperor Leopold I in 1700. The family is owner of large estates in Franconia (in Bavaria), and many hotels and spa facilities.

Guttenberg's father Georg Enoch Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg was picked up at 3:00 a.m. in the so-called Röhm Putsch on July 1, 1934 and was released after a few weeks - despite news of his death.

German and British Service

Karl Theodor became an officer candidate to the Wehrmacht in 1938, and served in the Second World War. In 1944 his uncle Karl Ludwig joined the military resistance against Adolf Hitler, which culminated in the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944. His uncle was executed.

Guttenberg was captured by the British in 1944, where he soon started working for British intelligence, in the propaganda radio station the Soldatensender Calais, among other things.

Post-War Politics

In 1946 he was a co-founder of the CSU in his home town of Stadtsteinach. From 1957 to June 6, 1972 he was a member of the German Bundestag.

He was parliamentary secretary of state in the Chancellor's Office in the government of Kurt Georg Kiesinger from 1967 until 1969, as well as the foreign policy spokesman of the CDU/CSU group in the Bundestag.

Guttenberg, who had been an informant for (and beneficiary of) the federal intelligence service BND for many years, and was directed under the code names "Drucker" and "Setzer", functioned as a link between the BND and the Chancellery.

Guttenberg was a hardline conservative anticommunist as well as a convinced proponent of European integration. His work was mostly within the field of foreign policy. He also became known for his opposition to the Brandt government's policy on detente with the Eastern bloc. He strongly opposed the government declaration of October 28, 1969, in which there was talk of "two states in Germany", a recognition of East Germany, for the first time. Guttenberg described this the following day before the Bundestag as "a dark hour for this house, for our people".

In 1965 Guttenberg was one of the main participants in the Huyn Affair, where he was part of a consultation pact concluded by Foreign Minister Schröder with Great Britain (implicitly against French interests) without the knowledge of the Chancellor.

In 1969 Guttenberg participated in the development of the Stauffenberg Service, a private intelligence service that collected information and wrote reports for the CDU and CSU. Guttenberg was involved in this work until June 1972, shortly before his death.

In 1957, he became a knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

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