Friedrich Olbricht was born in Germany in 1888. He fought in the German Army during the First World War and by 1938 had reached the rank of lieutenant general.

In 1940 Olbricht became chief of the General Army Office in Berlin. During the Second World War Olbricht became disillusioned with the leadership of Adolf Hitler and joined Ludwig Beck, Carl Goerdeler and Henning von Tresckow in the resistance movement.

Olbricht joined the July Plot and was the one who gave the signal to take over power after the assassination attempt on 20th July.

When it became clear that the assassination of Adolf Hitler had been unsuccessful, in an attempt to protect himself, Erich Fromm organized the execution of Olbricht, Claus von Stauffenberg and Werner von Haeften, in the courtyard of the War Ministry.