He is notable for unwittingly helping to place the 20 July plot bomb that was intended to kill Adolf Hitler.

On 20 July 1944, he held the rank of Major and arrived at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia for a situation conference attended by Hitler.

Also, there as a subordinate to Field Marshal Keitel was Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who arrived clutching a briefcase.

Stauffenberg at first refused, but then relented upon approaching the conference room, and he asked von Freyend to put him as near as possible to Hitler so that "I catch everything the Führer says for my briefing afterwards".

Freyend placed the briefcase by the conference map table to the right of General Adolf Heusinger, who was standing next to Hitler, and Stauffenberg adjusted its position.