TO It would seem that more than enough has been written about the attempt on Hitler's life. And yet we do not know everything. For example, only recently were the historians A.M. Kalganov and B.L. Khavkin introduced into scientific circulation new and interesting documents of an active participant in the anti-Hitler conspiracy, Joachim Kuhn, a friend and colleague of Staufenberg, who switched to the Soviet side after a failed attempt on the Fuhrer's life. He is one of the few who personally knew Colonel Staufenberg and survived the war. Therefore, his reports, written in the dungeons of the MGB, and memories of the events of that time, are the most interesting sources on the history of the conspiracy against Hitler on July 20, 1944.

The importance of this document is evidenced by the fact that in 1997 Russian President Yeltsin handed over to the then German Chancellor G. Kohl copies of several documents from this dossier. Kuhn's fate is also quite remarkable. Comparing Kuhn's documents with the book of another surviving conspiracy participant, Hans Bernd Gisevius, “Until the Bitter End. The conspirator's notes ”, you begin to understand how little we know about that time. However, let's turn to the sources.

KUHN'S FATE

Joachim Kuhn was born in 1913. At the age of 19 he entered the army. At the school he received the specialty of a military engineer. Participated in the war with Poland and France. He commanded an engineering company. Was awarded the "Iron Cross". In the war against the USSR, he already served as chief of staff of an infantry division. In November 1941, as an exemplary officer, he was sent to study in Berlin at the General Staff Academy, where he studied until May 1942 and graduated as the best officer of his graduation. So he entered the German military elite - the corps of officers of the General Staff. In January he was promoted to major and sent to the General Staff of the Ground Forces. There, his immediate superior was Colonel Staufenberg, one of the leaders in the conspiracy against the Fuhrer.
On June 22, 1944, Major of the General Staff Kuhn was appointed chief of staff of the 28th Jaeger Division. July 20, 1944, on the day of the assassination attempt on Hitler, he was in this division. It was there that the order for his arrest and transfer to the Berlin prison came. And then he decided to run. On July 27, he was captured near Bialystok by Soviet troops. Kuhn was such an important figure in the conspiracy that his capture was immediately noticed by the leaders of the Reich.
On August 10, 1944, the head of the Main Directorate of Imperial Security, E. Kaltenbrunner, wrote to Reichsleiter M. Bormann: "It would not be a surprise if Major Kuhn, who had defected to the Bolsheviks, would emerge in the National Committee due to participation in the supply of explosives to the conspirators." ("Free Germany")... But Kuhn was not seen on this committee. The leaders of the German security services did not think, did not guess, that Stalin was very cool towards the conspirators. This is, to put it mildly. For he was fundamentally opposed to the destruction of the Fuhrer at that stage. But more on that below.
Kuhn's fate was grievous. In September 1944, his testimony lay on the table of Stalin himself. Thus, the leader was informed in detail about the attempt on Hitler's life by German officers. But Kuhn was not sent to the POW camp. From August 12, 1944 to March 1, 1947, the prisoner of war Kuhn was held, contrary to all the rules, in the internal prison of the NKGB and in the Butyrka prison in Moscow. "For reasons of operational necessity" he was given the name Joachim Malowitz.
Kuhn's cooperation with Soviet counterintelligence gave a sensational result. On February 17, 1945, SMERSH officers, with the help of Kuhn, who was taken to a "special object", dug up a cache in the Mauerwald forest near Rastenburg (East Prussia), not far from the former OKH headquarters, which the Nazi special services, despite a long search, never could find. In the cache were hidden secret documents drawn up by officers from the Stauffenberg group, who intended to kill Hitler in the fall of 1943 during his visit to the Headquarters "Wolf's Lair". Military engineer Kuhn, the only conspirator who knew how to professionally handle explosives, had to prepare explosives to destroy the Fuhrer and calculate the force and direction of the explosion. After the attempt on Hitler's life failed, Kuhn, on Staufenberg's personal instructions, buried two jars in the ground in Mauerwald - an iron and a glass. All the documents of the conspirators were hidden in the banks.
Nevertheless, Kuhn, like most of the prisoners of war, was not repatriated to Germany. In the USSR, he was convicted ... as a war criminal. “Joachim Kuhn,” Kalganov and Khavkin report, “was accused…. and was found guilty of preparing and waging an aggressive war against the USSR. " On October 17, 1951, a Special Meeting at the USSR Ministry of State Security sentenced Kuhn to 25 years in prison, the term of which was calculated from the date of his surrender - on July 27, 1944. “The participation of Kuhn in the conspiracy against Hitler was considered by investigators and judges as evidence of his guilt. According to the indictment, “It has been established that the participants in the conspiracy had the following goal: the destruction of Hitler; the conclusion of a separate peace with Britain, France and the United States; continuation of the war P the Soviet Union together with these states, ”the source quoted by me says.
So, participation in the attempt to destroy Hitler was considered in the USSR as the gravest crime. And Stalin personally was against it at that time. An article by Soviet journalist A. Leonidov, attached to the "Case" by Kuhn "as documentary evidence", was supposed to bring the "political foundation" under the accusation. (pseudonym L.A. Khentov)"The international role of the Anglo-American-German Schroeder Bank" in the Moscow magazine "Novoye Vremya", which was viewed as the foreign policy tribune of the Soviet political leadership. So, in this article, Kalganov and Khavkin point out, in particular, it was said: “The activities of the American military-political intelligence were directed not so much against the fascists as against the truly anti-fascist movement, since the participants in this movement did not want the liberation of the homeland to be reduced to replacing one imperialist clique with another ... Who was this opposition? ... Reactionary officers, representatives of the Prussian aristocracy and the highest German financial circles. These were the circles that, after making sure that Hitler had lost the war against the Soviet Union, relied on a palace coup. The whole plan, as you know, was to replace Hitler at a convenient moment, quickly conclude a separate peace with the Western allies, and thus save, before it’s too late, German imperialism. ” If we translate all this into everyday language, it meant that Stalin was against the overthrow of Hitler.
Indeed, this could lead to the conclusion of some kind of agreement and the war would have ended in 1944. This would allow the Soviet Union to save the lives of millions of Soviet soldiers. But such was not included in Stalin's calculations. Indeed, with such a development of events, he would be deprived of the opportunity to occupy many European countries. Therefore, the continuation of the war seemed preferable to him. Naturally, Kuhn did not know all this, and therefore appealed to the higher authorities for a pardon. But he was released only on January 7, 1956. It was handed over to the FRG government. 11 years of imprisonment turned him into a seriously ill and mentally broken person. He never met his former friends. Kuhn lived for 80 years and died on March 6, 1994.

ATTEMPT

Although many German generals, field marshals and officials of the highest rank took part in the conspiracy against Hitler, they all recognized that Count Klaus Schenk von Shatuffenberg, Colonel of the General Staff, chief of staff of the reserve army, was his soul and direct organizer.
Prior to this position, he fought in Tunisia as chief of staff of a division. There he lost an eye, his right hand, and two fingers on his left hand. But he stayed to serve. He came from an aristocratic family, was brought up in the spirit of monarchical conservatism and Catholic piety. One of the participants in the conspiracy, mentioned above Gisevius, wrote about this extraordinary colonel as follows: “Only Stauffenberg made a radical revolution in the opposition when his slogan“ Officers , against Hitler! " suddenly proclaimed his own, as well as other officers' claim (or rather, the right) to lead it ... Stauffenberg did not want to allow Hitler to lead the army into a catastrophe, which was in mortal danger. For this soldier to the bone, the salvation of the Fatherland and the salvation of the Wehrmacht were the same concepts. Added to this is the fact that Stauffenberg spoke sharply against Hitler's anti-Jewish policies. According to Kuhn, the structure and preparation of the organization to overthrow Hitler was as follows.
The organization was headed by Colonel General Beck. The main emphasis during the government coup and the seizure of power after the assassination attempt on Hitler was on the rear troops. The active army was assigned a passive role.
All military districts were trained to suppress possible unrest. General leadership along this line was concentrated in the hands of Stauffenberg.
The active army was to be informed of the death of the Fuhrer and the seizure of power by the new government by order. Orders for this had been prepared in Berlin at the time of the assassination attempt.
After the coup, Field Marshal von Witzleben was envisaged as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Colonel General Geppner was to take the post of commander-in-chief of the ground forces.
The basis for the coup's success was the successful execution of the assassination attempt on Hitler. Initially, Colonel of the General Staff Meichsner, who was until December 1943 at Hitler's main headquarters, took over. General Stif repeatedly offered his services. An explosive and a fuse were prepared, which went off after six minutes. The successful assassination attempt had to be immediately reported to Berlin and all communications of the Fuehrer's headquarters had to be cut off immediately. At the same time it was necessary to turn off the communications of the main headquarters of the SS, police and government. General Fellgiebel and Stauffenberg drew up plans for the occupation of the radio stations and their immediate commissioning.
In 1943, the assassination attempt did not come true. There was simply no opportunity. She appeared in 1944. On July 20 of this year, Stauffenberg arrived at Hitler's Headquarters. All would OK. But the Fuhrer transferred the meeting from the bunker to the wooden pavilion. At 12 noon, Stauffenberg arrived at Rastenburg. And the device he put in worked. There was a powerful explosion. But the effect that the conspirators hoped for did not happen. In a concrete bunker, the Fuhrer and his entourage would most likely have died. But they survived in the wooden room. But Stauffenberg and Heften, his escort, did not know about this. They decided that Hitler was killed. And with this news they flew to Berlin. But before their arrival, Keitel from Rastenburg announced that Hitler was alive. Stauffenberg and his accomplices did not believe this. They thought that the Fuhrer's entourage decided to hide the fact of his death. Therefore, the conspirators managed to send out a number of telegrams and orders prepared in advance. This is how the message about Hitler's death was sent. It said, in particular:
“1) Adolf Hitler is dead!
The shameless clique of Party Fuhrer alien to the front took advantage of this position in order to strike a blow at the heavily fighting front and, for their own selfish purposes, to seize power in their own hands ...
3) Transfer the executive power with the right to delegate it to the territorial commander, and on the rear territory of the Reich - to the commander of the reserve army with his simultaneous appointment as the commander-in-chief of all rear forces ...
This document was signed by Field Marshal Witzleben. Other documents were signed by Stauffenberg and General Fromm. At the same time, a telegram was sent to the commander of a number of military districts that the communique announced on the radio about the safety of the Fuhrer was false.
But at this time, Hitler's Headquarters was actively working. The Fuehrer himself immediately spoke on the radio. In particular, he said: “... If today I speak to you, then this is happening primarily for two reasons: firstly, so that you hear my voice and know that I am safe and sound, and secondly, so that you hear about such a crime, which cannot be found equal in German history ... I see in this the will of Providence, which with its pointing finger tells me to continue the work of my whole life, which I intend to carry out in the future. " Then Goering and Grossadmiral Dennitz made statements.
Accordingly, all participants in the conspiracy and suspects were removed from their posts. All orders of Generals Fromm, Witzleben and Goeppner were canceled. Himmler was appointed commander of the reserve army, which was to become the main force in the hands of the conspirators, with the removal from this post of General Fromm, who, knowing about the conspiracy, by arresting its members, sought to some extent to atone for his guilt. But that didn't save him. The first groups of conspirators were shot immediately after the failure of the assassination attempt in the courtyard on Bendlerstrasse.
Four volleys rang out. Olbricht, Merz von Quirnheim and von Heften accepted their deaths in silence. The team was interrupted by the last exclamation of Stauffenberg: "Long live eternal Germany." Arrests, trials, executions of those involved in the conspiracy went on almost until the very collapse of the millennial Reich. Canaris, for example, was shot almost on the eve of the surrender of the Wehrmacht. And not just him alone. Many prominent German military leaders and officers committed suicide. Few of the conspiracy participants survived. But they also preferred to be silent more.
The population of Germany, crushed to dust, did not particularly respect the conspirators. An example of this is Kuhn himself. If it were not for the documents Yeltsin gave to Germany, we would not know much either about him or about the details of the conspiracy. The memory of Stauffenberg in Germany is immortalized. Streets are named after him, stands are dedicated to him in museums. But, let's face it, this is not the Germany he dreamed of. With all due respect to this ascetic, he still cannot be called a democrat. But that's another problem. It is possible that we will return to it later.
© V. Lyulechnik

In the third photo (top to bottom): Hitler and Stauffenberg.

Every year on July 20, wreaths are laid in Berlin in honor of the Nazi-executed participants in the conspiracy against Hitler. In 1944, on this day, an explosion was heard at Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia. This was not the first, but the most serious attempt on the life of the "Fuehrer", the result of a conspiracy against him and his accomplices. But Hitler survived. Hundreds of participants in the conspiracy (first of all, career soldiers from high-born German families) were executed.

The memory of these people, who, like other heroes of the Resistance, saved the honor of the Germans, is highly respected in today's Germany. The most famous of the participants in the July 20 conspiracy, in fact, its head, who carried the explosive device to Hitler's headquarters, is Colonel, Count Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg.

Officers and aristocrats

He was 36 years old. An officer and an aristocrat, after the "Kristallnacht" of the Jewish pogroms of 1938 and the mockery of the civilian population of occupied Poland seen a year later, he became firmly convinced that the Nazis were bringing trouble to his homeland. But the war was going on, and the career soldier hesitated: the assassination or removal of the charismatic leader of the nation would weaken Germany. So then many future conspirators from the officer corps thought. The military officers despised the "butchers" of the SS, considered it shameful to wage war against the civilian population and shoot prisoners, whoever they were.

Nevertheless, Stauffenberg, like many of his like-minded officers, believed that first you need to win the war, and only then, as he then told his brother Berthold, "remove the brown vermin." But in 1942-1943, the mood in opposition circles changed. One of the reasons is the turnaround in the course of the war, heavy losses in people and equipment. After Stalingrad, Stauffenberg had no doubts: the war was lost. It was at this time that a positive response came to the report he had submitted long ago about the transfer from the General Staff, where he was then serving, to the front. Not to the Eastern Front, but to Africa.

But here, too, the Germans were doing badly. Just three months after Stalingrad, the Western Allies captured about 200,000 Wehrmacht soldiers and officers in North Africa. Stauffenberg was not among them: a few days before the defeat he was seriously wounded, and he was transported to Germany. He lost an eye, his right arm, and two fingers on his left hand.

Failed assassination attempts

Meanwhile, the conspirators tried to organize more and more attempts on Hitler's life. On March 13, 1943, an explosive device disguised as a bottle of cognac was brought into the plane on which the Fuhrer was flying, but it did not work. Other attempts, for example, by the Hauptmann Axel von dem Bussche (Axel von dem Bussche), also failed. "Fuehrer" expressed a desire to get acquainted with the new uniforms for officers and non-commissioned officers of the Wehrmacht. He wished that an experienced front-line commander would be present at this "presentation" as an expert. The conspirators managed to arrange so that Hauptmann Busche became this commander. He was to blow himself up along with Hitler. But the train, which contained samples of new uniforms, was bombed on the way to East Prussia, and the "presentation" did not take place.

However, the persistence of the conspirators was eventually rewarded: in May 1944, the Wehrmacht reserve commander, who sympathized with the conspirators, appointed Stauffenberg as his chief of staff. Thus, the colonel was among those who were invited to meetings at headquarters. The assassination attempt on Hitler became a reality. Moreover, it was necessary to hurry: clouds began to gather over the conspirators. Too many people already knew about the coup plans, and information about the conspiracy began to flow into the Gestapo. It was decided not to wait any longer for major meetings at headquarters, at which Himmler and Goering would also be present along with Hitler, but to send the Fuhrer to the next world alone, at the first opportunity. She introduced herself on 20 July.

The mutiny cannot end in luck ...

The night before, Klaus von Stauffenberg had packed plastic explosives into his briefcase and checked the fuse. Both bags of explosives weighed about two kilograms: too heavy for Stauffenberg's only crippled hand. Perhaps that is why he was already at headquarters, having passed all the cordons, left one of the packages with explosives with the adjutant and took only one with him to the hall where the conference was held. However, this amount would have been quite enough: as it turned out later, the ceiling collapsed from the explosion and the hall turned into a heap of ruins, 17 people were injured, four died.

Hitler survived by chance. The briefcase should have been placed closer to the place where the "Fuehrer" was sitting, but one of the participants in the meeting mechanically pushed the briefcase containing the explosives further under the table: it was interfering with him. This saved Hitler.

When the explosion rang out, Stauffenberg, who had left the hall under a plausible pretext, was already leaving the headquarters. He was in a hurry to the airfield. He had no doubts that the "Fuhrer" was dead, so he hurried to Berlin: now everything was decided there.

But the conspirators acted too slowly, unforgivably slowly. The military failed to isolate SS units and the Gestapo headquarters during Operation Valkyrie. The military units received orders from both the conspirators and the exact opposite - from Himmler. When Colonel Stauffenberg arrived at the War Office, he began to act more decisively, but it was already too late. In the end, several people, along with Stauffenberg, were arrested right in the building of the Ministry of War. They were shot on the same day.

Later, the Nazis dealt with terrible cruelty over everyone who even knew about the conspiracy. Hundreds of people were executed. The Gestapo also arrested all of Klaus von Stauffenberg's close relatives, including his wife and mother. The children were changed their surnames and sent to a special orphanage, forbidden to tell who they are. Fortunately, there were only a few months left until the end of the war ...

Invasion of 1944. The Allied Landing in Normandy through the Eyes of General of the Third Reich Speidel Hans

July 20, 1944 conspiracy

At first, the army group was left without a commander. Hitler's senior adjutant, General Schmundt, proposed SS-Obergruppenfuehrer Hausser, who had assumed command of the 7th Army just three weeks earlier, while Sepp Dietrich was to take command from Hausser. It was evident that the Praetorian Guard was beginning to strive for command positions throughout the Western Front. Field Marshal von Kluge assumed command of the Army Group on the evening of July 19, without relinquishing command of the forces in the West. He moved to La Roche-Guyon, leaving behind his chief of staff, General Blumentritt, at the western headquarters in Saint-Germain, who was to deal with all matters unrelated to Army Group B.

Early in the morning of July 20, Field Marshal von Kluge drove to the headquarters of the 5th Panzer Army, where he convened a conference of the commanders of the armies and corps. He gave them instructions regarding the fighting in the critical areas of Caen and Saint-Lo. There were no political issues on the agenda.

General Blumentritt and Colonel Fink contacted the Chief of Staff of Army Group B on July 20 at 5:00 pm and told him: "Hitler is dead."

But when Kluge returned about an hour or two later, the radio had already announced that the attempt on Hitler's life had failed. This was confirmed by phone from Hitler's headquarters, details of the incident were reported.

Field Marshal Sperle, General von Stülpnagel and General Blumentritt arrived at La Roche-Guyon between 7:00 and 8:00 pm. Stülpnagel and Oberst Lieutenant von Hofacker pleaded with Kluge to take part in these important events. Despite the failure of the assassination attempt on Hitler's life, the army headquarters in Berlin was still in the hands of the rebels, under the control of the military leader of the conspiracy, General Beck. They called for an immediate end to the war, which, even if it meant surrender, could only give the failed uprising in Berlin a chance of success.

General von Stülpnagel, leaving Paris, ordered the commandant of the city, Baron von Bouneburg, to arrest the chief SS and police chief of France, SS Obergruppenführer Oberg, together with his personnel and the entire secret police, a total of 1,200 SS officers. Army security forces under the command of Colonel von Crevel made these arrests without firing a shot. The troops were told that Hitler had been killed by SS units and that there was a danger that the SS would acquire despotic power.

Field Marshal von Kluge personally contacted Colonel Generals Beck, Fromm and Heppner, as well as Generals Warlimont and Stift, by telephone, but could not decide to take over the leadership of the uprising on the Western Front. Kluge did not believe in the possibility of isolated action in the West if the insurrection in Berlin and the conspiracy at the Fuehrer's headquarters failed. Most of all, he was not sure that he could rely on his officers and soldiers in this new situation.

Kluge again phoned the Fuehrer's headquarters and the army headquarters in Berlin. Then he ordered the military governor of France to release the imprisoned secret police officers. The fate of General von Stülpnagel was thus a foregone conclusion. Stülpnagel transmitted these orders by telephone to his chief of staff, Colonel von Linstow, at his headquarters, where Admiral Kranke, the commander of the fleet in the West, Ambassador Abetz and others had already arrived in complete disarray.

In these formidable evening hours on July 20, a crisis arose at the front near Caen and Saint-Lo. Corps and divisional commanders called Army Group Headquarters asking for reserves and inquiring about news and events at Hitler's headquarters and in Berlin that they had heard about on the radio. The chief of staff of Army Group B had to answer these questions himself and take the necessary measures to hold the front.

The Field Marshal invited General von Stülpnagel, Obese Lieutenant von Hofacker and Dr. Horst to dine with him. They ate in silence by candlelight, as if they were in a house that death had just visited. Those who survived will never forget the unreal atmosphere of this hour. General Stülpnagel returned to Paris that night, was immediately relieved of command and replaced by General Blumentritt. Field Marshal Keitel spoke with Stülpnagel on the phone, ordered him to return to Berlin for a report. He left Paris early on the morning of 21 July without informing von Kluge. Near Verdun, where he fought in the First World War, he tried to shoot himself. The shot blinded him, and he was sent to a military hospital in Verdun and assigned for treatment as a Gestapo prisoner.

After regaining consciousness after the operation, he shouted out the name "Rommel!" Before he fully recovered from his injury, he was taken to Berlin, brought before the People's Court and sentenced to death by hanging. He was hanged on 30 August along with the colonels of the General Staff von Linstow and Fink. Oberst Lieutenant von Hofacker faced the same fate on 20 December. The chief of staff of Army Group B himself, as a prisoner, saw him, still unbroken, in the dungeons of the Gestapo on Prinz Albrecht Strasse for the last time on 19 December.

Field Marshal von Kluge first received the political leader of the failed conspiracy, Chief Burgomaster Dr. Goerdeler, in April 1942 at the Smolensk headquarters of Army Group Center. He later exchanged views with General Beck, Ambassador von Hassel and others. Kluge allegedly announced in 1943 that he was ready to help overthrow the National Socialist regime in Germany on two conditions. Hitler must be dead, and Kluge must take over supreme command of one of the two fronts, east or west. And although on July 4 one of these conditions was met, the other, decisive, condition was not met.

Major General Henning von Tresckow, who had been Operational Officer (IA) in Army Group Center for many years, was to accompany his Commander-in-Chief to the Western Front as chief of staff. In fact, Hitler's senior adjutant, Lieutenant General Schmundt, unwittingly contributed to this advance. But Kluge did not accept this proposal, probably because he was afraid of Treskov with his unshakable will and thirst for a coup, which exposed him to the daily danger associated with the conspiracy, while both of them were on the Russian front. So Treskov, one of the most ardent and unyielding fighters against Hitler, a man of outstanding character and intelligence, remained on the Eastern Front as chief of staff of the 2nd Army and committed suicide on July 21 to avoid the gallows. In his will, Treskov wrote: “Now the whole world will turn against us and will revile us. But my conviction that we did the right thing is stronger than ever. I consider Hitler not only the main enemy of Germany, but also the main enemy of peace. When I appear in front of the throne of God in a few hours to give an account of my actions and mistakes, I think that I can answer with a clear conscience for everything I did in the fight against Hitler. I hope that just as God told Abraham that he would not destroy Sodom, if only ten righteous people are found in the city, then for our sake He will not destroy Germany. None of us can complain about our death. Those who joined us put on Ness's tunic. The true virtue of a person is manifested at the moment when he is ready to sacrifice his life for his beliefs. "

Kluge received Colonel von Beselager just before taking over command of the Western Front. The colonel, who was killed in action at the front shortly thereafter, conveyed Treskov's call to Kluge to take action.

The bomb attempt to kill Hitler on July 20 came as a complete surprise to Kluge. The Quartermaster General, General Wagner and Colonel of the General Staff von Stauffenberg did not meet with him as expected, and he knew nothing of the reasons that prevented them from coming.

Von Hofacker was on his way back from Berlin when he heard at the station on July 17 that Rommel had been badly wounded. It was impossible to inform Kluge that an attempt on Hitler's life was inevitable, because the final decision to act on July 20 was made in Berlin only in the late afternoon of July 19.

The political officer, like the commissar attached to the headquarters of the Western command, appeared on the morning of July 21 in La Roche-Guyon with representatives of the propaganda department for France. They were sent by Goebbels and Keitel and demanded that Kluge send a telegram of devotion to Hitler, the text of which they had already prepared. Moreover, they demanded that he speak on all radio stations in Germany. Kluge could have avoided speaking on the radio, but he had to sign a modified version of the "congratulatory telegram."

Nevertheless, Gunther von Kluge was destined to be drawn into the maelstrom of events on 20 July. Fate did not spare a man whose convictions and willingness to realize them did not correspond to each other. After July 20, Hitler and the High Command of the Armed Forces became increasingly distrustful of Kluge, probably due to confessions extruded from some of the arrested. From that moment on, his activities as commander were severely criticized, and even went so far as to disobey his orders from Obersalzberg. The leader of the Labor Front, Dr. Lei, delivered a bombastic speech against the officer corps and the German aristocracy. The three divisional commanders of Army Group B - Baron Funk, Baron von Lüttwitz and Count von Schwerin - protested against this speech and demanded that Lei withdraw his accusations. SS Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich spoke on their behalf.

The new chief of the German General Staff, Colonel General Heinz Guderian, issued a unit order placing the General Staff in a position of readiness to take preparatory measures and execute punishment in the case of the conspiracy to kill on 20 July. The chief of staff of Army Group B, with the consent of Field Marshal von Kluge, did not follow this order, observing the chain of command in relation to the commanders. Hitler's salute, or Sieg Heil, was introduced at a time when every soldier suspected the imminent collapse of the system that demanded this symbol of loyalty. It looked like a devilish farce.

From the book Military Mysteries of the Third Reich the author Nepomniachtchi Nikolai Nikolaevich

Himmler July 20, 1944 Schellenberg's agents and scouts warned Himmler well in advance - there should be no doubt about that - of the July 20 conspiracy to kill Hitler. Himmler's own plans for the putsch were still being discussed and verified according to

by Douglas Gregory

July 20, 1944 Part I The pinnacle of Mueller's career as chief of the Gestapo was the investigation and trial of a conspiracy against Hitler that culminated in a bomb explosion at his military headquarters on July 20, 1944.

From the book Chief of the Gestapo Heinrich Müller. Recruitment conversations by Douglas Gregory

July 20, 1944 Part II The events that unfolded in the afternoon of July 20, 1944 at the headquarters of the Gestapo are much more interesting than anything that happened at Hitler's headquarters or on Bendlerstrasse, where the center of the conspiracy was located. There are still many unresolved issues, rather,

From the book No Fear, No Hope. Chronicle of World War II through the eyes of a German general. 1940-1945 the author Zenger Frido background

JULY 20, 1944 On July 20, when an attempt was made to assassinate Hitler, I was at my headquarters in Pistoia. I had known about the conspiracy plan for a long time. We now learned very quickly that he had failed. The conspirators tried to speed up events in the interests of the German

From the book Ten Years and Twenty Days. Memoirs of the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy. 1935-1945 author Dönitz Karl

20. JULY 20, 1944 I learn about the conspiracy. - Undermining morale on the fronts. “My disapproval as a member of the military. - Treason The events of July 20 continue to excite the minds of the Germans and sow discord among the masses. But we never

From the book by Alfred Jodl. A soldier without fear or reproach. The combat path of the head of the OKW of Germany. 1933-1945 author Just Gunther

July 20, 1944 Summer of 1944: German troops are involved in the most severe defensive battles almost along the entire length of the front. The militia soldiers are doing their duty, and the people in their homeland withstand the numerous deadly bombings of residential areas. Front of officers

From the book Stalin's Baltic Divisions the author Petrenko Andrey Ivanovich

9. Liberation of Narva on July 26, 1944 On July 4, 1944, the Headquarters of the Supreme Command set the task for the 3rd Baltic Front (commander - General of the Army II Maslennikov) to defeat the Pskov-Ostrovsk group of the enemy, reach the Ostrov, Gulbene line,

From the book Against Stalin and Hitler. General Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement the author Shtrik-Shtrikfeldt Wilfried Karlovich

July 20, 1944 Meanwhile, the Western Allies landed in Normandy. Malyshkin went to France. What he reported upon his return shocked us: “After the allies have landed, the Russian units there must be written off. Russian volunteers are beside themselves. They can't understand why

From the SS book - an instrument of terror the author Williamson Gordon

THE JULY CONSPIRACY OF 1944 By the end of 1943, the RSHA realized the presence of a powerful anti-Hitler opposition in the ranks of the Wehrmacht, but it seems that it could not find evidence against many specific individuals. Those suspicious, who were nevertheless identified, were not touched,

author of Sovinformburo

Operational summary for July 19, 1944 Troops of the 3rd Baltic Front, crossing the VELIKAYA River, broke through the heavily fortified, deeply developed German defense south of the city of OSTROV and in two days of offensive battles advanced 40 kilometers forward, expanding the breakthrough to 70

From the book Summaries of the Soviet Information Bureau (June 22, 1941 - May 15, 1945) author of Sovinformburo

Operational report for July 20, 1944 During July 20, south of the city of OSTROV, our troops fought forward and occupied more than 30 settlements, including DEMESHKINO, PASHKOVO, SERGINO, PESLOVO, ROGOVO, SHMAILI. To the north of the city OTHER our the troops continued to lead

From the book Summaries of the Soviet Information Bureau (June 22, 1941 - May 15, 1945) author of Sovinformburo

Operational report for July 21, 1944 On the KARELSK front to the north and west of the city of SUOYARVI, our troops fought offensive battles, during which they occupied more than 40 settlements; among them? KUDOM-GUBA, GINDENVARA, ILYANVARA, TERKKELA, SUOKONTO, YAGLYAYARVI, KIVIYARVI,

From the book Summaries of the Soviet Information Bureau (June 22, 1941 - May 15, 1945) author of Sovinformburo

Operational report for July 22, 1944 During July 22, on the KAREL front to the north-west of the city of SUOYARVI, our troops fought several settlements; among them? IZYANVARA, PAHKALAMPI, LONGONVARA, VARPAVARA, LIUSVARA. In the LONGONVARA region, our troops entered

From the book Summaries of the Soviet Information Bureau (June 22, 1941 - May 15, 1945) author of Sovinformburo

Operational summary for July 23, 1944 Troops of the 3rd Baltic Front on July 23 by storm seized a powerful stronghold of the Germans' defense? city ​​and a large railway junction PSKOV, as well as with battles occupied more than 100 settlements, including large settlements

From the book Summaries of the Soviet Information Bureau (June 22, 1941 - May 15, 1945) author of Sovinformburo

Operational summary for July 24, 1944 During July 24 west and south-west of the city of PSKOV, our troops continued to conduct offensive battles, during which they occupied more than 60 settlements, including large settlements KORLA, PODDUBE, VYHLIVO, ELISEEVO, ZAYTSEVO,

From the book Summaries of the Soviet Information Bureau (June 22, 1941 - May 15, 1945) author of Sovinformburo

Operational summary for July 25, 1944 During July 25, south-west of the city of PSKOV, our troops fought over 40 settlements, including LAKAMTSEVO, BELOKHVOSTOVO, SAMOKHVA-LOVA, KACHANAVA, AKSENAVA, TEPENITSA, MEYROVA, VILAKA, SVILPOVA and the railway station

Operation Valkyrie. The assassination attempt on Hitler

Few people know that among Hitler's inner circle, a conspiracy once ripened, the purpose of which was to assassinate the Fuhrer ...

Murder for life

In the summer of 1944, it became clear that the collapse of the German army was not far off. Thousands killed and wounded, crushing defeats. The fascists continued to resist, although they realized that the war was lost. But Hitler himself did not want to surrender, and the bloody massacre continued, multiplying the already huge losses of people.

And the most sane associates of the Fuhrer had a plan: in order to end this senseless war and save people's lives, Hitler himself and his closest associates, Goering and Himmler, must be killed. This is how the famous Operation Valkyrie was conceived.

As one of the participants in the conspiracy, Philip von Beselager, said: “We were convinced that even if on July 20, 1944 we were able to carry out our plans, we would be hanged, because the whole nation fanatically believed in Hitler. But every day of his idiotic rule brought more and more senseless sacrifices. I saw his concentration camps, where Jews, Poles, Russians died. I understood that I was living in a criminal state. We wanted to end the war and all these horrors. "

The conspiracy was initiated by Generals Ludwig Beck, Friedrich Olbricht and Henning von Treskow. Quite quickly, they managed to find like-minded people among their subordinates - and this in conditions of total control. The most valuable of the conspirators was 37-year-old Klaus von Stauffenberg, an experienced soldier who lost an arm and an eye in the African campaign.

It was von Stauffenberg who was assigned the main role in the impending assassination of the Fuhrer. This experienced officer had access to regular meetings with Hitler, Goering and Himmler. In order to kill the entire top of the fascist government in one fell swoop, the colonel had to bring a briefcase filled with a powerful explosive device to one of the meetings, set the fuse and hide before the bomb exploded.

Briefcase with death

The assassination attempt was originally scheduled for July 11, 1944. On this day, a meeting was to take place with all three alleged victims at once. Stauffenberg arrived at the scene with his deadly briefcase, but Hitler did not come that day, and the operation had to be canceled.

4 days later, the next meeting was supposed to take place, and Stauffenberg again prepared for the murder, but literally at the last minute the meeting was postponed, and the assassination attempt failed again.

But on July 20, the planned assassination attempt was carried out. Early in the morning at the central headquarters of Hitler "Wolfschanze" ("Wolf's Lair") near the town of Rathenburg in East Prussia, an operational meeting of military advisers on the state of affairs on the Eastern Front began.

Due to the intense heat, the meeting was held not in a concrete bunker, but in a small wooden house. Stauffenberg entered the room in the midst of the meeting, announcing that he had "an important message from Berlin." Having greeted the Fuehrer and the participants, the colonel put the briefcase with the detonated fuse at the table, just two meters from the Fuehrer. After which Stauffenberg said that he urgently needed to call on the phone and left the premises.

At 12 hours 42 minutes, an explosion thundered of a monstrous force that brought down the ceiling.

Fully confident of success, Stauffenberg traveled to Berlin to report the complete success of the company.

Meanwhile, General Olbricht ordered the arrest of the Nazi leadership and senior SS officials. In Berlin, Field Marshal Beck took over the leadership of the War Office, and in Paris, many Nazi leaders were arrested by their subordinates, privy to the details of the conspiracy.

Settlement of accounts

But the conspirators turned out to be completely unprepared for the following circumstance - despite the explosion of crushing force, Hitler remained alive and not even wounded! Three officers and a stenographer were killed, but Hitler himself received minor scratches. However, the assassination attempt did not pass without a trace for him - until the end of his life, his left cheek twitched and his hearing was greatly impaired.

So, Hitler survived and was full of anger and desire to deal with the conspirators.
As soon as news of this reached Berlin, the Gestapo began to act. All the conspirators were immediately arrested. On the same day, Stauffenberg and Olbricht were shot. Field Marshal Beck was found in the evening with a bullet in his forehead.

At night Hitler spoke on the radio: “My German comrades! I stand before you today, firstly so that you can make sure that I am alive and well, and secondly, so that you can learn about a crime unprecedented in German history. A group of officers have concocted a conspiracy to destroy me ... We will settle scores with them, as it is characteristic of us, the National Socialists. "

"Witch-hunt"

And Hitler began to settle scores ... A wave of terror and arrests swept across the country and the territories occupied by Germany. Fifteen leaders of the conspiracy were asked to make a choice: shoot themselves or face trial. This is how the famous Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide.

After savage torture, intelligence chief Friedrich Wilhelm Canaris and former ambassador to Moscow Frederick Werner von Schulenburg, who knew nothing about the mutiny, died.

Fearing that not all the perpetrators had yet been captured, Hitler launched an all-out "witch hunt." About 5,000 people were executed on charges of involvement in the conspiracy. Not only those who were, in one way or another, involved in the conspiracy, but also the relatives of the suspects were subjected to repression.

On August 7, 1944, the first of a series of show trials, conceived by the Nazi leadership as a demonstration of the "loyalty of the German people to the Fuehrer", began. Generals and senior officers appeared before the court, accused of aiding the conspirators. "Never in the history of German justice," the stenographer recalled, "had the defendants treated with such fanatical cruelty as in this trial."

A few days later, a sentence was passed on all those suspected of participating in the conspiracy: the death penalty by hanging. In accordance with Hitler's instructions, the convicts were taken to Pletzensee prison and hung on piano strings attached to meat hooks. The convulsions of the agonizing victims were filmed and replayed on the screen in Wolf's Lair the same evening. According to one of the eyewitnesses, Hitler liked the film, and the Fuhrer often revised it, admiring the agony of his enemies.

However, Hitler did not have long to enjoy the footage of the death of the conspirators - the war was coming to an end, and the inevitable punishment awaited the possessed Fuhrer for all his crimes ...

Army against Hitler.

The idea of ​​a military coup never left the head of the military after Hitler came to power. The generals were irritated by the upstart - a plebeian who imagines himself to be a great strategist. The coup d'état was very real during the Sudeten crisis, but the leaders of England and France, showing simply incredible political myopia, went to the Munich agreement with Hitler and thereby plunged their peoples into great trouble. At this time, the German generals were ready to overthrow the possessed Fuhrer. England and France only had to take a tough stance and declare mobilization. And already in 1938, Hitler would have been imprisoned for a long time if he had stayed alive.

Hitler's stunning foreign policy and, then, simply incredible military successes added to the Fuhrer of the German people many new sympathizers in military circles and reduced the number of opponents. The Germans' love and trust in Hitler exceeded even the current rating of Russian President Putin. But easy victories soon ceased, losses both at the front and in the rear began to increase rapidly, and the military realized that a nightmare defeat was just around the corner. The development of plans for a military coup has entered the practical stage.

The landing of the Allies in Normandy on June 6, 1944 spurred the organizers of the anti-Nazi resistance. The conspirators did not expect the 1944 Anglo-American landings to land. We thought such an attempt would take place much later. The "premature" invasion was initially received by the conspirators rather positively. They believed that the allies would not be able to gain a foothold in France, there would be heavy losses and this would give additional trump cards in negotiations with America and England.

However, the landing was successful. And the conspirators have appointed a speech for the month of July. The main striking force of the planned coup was the Reserve Army, of which Colonel Stauffenberg was the chief of staff. This man, despite his disability (in 1943 he lost an eye, his right hand and two fingers on his left) was ideally suited to eliminate Hitler. He was unusually cold-blooded.

Germany strained all its forces in an unequal struggle and its armed forces were on the fronts that were still outside its own territory. Therefore, the Reserve Army, preparing new divisions to replace the destroyed ones, was the only force located throughout the country. The second largest force was the air defense forces subordinate directly to Goering and were armed with excellent anti-aircraft guns. Air defense forces covered major cities and major industrial areas. In Berlin and in several other key places, SS guard units were located, although the bulk of them fought at the front.

Noble conspiracy.

The conspirators had to solve difficult problems. While the German army was gaining stunning victories, there was no chance of drawing authoritative generals into the conspiracy. The people of Germany believed in the Fuehrer unconditionally. Most Germans believed that it was not Hitler who started the war, but England. Hitler, in their opinion, sought universal peace, but without discrimination against Germany. The capture of the territories of the Czech Republic and Poland by Hitler was regarded by the German people as "the restoration of historical justice." In the Sudetenland and Pomerania, Germans were indeed the ethnic majority. And the fate of the Czechs and Poles did not bother them.

As the situation on the fronts deteriorated, more and more officers and generals, mostly of noble origin, came to the idea of ​​removing Hitler from power, who was going to fight to the last German. However, most of the military were ready to act only after the death of the Fuhrer. Quite a few officers and generals were Hitler's admirers and would not have opposed him under any pretext. The conspirators were going to use ordinary soldiers in the dark.

Conspiracy on the Eastern Front. Operation "Flash".

The conspiracy against Hitler first took shape on the Eastern Front. It was headed by General Hoenig von Treskov, Chief of Staff of Army Group Center. Von Treskov and Friedrich Olbrecht, Chief of the Army Directorate, developed Operation Flash. The conspirators persuaded Hitler to visit the headquarters of the army group in Smolensk on March 13, 1943. The commander of the security unit at the headquarters, Colonel von Beselager, was ready to shoot Hitler along with his guards right at the airport. All he needed was an order from Field Marshal Kluge. But he hesitated, although he gave his principled consent to participate in the mutiny, in the event of a successful assassination attempt.

Hoenig von Treskov. Shot himself on the Eastern Front on July 21, 1944. Relatives were repressed.

Then the conspirators decided to blow up Hitler, either at a meeting or in the officers' mess. But in this case, Kluge would also have died, ready to support the rebellion with his authority. The best solution was the decision to blow up the plane with the Fuhrer on the way to Berlin. The bomb, disguised as a package of cognac for a general in Berlin, was handed over to Colonel Brandt from the General Staff. However, the bomb did not detonate. Now it was necessary to urgently fly to Berlin, remove the bomb. Chief Lieutenant Fabian von Schlabrendorff, sent to the capital, took the bomb from Brandt under a plausible pretext. Having disassembled it, they found the reason - the acid from the crushed ampoule corroded the wire, the firing pin pierced the primer, but the detonator did not ignite.

Georg von Böselager. Was ready to finish off Hitler back in 1943. Killed in action on August 27, 1944.

"Overcoat" attempts.

The next chance came on March 21st. Hitler, along with his inner circle, was supposed to visit an exhibition of captured Soviet equipment. The chief of intelligence at the Kluge headquarters, Colonel von Gersdorff, put two bombs in the pockets of his overcoat, set for a minimum time of 10 minutes. In this case, the closest associates of the Fuhrer would have been destroyed. But von Gersdorff would also have to give his life, to which the courageous officer agreed. At the last moment it was announced that the inspection would last 8 minutes and the assassination attempt had to be postponed.

Rudolph-Christoph von Gersdorff. One of the few surviving members of the conspiracy.

In the period from September 1943 to January 1944, 6 more attempts to destroy Hitler were thwarted. In September, they were going to blow up Hitler at his headquarters in Rastenburg (Prussia). But General Stiff, to whom the "cognac" was sent through Brandt, chickened out at the last moment. In November, at the showing of a new overcoat to the Fuehrer, the "model" infantry captain Axel von dem Busche, with bombs in his pockets, was supposed to embrace Hitler and take off with him into the air. However, the day before, during the bombing of Berlin, all samples of new uniforms were destroyed.

The new "fashion show" was due to take place in December, but the Fuehrer unexpectedly left to celebrate Christmas in Berchtesgaden. On February 11, another young officer, Heinrich von Kleist, came to demonstrate the overcoat instead of the wounded at the front of Busche. However, the Fuehrer did not arrive.

Hitler's tactics.

Hitler was well aware that they would definitely try to eliminate him. A shorthand record of his statements on March 3, 1942 has been preserved: “I am fully aware of why 90% of historical attempts were successful. The only preventive measure to which you should resort is not to observe regularities in your life - in walks, trips, travel. All this is best done at different times and unexpectedly. As far as possible, going anywhere in a car, I leave unexpectedly, without warning the police. "

Hitler's tactics to constantly change their schedule required the conspirators to change their plans. They came to the conclusion that one can really count on a meeting with the Fuhrer only during meetings held twice a day. On December 29, 1943, a young officer, Klaus von Stauffenberg, arrived at a meeting at the Fuehrer's headquarters in Rastenburg with a time bomb in his briefcase. But the meeting was canceled, the Fuhrer left to celebrate Christmas.

Operation Valkyrie.

The coup plan was named "Valkyrie". Valkyries, beautiful, but terrifying, maidens from German-Scandinavian mythology, hovering over the battlefield and choosing fighters who are destined to die. The plan was developed by General von Treskov and finalized by Colonel von Stauffenberg. Also, instructions were prepared for the commanders of military districts, declarations and appeals to the German people and the armed forces.

For better conspiracy, the cunning Canaris suggested that Hitler develop a plan of action in case of an uprising of millions of foreign slaves brought to work in German factories. Such an uprising was unlikely, but the suspicious Hitler agreed to develop a plan to suppress the uprising. The same Canaris "threw" the name of the plan to the Fuehrer - "Valkyrie". Thus, the conspirators in the army could work almost openly on a plan to seize power. One of the Abwehr employees, Hans Oster, was among the leaders of the conspiracy.

Colonel General Beck was to become the new head of state. Field Marshal von Witzleben was slated for the role of commander-in-chief, and the former mayor of Leipzig Goerdeler, the ideologist of the coup d'état, was assigned the post of chancellor. The conspirators' great success was attracting Field Marshal Rommel into their ranks, although he objected to the assassination of Hitler. Time was pressing. In addition, Beck, Goerdeler, Hassel, Witzleben and some other conspirators were under the watchful eye of the Gestapo.

July 1944. Three tries.

On the eve of the attempt to eliminate Hitler on July 11, the conspirators considered that together with Hitler it was necessary to eliminate Himmler and Goering, especially since they usually attended the meetings. But on July 11, Himmler was absent. Stauffenberg, leaving the meeting for a minute, called General Olbricht in Berlin and he persuaded him to wait for the next meeting, when all three would meet.

On the same evening, returning to Berlin, Stauffenberg talked with Beck and Olbricht and decided that next time they would not wait for the whole troika. On July 15, the conspirators were so convinced of success that at 11:00, two hours before the meeting, Olbricht gave the order "Valkyrie-1" and the troops began to advance. Stauffenberg left the meeting, reported to Olbricht that Hitler was in place and he was starting to carry out the assignment. But when Stauffenberg entered the meeting room again, Hitler was no longer there. I had to urgently run to the phone and inform Olbricht.

The general in a rage canceled the alarm and the troops tried to return to the barracks as quickly and unobtrusively as possible. But rumors have already spread in Berlin that the Fuhrer's headquarters will soon be blown up and the military will take power into their own hands.

Field Marshal Rommel. Forced to commit suicide on October 14, 1944. Buried as a national hero. The Nazis could not announce to the country that the most popular military man was involved in a conspiracy against Hitler.

On July 17, the conspirators suffered a strong blow - an American fighter fired at the headquarters vehicle and Field Marshal Rommel was seriously wounded. The most energetic and capable leader of the rebellion was lost. Now an overwhelming burden lay on Stauffenberg's shoulders. He needed to eliminate Hitler himself and lead the uprising.

The fate of Colonel Brandt.

Stauffenberg and Keitel were a little late for the meeting. General Heusinger made a report on the situation on the Eastern Front. Four minutes have passed since the ampoule was crushed. Stauffenberg put the briefcase with the bomb under the table, whispered to Colonel Brandt to keep an eye on him, and went out to allegedly call Berlin for fresh information. It was exactly the Brandt who carried the bomb in the Fuehrer's plane under the guise of a package with cognac.

Above is a layout diagram for meeting participants. Brandt moved the bomb briefcase placed by Stauffenberg to the left of the pedestal to the right side of the pedestal.

Brandt's briefcase under his feet was in the way and he moved it a little further, behind a massive pedestal. By this he saved Hitler and ensured his certain death. Stauffenberg briskly walked out of the room. At 12.42 a bomb exploded. An air wave from the windows threw the bodies of several people, debris flew. Stauffenberg decided that everyone in the conference room was killed.

General Fellgiebel, the chief of communications for the Wehrmacht, broke the connection between Hitler's headquarters and the country after the assassination attempt. Executed on September 4, 1944.

Werner von Heften, Stauffenberg's adjutant. Participated in the assassination attempt on Hitler. Executed on July 20, 1944, together with his superior.

Goering examines the aftermath of the explosion.

Hot weather saved Hitler. The meeting was moved from the stuffy bunker to the summer pavilion and all the windows in the conference room were thrown open, significantly reducing the impact of the blast wave. If the meeting took place in a bunker, then nothing would have saved the Fuhrer.

Failure of the conspiracy.

Rommel's injury and the unsuccessful "rehearsal" of the July 15 mutiny, when it was difficult to justify itself due to the appearance of troops with tanks in Berlin, seemed to paralyze the conspirators. And when Stauffenberg flew to the capital three hours later, he saw with horror that no one had done anything. A German general, even if he is a conspirator, needs an order to start energetic action. In addition, many officers and generals were not privy to the conspirators' plans. And many still had unlimited trust in Hitler. Indeed, in July 1944, the foot of a foreign soldier had not yet set foot on German territory. In the east, all of Poland was occupied by the Wehrmacht, and in the west, almost all of France.

Karl Goerdeler. Was to become chancellor if the coup was successful. Executed on February 2, 1945.

General Wagner. Provided the plane to Klaus von Stauffenberg. Committed suicide on July 23, 1944.

It was only by six in the evening that Hitler and the Nazi elite began to realize that apart from the assassination attempt, which they initially perceived as an individual terrorist attack, something was happening in the country. The telephone connection was broken. One small fry, who happened to be in Berlin at the moment, hurried to Goebbels, who at first did not want to listen to him. Then he asked the chief of propaganda to come to the window, look at the movements of military units and see for himself what was happening.

Merz von Quirnheim. An active participant in the conspiracy. shot along with Stauffenberg, Heften and Olbricht. This four got an easy death.

The Commander of the Reserve Army Fromm was not initiated into the conspiracy, although all orders for the Reserve Army were prepared by the conspirators on his behalf. They hoped to win him over to their side after the assassination of Hitler. Fromm at first became furious over the use of his name, was put under arrest in his own office, then began to hesitate, but in the end, when it became known that Hitler had survived, he decided to cover his tracks. After the failure of the coup attempt became obvious, Fromm ordered to shoot people who could testify about his hesitation, i.e. Stauffenberg and Olbricht. Quirnheim and Heften got in for the company.

General Fromm. He shot a group of conspirators on the night of July 20-21. But that didn't help him. He was shot on March 12, 1945.

Unfortunately, the conspirators in Berlin did not have the strength and ability to carry out a coup. Although if Hitler had died, everything could have turned out differently. In Paris, the mutiny was carried out successfully - General Stülpnagel arrested all 1200 officers and soldiers of the SS. But in Berlin, by evening, the conspiracy was suppressed. Hitler executed 5,000 people during 1944-45. The Nazis were shocked that they had missed such a broad conspiracy under their very noses.

I have shared with you the information that I "dug up" and systematized. At the same time, he has not become poorer at all and is ready to share further, at least twice a week.

If you find errors or inaccuracies in the article, please report. My e-mail address: [email protected] . I'll be very thankful.