{"id":31285,"date":"2026-05-04T17:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T17:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/?page_id=31285"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T10:33:55","slug":"kreisau-circle","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/european-history\/nazi-germany\/kreisau-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Kreisau Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kreisau Circle was\u00a0group of opponents of the Nazi Regime who met and\u00a0discussed their opposition towards Hitler and the Third Reich. Led by Helmut von Moltke<\/a>, many of these conversations were held at his estate, in Kreisau. Members of the Kreisau Circle came from a variety of backgrounds, though the\u00a0leading figures are examples of Aristocrats opposing the regime.<\/p>\n

\"The
The von Moltke estate in Kreisau, Silesia. Photo Robert Frieb via Wikimedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kreisau Circle<\/h2>\n

Members of the Kreisau Circle often had an interest in arts, literature, religion and were united in their dismay at the state of the Third Reich. Meetings of members of the circle discussed ways in which Germany could be bettered. As they came from a range of political and social backgrounds, they often disagreed on what they wanted Germany to be like. They did though, agree that change was needed.<\/p>\n

Areas that the group were in agreement on were that Hitler was leading Germany towards destruction. They wanted the state to be based on Christian values. Unlike many opposition groups, the Kreisau Circle looked largely to the East and the Soviet Union<\/a> for external support \u2013 though this view was not held by all associated with the Kreisau Circle.<\/p>\n

Plans for a Post Hitler State<\/h3>\n

The Kreisau Circle began constructing it\u2019s own vision of a post Hitler state. In 1943 they\u00a0created\u00a0their, \u201cBasic Principles for the New Order.\u201d This was their idea for what Germany ought to be like.<\/p>\n

The document, which was not published at the time, included the following statements:<\/p>\n

The law, which has been trampled on, must be restored and given authority over all orders of human existence.<\/p>\n

Freedom of belief and conscience is guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Destruction of the totalitarian constraint upon conscience and acknowledgement of the invioable dignity of the human person as the foundation of the legal and international order has to be aimed at.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Quoted from Third Reich Sourcebook.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kreisau Circle and the aim of removing Adolf Hitler<\/h3>\n

By this time the Kreisau Circle were clear that action had to be taken to rid Germany of Hitler. They had drawn up their principles, had discussed their ideas with members of the armed forces, Industrialists, the Church etc. They had communicated with foreign governments via a number of routes. What they did not have was a single, agreed, forumated plan for the overthrowing of Hitler. This was partly because the members of the circle had different positions on the structure of a post Hitler Germany; Partly because communications between members of the group were increasingly difficult as the war progressed and partly because they were communicating with other groups who were opposed to the regime. Indeed, many members of the Kreisau Circle were also aligned with other opposition and resistance movements.<\/p>\n

Arrest of members of the Kreisau Circle<\/h3>\n

The Kreisau Circle was brought to an end in 1944. First, when Helmut von Moltke was arrested, in January, 1944. Secondly, as some of it\u2019s members were implicated in the July Bomb Plot<\/a>,\u00a0and subsequently arrested.<\/p>\n

Not all of the members of the Kreisau Circle were arrested by the Gestapo. Many of those who were arrested had not actively plotted to overthrow the regime. Indeed in one of his final letters to his son, von Moltke stated that he was essentially going to be executed for having the audacity to think and have some ideas.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/h4>\n

The Kreisau Circle held largely informal meetings. It was rare for more than 3 or 4 members of the group to meet together due to security concerns.<\/p>\n

It is believed that only von Moltke and Yorck knew the names of all members of the Kreisau Circle. Again, this was for security purposes.<\/p>\n

There were only 3 occasions where more than ten members of the Kreisau Circle met together. These were held between September 1942 and the Spring of 1943: when the Basic Principles were being discussed and drafted.<\/p>\n

Germany 1919 \u2013 1945 Links<\/h2>\n

The Second Reich<\/h3>\n

Unification of Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Political systems within the Second Reich<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0German Society during the Second Reich<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Collapse of the Second Reich<\/a><\/p>\n

Weimar Republic<\/h3>\n

Interim Government<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Founding of the Weimar Republic<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Impact of the First World War on Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Treaty of Versailles and its impact on Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Weimar Constitution<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01919-1923: Years of Crisis?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Spartacist Uprising<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kapp Putsch<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Reparations<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hyperinflation in Germany, 1923<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01924-1928: A Golden Era?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a01925 Presidential Election<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Gustav Stresemann<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0German Foreign Relations 1919-1932<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Germany in the Great Depression<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Failings of the Weimar Republic<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Dada Movement<\/a><\/p>\n

Rise of the Nazi Party<\/h3>\n

The Munich Putsch<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Did the Economic Crisis of 1923 help the Nazi\u2019s?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Origins of the Nazi Party<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Rise of the Nazi Party<\/a><\/p>\n

Nazi Germany<\/h3>\n

Totalitarian Regime in Nazi Germany<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0How did Hitler consolidate power?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Mein Kampf<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nazi methods of control<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Opposition to the Nazi Regime<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Organisation of the Nazi Party<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Fuhrerprinzip<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kristallnacht<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Youth and Education<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Goering and the 2nd 4 Year Plan<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Anti-Jewish Boycott, 1933<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Nazi Anti-Semitism<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0DAF (The German Labour Front)<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Propaganda in Germany 1919-39<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Economic Policy of the Nazi Party<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Kreisau Circle<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0The Confessing Church<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Edelweiss Pirates<\/a><\/p>\n

Biographies<\/h3>\n

Ludwig Beck<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Bishop Clemens von Galen<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Carl Goerdeler<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Robert Ley<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Helmuth von Moltke<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Martin Niemoller<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Erwin Rommel<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Hjalmar Schacht<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Sophie Scholl<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Albert Speer<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Claus von Stauffenberg<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Fritz Todt<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kreisau Circle was\u00a0group of opponents of the Nazi Regime who met and\u00a0discussed their opposition towards Hitler and the Third Reich. Led by Helmut von Moltke, many of these conversations were held at his estate, in Kreisau. Members of the Kreisau Circle came from a variety of backgrounds, though the\u00a0leading figures are examples of Aristocrats… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":789,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":100,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-31285","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/31285\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schoolshistory.org.uk\/topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}