Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte

Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte (30 March 1907 – 7 July 1994) was a German paratroop officer during World War II who later served in the armed forces of West Germany, achieving the rank of General. Following the war, Heydte pursued academic, political and military careers, as a Catholic-conservative professor of political science, a member of the Christian Social Union political party, and as a Bundeswehr reservist. In 1962, Heydte was involved in the Spiegel affair. Early life Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte joined the Reichswehr in April 1925. In 1927, he was released from military service to attend Innsbruck University, receiving a degree in economics. In 1927, Heydte was awarded his degree in law at Graz University. He joined the NSDAP on 1 May 1933, obtaining membership number 2.134.193. He entered the Sturm Abteilung the same year. In 1935 Heydte re-joined the Reichswehr where he attended staff training. Meanwhile, Heydte had begun his academic career in international law in 1933 as a private assistant to Hans Kelsen in Cologne on Alfred Verdross's recommendation. Following Kelsen's dismissal in the wake of the Nazi seizure of power in Germany, Heydte became Verdross's assistant at the Consular Academy in Vienna (1933–1934). Because of his National Socialist activities, he had to leave the Consular Academy in 1934 and became an assistant to at the University of Münster.