At about six o'clock in the evening of July 20, 1944, the receiver began to broadcast the "Time Mirror" program. A youth choir sang a lighthearted and lively song that made people temporarily forget the difficult days in front of them. The song was abruptly interrupted. An agitated voice came from the horn, "The Fuehrer is assassinated!" "It was eighteen twenty-eight. After a few frightening seconds, the voice of the announcer came again: "The Fuehrer is safe and sound!" ”
It was seven hours before the German people learned that the bombing assassination had taken place at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's base camp in East Prussia. The overwhelming majority of the Germans breathed a sigh of relief, despite the disastrous consequences of the war, the tyranny of the fascist party and their heinous crimes; and despite the growing loss of confidence in the "final victory", the overwhelming majority of the Germans pinned their hopes on this deified tyrant because of a complex sentiment —the illusion of miracles, the blinded propaganda, the fear of the enemy's court.
The ins and outs of the events
The operation was organized by the German resistance movement. It is an alliance of conservative military union leaders, liberals, and socialist politicians. They often smuggled out of the country, meeting with representatives of the Allied Powers in Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, and conducting anti-Nazi activities. In the summer of 1944, due to the lack of unity of views among the various factions, they finally parted ways. At this time, the thirty-six-year-old chief of staff of the highly distinguished colonel, Klaus von Stoffenberg, appeared, who brought the members of the Resistance out of a situation of passivity and despair, and himself became the de facto leader.
In October 1943, before he had fully recovered from his serious injuries, he assumed the important post of chief of staff of the local military department, using Bandler Street, which had previously been the War Department, as the center and pulling the strings outward. He was young, handsome, energetic, and his laughter conquered all men; his charisma made him win hundreds of comrades not only within the empire but also in the occupied areas. No one betrayed him, and eighty of them gave their lives after his death.
Stefenberg and General Henin von Troskov, chief of staff of Army Group Center, drew up a detailed coup d'état. The code name for the military coup was the "Valky Order". It was ostensibly designed for garrisons to deal with rioting prisoners of war, as well as enemy airborne troops. As soon as Hitler died, all the officers and men broke away from their oath of allegiance to the Führer. The army took over power within 2116 hours, formed a new government within 36 hours, and began armistice negotiations. They have identified key candidates for the new Government and will act as soon as the time is ripe. In the summer of 1944, Stauffenberg was appointed Chief of Staff of the Commander of the Supplementary Army. This means that he has direct access to the heavily guarded Führer's headquarters. Since no one but him could approach the tyrant, Stefenberg was obliged to assume the dual role of commander and "commando". He had to take a big risk: to bring the bomb to the scene from hundreds of kilometers away, and then immediately return to Berlin to direct the coup. The head of the General Staff, General Ludwich Baker, was nominally the recognized leader of the rebels, but Stefenberg was the most crucial figure in the whole project, so Beck ordered him not to die with Hitler, and his role was irreplaceable.
On July 20, the operation could not be more hesitant. On July 11, the rebels twice loaded the bomb into the briefcase, because Field Marshal Goering and the head of the party guard Himmler were not present, the plan to exhaust the net could not be realized, the bomb fuze was never lit, and everything would be able to be coded according to plan? Stefenberg recalled the words of his brother Bertold, who had dinner with him the night before: "The most terrible thing is that if the coup fails, I don't know what kind of persecution will be inflicted on our country." He remembered many debates about the legitimacy of the Dark Stripe Operation, and the Social Democrat Herman, and Maas cried out in despair: "Mr. Colonel, can you solve a profound historical crisis with one shot?!" Treskov insisted on paying whatever it took for the liberation of Germany, even if other innocent people, even those who had committed the uprising, had given their lives for it. What else could be done than to kill this dictator? Stauffenberg was full of confidence.
The assassination proceeded well
Stauffenberg is ready. No one saw that he was half unnatural. On the eve of the imminent operation, he learned that due to Mussolini's visit, Hitler's headquarters briefing would be half an hour earlier. He gave a brief report on the situation to Field Marshal Keitel. Keitel had to head to headquarters right away to avoid being late. The colonel had to find a room to change clothes. Having lost his right hand because of his injury and only three of his left fingers, it would not be suspicious that his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Werner von Hefden, remained by his side. They closed the door and wrapped the box containing the bomb in document paper and stuffed it into a yellow briefcase. Stefenberg breaks a vial containing a corrosive chemical that slowly corrodes a metal wire that holds a spring, and when it is exhausted, the spring pushes the firing pin and hits the detonator, causing the bomb to detonate. This takes about ten minutes.
During this time, a sergeant and Keitel's lieutenant urged him to hurry up, but Staufen calmly continued his work. A messenger tried to help him carry the heavy package, but he immediately refused unceremoniously.
In the headquarters cabin, Keitel reported that Stefenberg, from Berlin, had come upstairs, and Hitler shook hands coldly with the mutilated colonel. An admiral conceded a seat for Stefenberg, and he leaned his briefcase against the inside of the table base, just two meters from Hitler. Maybe after a while, someone moved it to the outer side of the seat, separating it from Hitler. The devil sent God to save this tyrant from death.
General Howsinger, commander of the War Department, is reporting on the situation on the Eastern Front. Stefenberg excused himself to have to go on the phone, and quietly left a few minutes later, unnoticed. He came to a distance of about two hundred meters from the headquarters, where the driver and aide-de-camp Hefden were waiting. Stefenberg met with Philkibel, head of communications at the high command of his co-conspirators, and asked him to sever contact with headquarters after the explosion.
It is positive at 12:42. Hitler stood up from his stool and leaned over the table with his right hand on the table to look at the map. Suddenly, a red-yellow spot of light flashed, followed by a deafening roar. All those present were thrown to the ground, their eardrums shattered, and flames sprang up their hair and clothes. The most unfortunate were those close to the bombs: the stenographer Berger's legs flew into the air; General Schmund blew up one eye and broke his thigh in two; General Corden was punctured by scrap shrapnel; Colonel Brandt lost a foot. The four men cried out for their lives from their wounds.
Frightened people desperately fled out of smoke, ruins, and shards of porcupine. "What's going on? Admiral Assmann asked puzzled questions as he crawled outside. "Fool! It's a conspiracy! General Schreiff shouted, his hands bleeding. The first to wake up was Keitel, "Where is the Fuehrer?" He cried hoarsely. The Fuehrer was now crawling out of a pile of rubble, his face bleeding, his head scorched with fever, and his brand-new pants torn to shreds. Keitel ran up and hugged him: "Fuehrer, you're still alive. ”
Back in the bomb shelter, Hitler took his pulse —his heartbeat began to calm down, and even the trembling legs that had tormented him for months returned to normal. He rejoiced again: his hunch had been confirmed in recent days.
How did Hitler escape this catastrophe? The explosive force of two kilograms of explosives is too small for a large conference room; open doors, windows, and wooden floors attenuate the shock wave. The resistance expert and historian Peter Hoffman believes that Stefenberg wanted to set both bombs on fire at the same time, but that he and his lieutenant had only put one bomb in it because of interference. Afterwards, Lieutenant Hefden threw the other one on the way to the airport. The detonation time of the bomb was thirty minutes, probably prepared for the long time in which it could not get out. But why didn't Stefenberg wrap it up? Even if the fuse is not lit, it will be detonated by another bomb. Maybe it's because briefcases are too heavy for him? It's still a mystery.
Hitler's first thought was of explosives thrown in through windows by enemy paratroopers. After the bombed hole was found on the local board, security bureau officials suspected that construction workers from the organization, known as the Death, had been arrested because some members of the group had been arrested.
The real Assassins were now gone. Stefenberg and Hayden saw a plume of smoke rising from the cabin as if it had been hit by a fifteen-centimeter shell. Stauffenberg made it through all the checkpoints. At 13:15 he boarded a Dutch-111 waiting plane for Berlin. It took two hours -- precious two hours, and they were delayed.
The Uprising in Berlin did not go as planned
In Berlin, rebels on Bandler Street are waiting for a signal from General Fergiebel from the "Wolf's Lair." The latter rushed to the scene of the accident immediately after the bomb detonated, and he saw Hitler walking with his attendants in his brand-new military uniform, and rushed forward to pay tribute to the Fuehrer. After a few minutes, Philkibert informed his accomplices in Berlin, "Unfortunately, the Führer is alive. "Therefore, these generals did not dare to act rashly. On July 15, they risked issuing the "Valkri" order in advance.
Hitler's camp also began to act cautiously, briefly informing Goebbels of the incident in Berlin. Goering, Himmler, and Dönitz at the East Prussian headquarters were summoned. Karlden Bruno, head of the Imperial Security Headquarters and chief of the SS, immediately sent a commission of inquiry from Berlin to Rustenburg.
At Rustenburg (where the Fuehrer's headquarters are located), the assassination was kept secret for the time being, and the news was blocked. This is right in the hands of the rebels. It wasn't long before the suspicion finally fell on Stefenberg: an operator on duty reported the suspicious-looking colonel to his superiors. (The operator was later promoted to a reward of twenty thousand marks and a house) However, it was still considered to have been acted alone, and it was estimated that Stefenberg had fled to Russia.
In short, all this was put on hold by Mussolini's visit. Hitler went to the station with a bandage in his right hand to meet his allies and told him about the horrific incident. Two dictators squatted in a house that had been blown to smithereens and sighed. Hitler explained: "God forbid, I will not be in trouble", Mussolini echoed: "This is providence! ”
Meanwhile, at four o'clock in the afternoon, the rebels on Blandler Street learned for the first time that Hitler was dead. As soon as the plane landed at Rasdorf Airport, Stefinger's aide-de-camp spoke to them on the phone. It was, by coincidence, that his driver was not at the airport, and they had to get another car. Upon receiving news from Hefden, Colonel Meerz von Quinheim persuaded his hesitant superior, General Britt, to issue a "Valkyrie" order.
General Obricht had to win over the commander of the supplementary army, Admiral Fromm. The latter kept the conspirators hidden in his headquarters until they were ready, as long as he signed the instructions. But Fromm didn't believe it, and he quickly hung up the phone with Keitel to learn the truth; Hitler was still alive.
Instructions began at 4:30 p.m. - as planned, after the assassination was successful at 1 p.m. When Stoffenberg arrived on Bänderstraße, he insisted that Hitler was dead, and he saw Hitler's body being carried out. His bold lies swept away the despair. Convinced of Keitel's words, Fromm smelled rebellion and struck first, arresting Colonel Meertz. Stefenberg exclaimed, "I killed Hitler, I did it." Fromm shouted at his chief of staff, "Stefenberg, what about your pistol?" You know what to do (referring to suicide). "I'm not going to kill myself." Stefenberg answered calmly. When Fromm wanted to arrest him, he cried out in a righteous awe: "If there is anyone who wants to arrest, it is you, Mr. Admiral." The obese Fromm raised his fist and threw his fist at Stauffenberg, but Stauffenberg's guards immediately countered his body with the muzzle of his gun.
The respected tank commander, General Hopner, was appointed to take over from Fromm's post. Hopner was dismissed by Hitler and ordered to wear no longer his uniform after he had privately withdrawn his troops from an untenable position during a battle on the outskirts of Moscow in the winter of 1941. At this time, after coming to Blandler Street to accept the letter of appointment, he put on his military uniform again.
Prussian strictness, rigidity, and mechanical obedience to orders allowed insurrection in the imperial capital. The commander of the Berlin garrison, General Hazel, dispatched the guard battalion, and tanks outside the city were advancing towards Berlin. Soldiers surrounded Wilhelm Street (The Chancellery), and officials and civil servants from various ministries looked at the busy army in bewilderment. The police are ready to arrest ministers and their secretaries.
The young guard battalion commander, Otto, who had been awarded the Knight's Cross of oak leaves, and Major Richter Remay, like other officers, blindly obeyed the rebels' orders. It so happened that Goebbels's assistant, Lieutenant Dr. Ha, had just given a report to the guard battalion, and he had become an emissary of the rebels' doom. He found the "Valky" instruction a little strange, because at noon he saw Marshal Brauchitsch in full military uniform driving through the street in an open-top car. This made him suspicious. Because this person had quit the army in 1941, he was disarmed and returned to the field. There seem to be signs of a coup d'état. He told Remay about the situation. At seven o'clock in the evening, the Major met with the Minister Goebbels, who, without saying a word, asked Remay to speak to Hitler personally, and the Major was appointed commander-in-chief of the Garrison in Berlin.
The insurgents failed to control the radio, which was a godsend for Hitler and Goebbels. Although the Broadcasting Bureau and the Deutsche Radio were occupied by the army as planned, none of the soldiers knew what to do, and they were deceived - and the broadcast continued.
The second misstep was that the telegram from the rebels was too late. When ordered, most theater commanders were on their leisure vacations. Some are at ease in the comfort nest; some go hunting and have a good time; some are playing "Taloc" intently. (A card game played by three people) Their subordinates looked at each other and did not know how to be good. Just after four o'clock, the counterattack of the Fuehrer's base camp began: Himmler was appointed commander of the supplementary army, and the commander of the army, Keitel, issued an order over the radio prohibiting obedience to the instructions of the rebels.
Still, what happened that night was enough to shock people. In Frankfurt, several public buildings were occupied; in Hamburg, the leaders of the Nazi Party and the SS were imprisoned; and in Vienna, the leaders of the Nazi Party were detained. They drank brandy, smoked cigars, and were locked up in the house for several hours.
The coup d'état in Paris was the most successful. General Heinrich von Stunagher, one of the rebels, military superintendent in France, did a pretty good job. His men used night cover to arrest twelve hundred SS and Gestapo elements at their residences and put them all in prison. It is said that several heinous SS leaders were killed at dawn in front of the erected sandbags.
It was only after Mussolini set out that it became clear to the Fuehrer's base camp that Hitler should immediately give a speech convincing the desperate, unfaithful subordinates that he was alive, and that from 9 p.m. onwards, every few minutes the radio announced that the Fuehrer was about to give a radio speech. The preview of Hitler's speech alone discouraged the sympathizers of the rebellion, and even some of the generals who participated in the coup d'état only wanted to survive, and the refusal of the General Director of the Western Front and Field Marshal Krueger to break his oath of allegiance to Hitler was a really heavy blow to Daupenberg.
At eight o'clock in the evening, field marshal Evine von Witzler, who had participated in the coup, was originally on the rue bad badly, where he had been suspended for several years due to illness. In accordance with the coup d'état plan, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces. When he found out that he was a marshal without soldiers, the commander of the light pole, he reprimanded Stefenberg fiercely, and then drove home. Admiral Hopner refused to cheer up the wavers during his telephone calls with the military districts. General Obcht was waiting for a choice; whether to commit suicide or be killed.
There was only one person who wasn't discouraged: Stefenberg. He rushed back and forth, put down the earpiece and grabbed the telephone, encouraging, urging, pleading, exhorting, and striving for everyone. But his fiery zeal could only be futile before Keitel's orders.
Bloodbath Berlin
At about ten o'clock, officers blindly loyal to Hitler gathered on Blandler Street. They grabbed guns, rushed through the streets, and shouted, "For the Fuehrer or against the Fuehrer, answer quickly, or shoot!" ”
Bullets flew in full swing, and Stefenberg returned fire with a submachine gun under his armpit. His arm was wounded by a bullet, and he slumped feebly in his chair and took off his blindfold, (he was blind in one eye due to injury) "They abandoned me!" ”
At this time, the imprisoned Admiral Fromm escaped, and he suddenly appeared in front of the rebels with his heavily armed soldiers. "Gentlemen, I will now treat you the way you treat me. "Stefenberg's guards were disarmed. Admiral Baker was allowed to commit suicide on the spot, tried twice without uttering a word, and finally a sergeant helped him achieve his goal, Admiral Hopner refused to commit suicide, and Fromm shook hands with him out of "humanity and old friendly affection" and beat him into his cell. Hopner was put on the gallows for treason, and Fromm was shot by Hitler for cowardice.
Fromm, who is accustomed to speculation, is anxious to get rid of the rebels in order to extinguish the excuse. He pronounced the verdict of the Provisional Military Tribunal "in the name of the Fuehrer": "Sentenced to death to General Von Meertz Obrichter, Colonel of the General Staff, as well as the Colonel (Stefenberg) whom I do not wish to name, and Lieutenant Hefden".
The four men were dragged into the yard, and young Havden tried to break free, but without success. Illuminated by the headlights of army cars, they were pulled to the beach where ten guard officers were executed. Before leaving, Stefenberg shouted, "Long live the Holy Germany!" All the bodies, along with Baker's bloodied corpse, were thrown onto trucks and buried in graves. Soon, Himmler ordered the exhumation of the body.
Traces could be removed, but Stauffenberg's name was immortal, and the first person to make him so famous in Germany was Hitler himself. At one o'clock in the morning, the riots subsided, and all the radio stations were playing Hitler's hoarse speech, which he hinted at continuing his "masterpiece" with. Nine months until everything was reduced to ashes. During these nine months, more people died on the front lines, who were killed in bombed-out cities, tortured to death in concentration camps, and died on the way to escape, more than in previous years combined during the war. Many ancient and beautiful cities were razed to the ground in the war. Königsberg, Breislau, Aachen, Freiburg, Stuttgart... If the coup succeeds, these unnecessary sacrifices can be avoided.
Although this "revolt of human nature" was bloodily suppressed, its significance was far-reaching. Before the assassination, Stefenberg asked his friend and co-conspirator Troskov whether the assassination was worth it, to which Troskov replied: "Attempts must be made at any cost, and even if they fail, attempts to seize power in the capital must be carried out." We must prove to the world and to our descendants,
The members of the German resistance dared to take a decisive step and risked their lives for it. Everything else is insignificant compared to this goal.
Excerpt from the German magazine Time