On July 20, 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by placing a bomb at Wolf's Lair, Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters during World War II, located in present-day northeast Poland.
The plot, part of Operation Valkyrie, aimed to overthrow the Nazi regime. Despite the explosion, Hitler survived, leading to the swift execution of Stauffenberg and other conspirators, and the arrest of thousands.
The motivations of the conspirators remain debated, with some seeing them as heroes trying to end the war and others pointing to their earlier complicity in Nazi crimes.
Focus on the perpetrator over the victim
Ruth Hoffmann’s book German Alibi. The Myth of 'Stauffenberg's Assassination Attempt', argues that post-war Germany focused on restoring the reputations of Nazis rather than honoring Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators.
She highlights that Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's government aimed to reconcile with former Nazis, reflecting societal attitudes of the 1950s.
Demonstrations supported convicted war criminals, and former Nazi officials received preferential treatment, while families of resistance members faced neglect and discrimination, Hoffmann reports.
In a 1951 poll conducted in Germany, 30% of the population condemned the assassination attempt on Hitler, while another 30% expressed no opinion or were unaware of it. Only 40% viewed the assassins positively. Additionally, 59% of soldiers considered Stauffenberg a traitor.
In her book, Hoffmann notes that official recognition of the July 20 conspirators only began in 1954. President Theodor Heuss’s acknowledgment marked a shift, but it took decades for Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators to be widely recognized.
This transformation culminated with the international attention brought by the 2009 film ‘Valkyrie,’ starring Tom Cruise, which reignited the debate over their actions and motivations.
A 2020 survey highlights the success of the German media in promoting the notion of widespread German resistance during WWII. The survey found that one in three Germans believe their ancestors assisted those persecuted by the Nazis, thus participating in the resistance.
Contributing factor
The assassination attempt was one of the factors contributing to a climate of uncertainty in Germany, ultimately influencing the decision to initiate the Warsaw Uprising.
By mid-1944, Germany was facing significant defeats on both the western and eastern fronts. The Allied forces were advancing through Western Europe, and the Soviet Union was pushing back German forces in the east. This dual-front assault created a sense of impending collapse within the Nazi regime.
