The Plot That Almost Killed Hitler

Adolf Hitler often takes the spotlight as the chief perpetrator of some of the most horrific atrocities of the past 100 years. Hitler’s years of unprovoked aggression, culminating in the bloodiest and largest conflict in history, plus his effort to...

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Adolf Hitler often takes the spotlight as the chief perpetrator of some of the most horrific atrocities of the past 100 years. Hitler’s years of unprovoked aggression, culminating in the bloodiest and largest conflict in history, plus his effort to exterminate millions of Jews, Gypsies, and “undesirables” under the pretext of “racial purification,” still haunt the memories of those who survived and the generations that have followed. And while the Allies ended Hitler’s reign of terror, there was a chance to end it a bit sooner.

It was 80 years ago, in 1944, that a small group of highly ranked, diverse, and well-known German officials sought to put an end to the madman’s rule, and they nearly succeeded. The moment would soon be referred to as the “July 20th Plot” (also known as Operation Valkyrie).

Origins of the Plot

The origins of the July 20th Plot lie within the early years following Hitler’s ascension to power.

Some of the key minds behind the July 20th Plot began to reveal their opposition to Hitler earlier on. Many of the key conspirators were of an aristocratic background and held to a conservative nationalistic mindset. The Gestapo would label these conspirators “Schwarze Kapelle,” translated as “Black Orchestra.” Key civilian plotters included Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, who resigned as mayor of Leipzig in 1937 out of protest of Nazi policy; and Ludwig Beck, who initially supported Hitler because of their shared opposition to the Treaty of Versailles. Beck resigned as Chief of the General Staff of the German Army High Command due to Hitler’s aggressive war plans in 1938 and efforts to subordinate the German Army to the SS. (READ MORE from Hunter Oswald: Keir Starmer’s Win Signals the UK’s New Leftist Course)

While some of the plotters did commit horrific war crimes (notably, Generals Eduard Wagner, Arthur Nebe, and Wolf-Heinrich von Helldorf), others had more humanitarian impulses and resisted Hitler out of principle. The most notable of the principled conspirators was General Major Henning von Tresckow, who privately spoke out against Hitler’s regime in 1935 following the passage of the Nuremberg race laws. He became dedicated to deposing Hitler upon hearing of the mass killings of Jews in 1941.

The Plan: Operation Valkyrie

By 1944 the situation had become desperate for these men. Hitler’s genocidal agenda and defeats against the Allied forces brought on by his mismanagement of the war only fueled the resistance amongst the Wehrmacht. As Victor Davis Hanson wrote in his book, The Second World Wars: “a Wehrmacht general was confronted with two unique challenges: first, that he might have to risk his life or career to dissent from OKH [upper command of the army] and instead follow what he thought was a winning military strategy; and, second, his success meant the advance of Nazism’s uniquely homicidal agendas that had nothing to do with the art of war.” It was becoming clear to those in the Wehrmacht that Hitler was disgracing Germany and leading the country to its downfall. If Germany was to be saved from destruction, Hitler and his regime had to be deposed immediately. (READ MORE: With Tyranny and Injustice for All)

Fortunately for the conspirators, a young general recently wounded during the North African campaign would become the central figure of their plan: Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

Despite being a late addition to the conspirators, Colonel Stauffenberg had become intensely disillusioned by Hitler’s agenda. Above all, that agenda was at odds with Stauffenberg’s Catholic faith. He was plainly disgusted by the criminal nature of Hitler’s regime.

Unlike previous attempts to assassinate Hitler, the conspirators would make their move under an already existing contingency plan known as Operation Valkyrie. The operation was originally designed as a way of dealing with any civil unrest via military force. The conspirators managed to secure a modified version of the plan with the intention of “taking control of German cities, disarming the SS, and arresting key Nazi leaders in the wake of the plot.”

As they privately secured a modified version of Operation Valkyrie, more good news came to the conspirators. Colonel Stauffenberg was soon appointed as Chief of Staff to General Fromm, who was in command of the Reserve Army in Berlin, allowing him to attend conferences where he would be with Hitler personally. With Stauffenberg’s unique position near Hitler’s side, the only thing that needed to be done was to kill Hitler. The plotters would get their chance on July 20, 1944.

As Hitler, his top generals, and advisors gathered at the “Wolf’s Lair” (East Prussia), Colonel Stauffenberg would have the simple task of placing a briefcase, filled with explosives, close to Hitler. While everything was going to plan, a slight hiccup occurred. Instead of the meeting being held in the Führerbunker (the windowless basement), they moved to the main briefing room above ground. Stauffenberg managed to place the briefcase under the conference table near Hitler, soon leaving after receiving a pre-planned telephone call, but the briefcase was moved by Colonel Heinz Brandt. The explosion managed to kill four and injure 13 in the briefing room. Unbeknownst to the conspirators, Hitler would survive due to the unexpected protection of a solid-oak conference table leg.

Believing that Hitler was dead but having no confirmation, Stauffenberg immediately left for Berlin. Thereafter, with the conspirators, they initiated Operation Valkyrie, beginning the military coup against the Nazi regime and their recapture of Germany.

The Aftermath and Legacy

Despite the plotters’ optimism, they soon found that any celebration would be premature. It wasn’t long until chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels went on the radio informing all of Germany that Adolf Hitler was still alive. And when Hitler personally spoke on air, it was clear to all that the coup had failed. Before the day ended, Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators were arrested by General Fromm and given a kangaroo trial. The very next day, on the night of July 21, Stauffenberg, along with other plotters, was executed. In the following days and months, there was a purge by Hitler; nearly 7,000 were arrested and 4,980 were executed, all alleged to have been conspirators.

As for Tresckow, a day after the plot’s failure, he committed suicide using a hand grenade. Prior to his death, Tresckow told Adjutant General Fabian von Schlabrendorff:

The whole world will vilify us now, but I am still totally convinced that we did the right thing. Hitler is the archenemy not only of Germany but of the world. When, in few hours’ times, I go before God to account for what I have done and left undone, I know I will be able to justify what I did in the struggle against Hitler. None of us can bewail his own death; those who consented to join our circle put on the robe of Nessus. A human being’s moral integrity begins when he is prepared to sacrifice his life for his convictions.

The aftermath was swift and severe. As recounted by Stephen Ambrose in his book Citizen Soldiers, “The conspiracy, and Hitler’s retaliation against the officer corps, put a severe strain on the German army.” Even Erwin Rommel, three months after the plot, committed suicide, as it appeared he would have faced the same fate of the failed conspirators (the nature of his involvement has been debatable).

While the July 20th Plot failed, many still wonder about the precise effect it would have had if Hitler died that day. Would a new regime have secured peace with the Allies in the West? Would Stauffenberg and his fellow plotters have been accepted as Germany’s newest leaders?

What we do know is that the memory of their actions continue to live on. Several films, most notably the 2008, Valkyrie (starring Tom Cruise as Stauffenberg) have given audiences a good idea of how close the plotters came to success. Quite remarkably, as of 2002, new recruits of the German army take their oath on July 20th in honor of Stauffenberg and the conspirators.

The actions of the plotters were certainly courageous, with some of them noble and even heroic men. Despite their imperfections and failure, they did not fear public shame of their actions, nor did they fret the fate that awaited them if they did not succeed. They resisted Hitler’s tyranny and they sacrificed their lives for their country’s freedom, justice, and honor.

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