20 July plot

20 July plot. The 20 July plot was a failed attempt by senior Wehrmacht officers and German civilians to assassinate Adolf Hitler and seize control of the government of Nazi Germany. The conspiracy, centered around Claus von Stauffenberg, aimed to detonate a bomb during a military briefing at Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters in East Prussia. Although the explosion occurred, Hitler survived with minor injuries, leading to the immediate collapse of the coup attempt in Berlin and a brutal wave of reprisals orchestrated by the Gestapo and SS.

Background and motivations

By mid-1944, the deteriorating military situation on the Eastern Front and in Normandy convinced a growing circle within the German Army that Hitler's leadership was catastrophic. Key military figures like Henning von Tresckow and Friedrich Olbricht had been involved in earlier, unsuccessful plots, including Operation Valkyrie. Their motivations were multifaceted, encompassing moral revulsion against the crimes of the Nazi Party, such as the Holocaust and the Commissar Order, and a pragmatic desire to negotiate a separate peace with the Western Allies before a total defeat and Soviet occupation. The conspirators were influenced by broader circles of the German Resistance, including civilians like Carl Goerdeler and members of the Kreisau Circle.

Planning and conspirators

The operational plan relied on modifying the existing Operation Valkyrie, a contingency plan for internal disorder, to secure key communication centers, government districts in Berlin, and Paris after Hitler's death. The central figure was Claus von Stauffenberg, a staff officer with access to Hitler's briefings, who was tasked with planting the bomb. The political leadership was to be assumed by former Chief of the General Staff Ludwig Beck as head of state, with Carl Goerdeler as Chancellor. The network included senior officers like Friedrich Fromm, commander of the Replacement Army, and Erwin von Witzleben, alongside diplomats such as Ulrich von Hassell and officials like Johannes Popitz.

Execution of the plot

On 20 July 1944, Stauffenberg flew to the Wolf's Lair, carrying explosives in his briefcase. He placed the briefcase under a conference table near Hitler and left the room under a pretext. The bomb detonated at approximately 12:42 PM, devastating the briefing hut. Believing Hitler was dead, Stauffenberg flew back to Berlin to activate Operation Valkyrie from the Bendlerblock. However, the briefcase had been moved, and Hitler was shielded by the heavy table leg, sustaining only minor injuries. In Berlin, co-conspirators Friedrich Olbricht and Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim initiated the coup, but confusion, delays, and the eventual opposition of Friedrich Fromm and loyal Wehrmacht units, after news of Hitler's survival spread via the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, caused the operation to stall and collapse within hours.

Aftermath and reprisals

The failure triggered a savage purge led by Heinrich Himmler and the Gestapo. That night at the Bendlerblock, Stauffenberg, Olbricht, Mertz von Quirnheim, and their aide Werner von Haeften were summarily shot by a firing squad on Fromm's orders. A subsequent show trial presided over by Roland Freisler at the People's Court led to the execution of key figures, including Erwin von Witzleben, Carl Goerdeler, and Ulrich von Hassell. The reprisals expanded into the Ehrenfeld Group arrests and the horrific executions filmed for Hitler, involving hangings with piano wire at Plötzensee Prison. Over 7,000 arrests were made, and nearly 5,000 people were executed, including field marshal Erwin Rommel, who was forced to commit suicide.

Legacy and historical assessment

The plot represents the most significant manifestation of the German resistance to Nazism. While it failed to overthrow the regime, it demonstrated a profound moral and political dissent within Germany's elite. Post-war, participants like Stauffenberg were honored in both West Germany and the German Democratic Republic, though interpretations varied. The Bundeswehr and the Federal Republic of Germany regard the conspirators as heroes, with 20 July commemorated as a day of remembrance. Historians debate the conspirators' mixed motives and late timing but widely acknowledge their act as a crucial ethical stand against tyranny, a legacy cemented in memorials at the Bendlerblock and in German public consciousness.

Category:World War II Category:German Resistance to Nazism Category:Assassination attempts