Born 16 June 1878 in Berlin, Otto von Stülpnagel pursued a military career in keeping with his family’s long tradition of military service. Commissioned in 1898 and accepted as a member of the Imperial General Staff, he received several decorations for distinguished service on the western front during World War I. Nominated for the Pour le Merité, Stülpnagel survived personnel cuts mandated by the Treaty of Versailles. Dismayed by accusations of German atrocities, he published an angry defence of German military conduct in a popular book entitled The Truth about German War Crimes in 1921. Promoted to the rank of Colonel (Oberst) in 1925 and Lieutenant General (Generalleutnant) in 1931, Stülpnagel played a leading role in the Reichswehr in conjunction with Kurt von Schleicher and Freiherr v