Friedrich Adam von Trott zu Solz was a German lawyer and diplomat who was involved in the conservative resistance to Nazism. A declared opponent of the Nazi regime from the beginning, he actively participated in the Kreisau Circle of Helmuth James Graf von Moltke and Peter Yorck von Wartenburg. Together with Claus von Stauffenberg and Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, he conspired in the 20 July plot and was supposed to have been appointed Secretary of State in the Foreign Office and lead negotiator with the Western Allies if the plot had succeeded.
Trott zu Solz in 1943
Adam von Trott zu Solz and his father, c. 1925
Trott zu Solz on trial at the Volksgerichtshof, 1944
Inscription in the chapel of Mansfield College, Oxford in memory of alumni including Trott zu Solz
The Kreisau Circle (1940–1944) was a group of about twenty-five German dissidents in Nazi Germany led by Helmuth James von Moltke, who met at his estate in the rural town of Kreisau, Silesia. The circle was composed of men and a few women from a variety of backgrounds, including those of noble descent, devout Protestants and Catholics, intellectuals, military personnel, socialists and conservatives. Despite their differences, the members of the Kreisau Circle found common interest in their opposition to Hitler's regime on moral and religious grounds. At their meetings, the circle discussed how they would reorganize the German government after the end of the Third Reich.
The Kreisau Circle signet
The von Moltke estate in Kreisau, Silesia
Helmuth James von Moltke, founder of the Kreisau Circle.