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The July Plot
The conspirators of the July 20 Plot were not successful in taking a stand against Hitler, because Hitler survived, the Nazi party solidified their power, and many of the conspirators were caught and killed. Within this paper, you shall find a short background of the July 20 Plot, which contains the motives of the conspirators, the events of the July 20 Plot, and a complete explanation of my thesis.
A war on two fronts
Early on in the year of 1944, it appeared that Germany was fighting a losing war. The beaches of Normandy were under assault by the Canadians, the British, and the Americans, and the Soviet forces were gradually breaking the German advances in the east. Things didn’t look too well for Germany, but, despite all
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this, Hitler refused to surrender. Fed up with this, several German officers, including Colonel General Ludwig Beck, Lieutenant Colonel Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, General Erwin Rommel, and Hans Gisevius, decided that removing Hitler from power was the only way to ensure that Germany was not completely destroyed. A few of the conspirators, including Stauffenberg, believed that Hitler’s policies towards Slavs and Jews were too brutal, and wished to put an end to those. Almost all of the conspirators also possessed a desire to show the rest of the world, especially the allied powers, that not all Germans were like Hitler.Out of the collective anger of Stauffenberg, Rommel, and the others, the July 20 Plot, otherwise known as Operation Valkyrie, was born. Operation Valkyrie Operation Valkyrie was to be a coup d’état against Hitler and the Nazi party, which would have consisted of two parts. The first part was to be an assassination attempt on Hitler’s life, and, as was initially planned, attempts on the lives of Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler. During the time of the actual assassination attempt, however, it was decided that the plotters should only attempt to kill Hitler, as neither Goering nor Himmler were present at the site of attempted murder. It should also be noted that, in the early stages of the conspiracy, many of the conspirators, including Rommel, believed that it would be better to put Hitler on trial, instead of killing him. This, they believed, would prevent him from becoming a martyr to the rest of the Nazi party. The second stage of Valkyrie was to be a military takeover of Germany using the forces of the German Reserve Army. After establishing control over the government, the conspirators were to try and make peace with the Allied powers, especially the Soviet Union. The first stage of the plan was put into motion by Claus von Stauffenberg on July 20th, 1944, after a conversation between Stauffenberg and a fellow schemer, Henning von Tresckow, where it was decided that Hitler must be killed as soon as possible to “prove to the world and to future generations that the men of the German Resistance movement dared to take the decisive step and to hazard their lives upon it”Henning Von Tresckow. Stauffenberg armed a crudely made bomb inside a briefcase, setting the fuse to go off after 10 minutes. He then entered a room known as the Wolfschanze, or Wolf’s Lair, where a meeting between Hitler and several German officers was under way. After setting the briefcase underneath a large, wooden table, where Hitler was examining a large map of the Eastern front, the Count excused himself under the premise of a phone call and exited the room. However, a short while after Stauffenberg had made his escape, an attendant nudged the briefcase under the wooden table. At around 12:42, the Count’s bomb went off, killing four people. Hitler, however, was barely injured, as he was shielded from the blast by the wooden table. In fact, on the same day as the assassination attempt, he met with the leader of Italy, Bennito Mussiloni, even giving him a tour of the bomb site. Shortly after leaving the Wolf’s Lair, Stauffenberg saw a cloud of billowing smoke, signifying that his bomb had in fact gone off. After hurriedly jumping into his car, the Count rushed towards the airport, where he boarded a flight for Berlin. Mistakenly believing that Hitler was dead, Stauffenberg called the rest of the conspirators, and gave the go ahead for the second stage of the plot. The German Reserve Army, under the command of General Friedrich Fromm-a man who was not part of the plot, but simply knew about and condoned it-, was to begin to round up and arrest key German officials. Fromm, however, had recently learned that Hitler did survive the assassination attempt, and, perhaps desperate to distance himself from the conspirators, ordered that Count Stauffenberg and three other men by the names of General Friedrich Olbricht, Werner von Haeften, and Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, be shot and killed. He then went to the Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler’s most devout followers, and tried to claim that he suppressed the coup. Fromm was immediately arrested. The Aftermath The aftermath of the July 20 Plot saw large numbers of people rounded up and killed by the Gestapo. Some estimates point to around 4980 people killed, while others point to around 200. It is worth noting that many of the people arrested were not directly involved in the plot, but they were either involved in other assassination attempts, or, as per the Sippenhaft(Blood Guilt) laws, were family members of the plotters. An example of someone who was not a German Officer, but was still arrested, is Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and influential preacher who advocated for resistance against the Nazis. Many of the conspirators, including General Ludwig Beck and General Erwin Rommel, simply committed suicide, the latter of which chose to do so in order to protect his family. During the executions, the principle plotters were strangled with piano wire, while others, as per the wishes of Adolf Hitler, were “hung like cattle”. Many of these executions were filmed, and these films were later watched in public showings. A few of the prisoners, including Pastor Bonhoeffer, were sent to concentration camps in the latter years of the war. Why they were unsuccessful: As I have already said in my thesis, the conspirators of the July Plot were not successful in taking a stand for three reasons.
These three reasons are: Adolf Hitler survived, The Nazi Party solidified their power, and because many of the conspirators were caught and killed. First of all, the fact that Hitler survived proves that the plotters were not successful is because one of the main goals of the plotters was to eliminate Hitler. In order to establish a new government and make peace with the Allies, the plotters had to kill Hitler, thus removing him from power. If he wasn’t removed from power, it would be impossible for the plotters to achieve their goals; No one would make any effort to end the war, or make peace with the Allies, as they would fear retribution from Hitler and the Nazi party. Hitler himself making peace with the Allies was out of the question. After all, his refusal to surrender was one of the reasons the plotters attempted the assassination. Therefore, removing Hitler from power was an essential part of the conspirators plan, and, because they failed in that, they were unsuccessful in taking a stand. Secondly, the conspirators were not successful in taking a stand because Hitler and the Nazi Party took advantage of the failed assassination attempt to secure their power. The day after the assassination attempt, Hitler publicly went on a radio broadcast, and assured the German people he was in good health. During this broadcast, he called the conspirators a “small gang of ambitious and miserable creatures”, and he referred to German soldiers as “good men” that are “giving their all”. By doing this, he made it seem as if the work of Germany’s war machine is morally good, while denouncing the actions of those that oppose the Nazi party. In a later speech, on January 30th, 1945, he states “It was in the hand of Providence to snuff me out by the bomb that exploded only one and a half meters from me on July 20, and thus to terminate my life's work.
That the Almighty protected me on that day I consider a renewed affirmation of the task entrusted to me”. This makes it appear as if some higher power, which he refers to as “Providence” and “Almighty”, is protecting him, and is supporting the work of the Nazi Party and the German people. This is the exact opposite of the affect that the conspirators of the July Plot desired. As I have already said, one of the purposes of the July 20 plot was to make peace with the Allies, which was something Hitler did not desire. By making it seem like a higher power supported him, Hitler denounced any attempts at peace. After all, part of Germany’s divine purpose is to wage war against the Allies. Why go against this? Lastly, the conspirators were not successful because many of them were caught and killed. The executions of many of the conspirators were put on tape, and these tapes were released to the public. The images of the grisly fate that would befall any who opposed Hitler would likely discourage any further acts of resistance. This prevents the conspirators from inspiring further acts of resistance; their deaths were simply too grisly and public to make them seem like martyrs, and everyone would be too scared of the consequences to follow in their footsteps. Therefore, Hitler would be allowed to simply continue fighting a suicidal war, until her either won, which was very unlikely, or Germany’s war machine crumbled. In conclusion, the conspirators of the July 20 Plot were not successful in taking a stand against Hitler, because Hitler survived, the Nazi party solidified their power, and many of the conspirators were caught and killed.
The main political changes that the Nazi Party or the NSDAP endured during the period of November, 1923 until January 1933 was its rise from a small extreme right party to a major political force. It is vitally important that the reasons behind this rise to power also be examined, to explain why the NSDAP was able to rise to the top. However first a perspective on the Nazi party itself is necessary to account for the changing political fortunes of the Nazi Party.
]Haffner, is a book which is hard to define. Only 165 pages long, Haffner has crammed more relevant information into this book than many twice its length. He observes Hitler's roller coaster ride through life and the country that he eventually took along. From Hitler's private life to the complete betrayal of Germany, Haffner evaluates the conditions and impetus for Hitler's accomplishments and failures. These include not only Hitler's psyche, but also the political arena of post World War I Europe.
Gottfried, Ted, and Stephen Alcorn. Nazi Germany: The Face of Tyranny. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century, 2000. Print.
General Blaskowitz, Commander of German Army Group G had an extremely challenging task of balancing operational factors to achieve his organization’s assigned objectives. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, and his German armed forces high command OKW had a desired end state of German dominance of Europe. In order to achieve this desired end state the theater strategic objective for OB West, the German theater command was the defense of France, both from the ongoing Allied invasion in Normandy and an anticipated Allied amphibious assault in Southern France. General Blaskowitz’s operational objective, as directed from Hitler and the German high command, was to defend Southern France, with the mission of “holding the coast at all costs.” (pg. 16)
“ Hitler used propaganda and manufacturing enemies such as Jews and five million other people to prepare the country for war.” (Jewish Virtual Library), This piece of evidence shows Hitler’s attempt of genocide toward the Jewish race a...
“The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944 – 1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War Two. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves” (Trueman).
In Hitler's early years, Hitler was born on April 20, 1889. His birthplace was in an inn in Braunau, Austria near the German border(“Zapotary, jr. 264). The reason for this paper was to understand more about why he was doing what he was doing and how it affected the people in Germany and everywhere else. Why he became the person he was, and why he did that.
Resnick p. 15. However, these events infuriated Hitler who refused to believe that the Germans had been defeated fairly on the battlefield.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Another reason why Hitler was able to rise to power was due to the failure of the Munich Putsch of November 1923. At his trial, Hitler gained enormous publicity, which made him well known. He spent only nin... ... middle of paper ... ... office before he would do whatever he said.
as a historian it is clear that in the years of 1941 and 1942 things
German foreign policy during the Third Reich is a great source of great debate. Many historians agree that Hitler did make the big decisions of foreign policy after 1933. However, the disagreement occurs when discussing the extent which the foreign policy was derived from Hitler’s own “ideological pre-possessions and programme” (356). According to the structuralists, the foreign policy emphasized expansion and contained unclear and unspecific aims. This was due to the “uncontrollable dynamism and radicalizing momentum of the Nazi movement and governmental system” (353). Hitler’s foreign policy stressed his image and ideological fixations, not his direct intervention and initiative. Hitler is seen as an opportunist who makes spur-of-the-moment decisions, rather than a man with a concrete plan (354).
In the spring of 1940 Europe was enveloped in war. The German military machine had already conquered Poland, Denmark, and Norway. However, not content with northern and eastern expansion, Adolf Hitler wanted to control the western countries in Europe. Hitler had long been obsessed with attacking and controlling France. After their defeat in World War I, the German people, government, and military were humiliated by the enormous post war sanctions leveraged against them from the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler wanted to defeat and humiliate the French people in the same way that his country had to experience. For him, revenge was necessary. The German plan was to swing into France using a new tactic know as Blitzkrieg or “Lightning War”. Blitzkrieg used speed and surprise along with highly concentrated tank corps, supported by mechanized infantry and airplanes.
To write this book the author, John Toland, had to devote 15 years researching different stories from all sides of the war. He studied war memoirs, interviewed war veterans, and read military documents. While doing this he focused on both the allied and axis forces to truly understand both sides of the story and be able to write such a descriptive and accurate piece of work. This research was used in the book to describe the unlikely victory of the Americans over the Germans during the “Battle of the Bulge”.
Bibliography Primary Sources J Hite and C Hinton, ‘Weimar and Nazi Germany 2000’. Manchester Guardian Report, 13th April 1933. Franz Von Papen’s Speech at Marburg University, 17th June 1934. Rohm’s Speech to foreign press April 18th 1934. Field von Weich’s account of Hitler’s Speech to the leaders of the SA and most of the senior Reichswehr generals 28th February 1934.
Zink, Harold. (1957) The United States in Germany, 1944-1955 [online]. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand [cited 12th September 2011]. Available from: