By mid-1943, the tide of the war had turned against Germany. Some officers in the German army privately began to question Hitler’s judgment. They regarded him as the person responsible for the disaster facing their country. They held secret meetings to decide what to do. They knew that if word got out about their plots, they would be killed, along with their families.
The plotters believed that assassinating Hitler was the only way to save Germany. A new government could then be formed and a peace negotiated with the Western Allies in time to prevent Germany from being invaded by the Soviet Union.
The most serious plot to kill Hitler was called Operation Valkyrie, and it took place on July 20, 1944. On that date, Hitler met with senior army officers at his Wolf’s Lair military headquarters on the Eastern Front. One of the officers in attendance was Claus von Stauffenberg, a leading member of the plot. He came to the meeting with a time bomb in his briefcase.
Claus von Stauffenberg (1907–1944) was a supporter of Hitler at the start of the war. He is now remembered as a tragic hero who could have shortened the war if his plot had succeeded.
There were several attempts to kill Hitler. In 1943, a bomb was placed on an airplane with Hitler on board, but it failed to go off. A few days later, a suicide bomber tried to kill Hitler at an exhibition of captured Soviet weapons—but the dictator left the exhibition early. Other attempts were made using grenades and guns, but luck favored Hitler every time.
Adolf Hitler shows Italian dictator Benito Mussolini his damaged Wolf’s Lair headquarters after the bomb blast that nearly killed him on July 20, 1944.
He placed the briefcase under the conference table. After a few minutes, he made an excuse and left the room. Soon afterward, the bomb detonated. The room was demolished and four people were killed. Hitler, however, was shielded from the blast by a thick table leg, and he survived with only minor injuries.
Stauffenberg and the other plotters believed Hitler was dead, and they prepared to take over the government in Berlin. Meanwhile, Hitler quickly ordered that Stauffenberg be shot by a firing squad. Eight of the other plotters were also executed. Their hangings were filmed and shown to Hitler.