In July 1944, senior German officers attempted to assassinate Hitler in the Wolf's Lair and bring the end of World War II closer. This was not the first attempt to assassinate Hitler, but it became quite sensational - as a result, the Fuhrer was wounded, but still survived.
Unsuccessful assassination attempts on Hitler
By the summer of 1944, after the loss of the Germans in the Battle of Stalingrad, many high-ranking figures in wartime Germany believed that Hitler’s leadership was dooming Germany to defeat, which was just a matter of time. They believed that in the event of Hitler's assassination, the Allies would also be more open to negotiations regarding the terms of surrender.
Hitler was often warned that all people from his immediate environment faced attempts to assassinate them. Reinhard Heydrich was killed in Prague in 1942, and there was also an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Goebbels.
Securing the Fuhrer
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Hitler took all measures to prevent such attempts. No one knew in advance the routes of his movement, whether he would fly by plane, or go by car or train. After 1940, he locked himself up in the office in Berlin or in his home in Berchtesgaden. Since 1944, his main home has been the Wolf's Lair at Rastenburg in East Prussia.
Getting close to Hitler was very difficult, and the security around him when he went out into society was very tough. Hitler did not allow anyone near him to be armed. Therefore, any attempt on his life had to be carefully planned.
Klaus von Stauffenberg.
The main participants in the conspiracies were:
- Ludwig Beck - former general at the age of 64;
- Wilhelm Canaris - Chief of Military Intelligence, 57;
- Hans Oster - Deputy Chief of Military Intelligence, 49;
- Helmut von Moltke - legal advisor to Canaris, 37;
- Heinrich von Stülpnagel - military governor of France, 58 years old;
- Karl Goerdeler - Commissioner of the Office of Prices, 60;
- Friedrich Olbricht - Colonel General, 58 years old;
- Henning von Treskov - Major General, 43 years old;
- Klaus von Stauffenberg - Colonel, Chief of Staff of the Army, 37 years old.
Of all the above, only Moltke was against murder. Count Klaus von Stauffenberg became a key figure, as he regularly met with Hitler, and could get into the "Wolf's Lair". Klaus von Stauffenberg was a career officer serving in North Africa, where in July 1943 he was wounded and lost his right arm and right eye.
Genning von Treskov.
As chief of the army, he met with Hitler frequently, and his presence at the meeting at the Wolf's Lair on July 20, 1944, would not have raised suspicion. Many who were involved in conspiracies in 1943 were arrested and imprisoned. The conspirators decided that this time Hitler must certainly be killed by a man who has a direct approach to him.
A previous attempt to assassinate Hitler before July 1944 was undertaken by Baron Henning von Treskov. The staff officer sent a bomb disguised in two bottles of brandy to Rastenburg to his friend Helmut Steff. The package was supposed to fly in the same plane with the Fuhrer, but the explosion did not work and the plane with Hitler landed normally in Rastenburg.
Another assassination attempt was made at an exhibition in Berlin. It was the only place where one could get close enough to Hitler. But at the last moment it turned out that Hitler's time at the exhibition had been reduced to 10 minutes, and the bomb had simply not been activated.
Stauffenberg and Adolf Hitler, July 15, 1944.
Operation Valkyrie
All hope of the conspirators was pinned on Stauffenberg's attempt. After a long stay in the hospital, Stauffenberg was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army. Friedrich Olbricht was the head of the supply department of the reserve army. Other conspirators also worked in the military department, in particular Treskov. Stauffenberg and Treskov already met in 1941, and Stauffenberg's appointment to the post was not accidental.
Stauffenberg - The main perpetrator of the assassination attempt
The conspirators named the operation by the code name "Valkyrie". When Stauffenberg arrived at the War Department, Treskov had to return to his unit on the Eastern Front. A big step forward in the development of Operation Valkyrie took place in June 1944, when Colonel Stauffenberg was appointed Chief of the General Staff.
Now he could attend all the meetings that were held under the leadership of Hitler. He first met Hitler on June 7, 1944. The German army collapsed on two fronts. The conspirators had to hurry.
Treskov sends a message to Stauffenberg from the Eastern Front:
However, in early July, a series of arrests took place in Germany. Stauffenberg did not know who would be next and what the Gestapo knew. The Gestapo was more interested in finding out who the conspirators met than in keeping them in cages without evidence. Stauffenberg decided to force things.
Bomb in Wolf's Lair
No one could even suspect that a war hero could plant a bomb in the Wolf's Lair.
Martin Bormann, Hermann Goering and Bruno Lerzer inspect the meeting room destroyed after the explosion.
Stauffenberg received word that the next conference with Hitler's participation would be July 20, 1944 at 13:00. Later, the beginning was postponed to 12:30. Stauffenberg in his briefcase crushed an ampoule of acid that was supposed to corrode the detonator wires. Activating the firing pin in this way, he placed the briefcase with the bomb near the leg of the table where Hitler was sitting.
After that, Stauffenberg found an excuse to leave the room, but a few seconds before the explosion, the briefcase was moved to the other side of the table from Hitler. Stauffenberg was already approaching the car when a powerful explosion sounded at 12:42. He was sure that Hitler was dead, but the oak table saved the Fuhrer, he received shrapnel wounds and survived.
Hitler's trousers after the assassination attempt.
At 16:00 Hitler told Mussolini: "I narrowly escaped death." Mussolini replied: "The sky has extended a hand of protection over you." Hitler said: "I will crush and destroy the criminals who dared to oppose themselves and me."
Consequences of a failed assassination attempt
After the murder in the "Wolf's Lair", a coup was planned in Berlin. But it was not well thought out.
Major Otto Roemer was sent to arrest leading Nazi Goebbels. At 18:45, the radio announced that an attempt had been made on Hitler's life and that it had failed, Hitler remained alive. Roemer did not arrest Goebbels, but contacted Hitler by phone and he confirmed to him that he was alive. Roemer received orders from Hitler to suppress the rebellion.
Judge Freisler reads the death warrant to the conspiracy.
The conspirators, including Stauffenberg, were captured, brought to the tribunal, and then shot. Treskov died on the Eastern Front, deliberately putting himself under machine-gun fire. This was the beginning of Hitler's revenge. All those involved in the conspiracy were arrested, tortured and executed. Many were brought before Nazi judges, who showed no mercy to anyone.