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The Secret Plot to Kill Hitler
The July Plot, led by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, was the closest anyone came to assassinating Adolf Hitler and overthrowing the Nazi government.
Many high ranking officers in the Wehrmacht (German Army) were appalled by the abhorrent crimes committed against civilians and enemy troops, which they believed to be morally wrong. Casualties among the German forces were enormous and many officers believed this was due to Adolf Hitler's insistence on pursuing disastrous offensive strategies.
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A growing number of army officers decided that the only way to save Germany was to eliminate Hitler and his supporters and stage a coup. They then hoped to negotiate a ceasefire with the Allies, who by July 1944 were progressing through France, and so have some hope of halting Stalin�s progress on the Eastern Front.
| This would be no easy task because the Fuhrer was closely guarded at all times and his schedule was unpredictable. Previous assassination attempts had been aborted or failed because Hitler's plans had |
changed at the last moment. He had become paranoid and reclusive and although he believed an attempt would be made on his life, he never suspected that it could come from within.
Stauffenberg was the only conspirator with regular access to the Fuhrer. He was a rising star in the Wehrmacht, a handsome, aristocratic German who was the youngest officer to gain the rank of colonel, but he had become disillusioned by the criminal slaughter of troops and civilians. Stauffenberg was well aware of the risk he was taking by volunteering to kill Hitler. He had been injured in North Africa the year before, losing his right arm, two fingers on his left hand and his right eye, which meant the task would be even more difficult to complete.
Stauffenberg was due to attend a briefing with Hitler at the German eastern military headquarters, the Wolf's Lair, in Rastenburg, East Prussia (now Ketrzyn, Poland) on 20th July 1944. Stauffenberg would arrive that morning with enough time to prime two bombs before the meeting at 13:30. He would ask to be seated near the Fuhrer, as Stauffenburg's injuries had left him with impaired hearing. This way he could be sure the bomb would be as near to its target as possible. Stauffenberg would be called from the room by his adjutant, Lieutenant Werner von Haeften, leaving the bombs behind.
Immediately after the explosion Stauffenberg and von Haeften would fly back to Berlin. General Erich Fellgiebel would send a signal to the Wehrmacht headquarters in Berlin confirming Hitler was dead before cutting all communications from the Wolf''s Lair. As soon as they received this message General Friedrich Olbricht and General Erich Fromm would initiate the coup. When Stauffenberg arrived in Berlin he would take control of the army with Field Marshall Erwin von Witzelben and General Ludwig Beck would be installed as the provisional head of government. Before Stauffenberg's arrival, Olbricht should have seized control of the radio stations and sent a telegram to all army districts informing them over the military takeover. |
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