Udo von Alvensleben

His youngest brother was the officer Wichard von Alvensleben (1902–1982), who became known through the liberation of prominent SS hostages in late April 1945.

In 1920, Alvensleben took over the management of the Wittenmoor estate and continued his studies in Berlin, which he expanded to include law, economics, diplomacy and archaeology.

Diary entries show the man who was influenced by war experiences as an intellectual and spiritual seeker; in 1926 he visited Romain Rolland in Villeneuve on Lake Geneva.

Park and manor at Wittenmoor experienced a heyday in its development with numerous guests, lively spiritual exchange and a lot of music.

[1] After the expropriation of his property by the so-called land reform in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany in 1945, Alvensleben lived as a refugee in his wife's parents' house, Haus Bodelschwingh near Dortmund.

Soon agricultural and forestry tasks were once again available when his wife inherited the neighbouring small estate of Wasserschloss Haus Rodenberg [de].

Alvensleben belonged to committees of the forestry industry, the Swedish-German Refugee Aid and the Central German Cultural Council, organised conferences, advised on questions of the restoration of historical gardens and continued his intensive research work.

His publications from this period include "Die Lütetsburger Chronik", the history of the Frisian chief family Knyphausen, and "Alvenslebensche Burgen und Landsitze" (Castles and landed estates of the Alvenslebens).