"Operation Valkyrie was an operational plan developed for the Reserve Army of the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer). The plan was approved by German dictator Adolf Hitler, who intended it to be used in the event that disruption caused by the Allied bombing of German cities caused a breakdown in law and order, or a rising by the millions of forced laborers from occupied countries working in German factories.
In an ironic twist of fate, however, the German Resistance led by members of the Reserve Army and including members of the Kreisau Circle modified the plan to use it to take control of German cities, disarm the SS, and arrest the Nazi leadership once Hitler had been assassinated in the July 20 Plot. Hitler's death was required to free German soldiers from their oath of loyalty to him (Reichswehreid). After lengthy preparation, the plot was carried out in 1944.
Apart from Hitler, only General Friedrich Fromm, commander of the Reserve Army, could put Operation Valkyrie into effect, so he had to be either won over to the conspiracy or in some way neutralized if the plan were to succeed. Fromm, like many senior officers, knew in general about the military conspiracies against Hitler but neither supported them nor reported them to the Gestapo.
The key role was played by German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) officer Claus von Stauffenberg, who was in charge of German Reserve Army's Walkre, a role which allowed him access to Hitler for reports, and required his presence in the coup which ruled out another suicide attack as planned earlier by other officers. After the first attempt had to be canceled and declared an "exercise", Stauffenberg placed the bomb on July 20 and hurried back to Berlin to assume his pivotal role.
Stauffenberg and his supporters tried to implement Operation Valkyrie in order to take over the government, make peace with the Allies, and end the war. The coup failed in part due to some senior officers' delaying implementation until official confirmation of Hitler's death could be received. When it emerged that Hitler had survived, Valkyrie was not put in effect. The plot quickly deteriorated and collapsed. Fromm established a hasty court martial and the conspirators were hastily tried and convicted.
Fromm ordered the executions of General Olbricht, his chief of staff Colonel Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim, Colonel von Stauffenberg, and his adjutant Lieutenant Werner von Haeften. Shortly after midnight, the condemned men were led to a mound of earth back lit by idle vehicles where each was executed by firing squad in the courtyard of Bendlerstrasse headquarters." Source
4 comments:
This looks like a great movie! I know Jared will love it as he loves movies about history.
Looks like a great movie! It's just too bad that the assasination attempt didn't work! Just think if it would have!
I'm surprised something like this hadn't come out before now. I know there's been literature about the assasination attempt, but nothing like a major motion picture. American culture seems to embrace the idea that ALL Germans followed Hilter without questioning. While most German's did, there were factions that split and fought against the Nazis. I'm glad that a movie like this can penetrate the American stereotype that there were those who "wanted to show the world that [they] weren't like Hitler".
That is probably just a generalization of the ignorant. Honestly in any nation of society, every single person is not going to be in support of the leader, obviously that would go for Germany during Hitler's reign as for Stalin in Russia also. Many of the opposition of course were killed but there was opposition but like I said it is the ignorant people who assume everyone was on board with Hitler.
So Chris, being that you lived in Germany for a time do they teach this part of history to the people in Germany? Is Colonel von Stauffenberg hailed as someone who tried to save Germany? What is taught over there? Just curious if you knew.
von Stauffenberg is the German people's one ray of light among the very dark and guilty decade of Nazi reign. It is mentioned in discussions and studied in school. But the Germans, especially the older generation, meaning those born in the first few decades following the war, have been much more interested than the more recent generations, if not personally obligated, to focus on the horrible, the unbelievable, and the bare facts, in an effort to somehow come to terms with what happened.
Von Stauffenberg is kind of reassuring to learn about, but he didn't succeed. When I learned about him for the first time in Germany, I felt like his story was a double-edged sword: proof that not everyone was with Hitler, but also proof that the very few that were against him were just that: very few. That said something to me about everyone else.
The assassination might have worked had there been more Wehrmacht officials in on the conspiracy. So this "ray of light", according to one perspective, actually reveals how many people were truly taken in by Hitler.
So what I'm trying to get at is this: The von Stauffenberg Operation doesn't pardon the Germans an inch for the atrocities that took place under the Nazi regime. Not all Germans were Nazis, but most of those who were not Nazis didn't fight against the Nazis either, but remained ininvolved or worse: indifferent. It is because of this singular fact (that there were many Germans who knew what was going on, knew that it was wrong, but didn't do anything about it), it is because of this that the Germans feel a "collective guilt" for what happened. In other words, just because you’re German, you're guilty. Your Grandparents were involved somehow, therefore, you stand guilty.
I'm glad I don't have to emotionally and mentally deal with that on an ancestry level. That would be tough. I had the feeling that most Germans are either dealing with it currently or have been unsuccessfully ignoring it. But it will never go away.
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