20 July Plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The name Operation Valkyrie, originally referring to part of the conspiracy, has become related to the plot. The idea behind the assassination was to seize political control of Germany and its armed forces from the Nazi Party (including the SS) and to make peace with the Western Allies as soon as possible.
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| Location | Wolf's Lair, East Prussia Coordinates: 54°04′46″N 21°29′37″E / 54.079344°N 21.493544°E |
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The plot was a plan by several groups in the German resistance to overthrow the Nazi German government. Stauffenberg planted a bomb close to Hitler since he was presented with him in the conference meeting. The bomb failed to kill Hitler since one of the participants had unwittingly moved the bomb away from Hitler. Also, the table absorbed much of the blast as a result. The failure of the assassination attempt and the intended military coup d'état that was to follow led the Gestapo to arrest more than 7,000 people of whom they executed 4,980.[1]
20 July Plot Media
Battle fronts in Europe as of 15 July 1944
Stauffenberg with Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim in June 1944
Hitler shaking hands with Bodenschatz, accompanied by Stauffenberg (left) and Keitel (right). Bodenschatz was seriously wounded five days later by Stauffenberg's bomb. Rastenburg, 15 July 1944.
Besprechung in der Lagebaracke des Führerhauptquartiers »Wolfsschanze« am 20. Juli 1944. Nach einer Skizze in Gerd R. Ueberschär: Stauffenberg - Der 20. Juli 1944, Frankfurt/Main 2004.
Distribution of deaths (labeled here as "Casualty")
Bomb damage to the conference room
Hitler's tattered trousers[2]
Soldiers and Waffen SS men at the Bendlerblock, July 1944
Courtyard at the Bendlerblock, where Stauffenberg, Olbricht, and others were executed
Hitler visits Puttkamer in the Carlshof hospital
References
- ↑ According to Shirer, Führer Conferences on Naval Affairs, 1960, p. 1393.
- ↑ Galante & Silianoff 1981, photo insert section.