List of people killed or wounded in the 20 July plot
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Outcome | Victims |
---|---|
Slightly injured |
8
|
Injured |
10
|
Seriously injured |
2
|
Killed |
4
|
On 22 June 1944, the Soviet Armed Forces launched a massive attack against the German forces based in Belorussia, which were made up of two strategic army groups known as Army Group Centre.[2] By mid July, Army Group Centre had lost no fewer than 250,000 men in less than a month of fighting, making the German position close to hopeless.[3][4]
In deciding what to do, a series of military conferences were scheduled at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in East Prussia.[5] On 20 July, Adolf Hitler and his top military commanders entered the briefing hut of the headquarters, as the usual bombproof room, with no windows and thick walls of solid concrete, was considered "unbearably hot".[5] In attendance was Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who had lost an eye, his right hand and half his left in action during the North African theatre.[6] Undetected by Hitler's ring of bodyguards, Stauffenberg carried a British-made bomb in his briefcase.[7] His plan was to get as close as possible to Hitler, leave the briefcase nearby, and then make an excuse to quickly leave the conference by car with his adjutant and fellow conspirator Werner von Haeften.[5] This was part of a larger planned coup d'état led by a group of army officers who were appalled by the way Hitler was leading Germany.[8] Everything preceded according to plan, until the bomb exploded as Stauffenberg walked towards his car, earlier than hoped.[5] When the explosion tore through the hut, Stauffenberg was convinced that no one in the room could have survived.[5] Unaware to Stauffenberg, staff officer Heinz Brandt had moved the briefcase containing the bomb further away from Hitler, placing it behind a solid wooden table leg, as it was in his way. Hitler survived with only minor injuries,[9] as did most of the others present, although three officers and a stenographer were killed.[5]
Although strictly against security doctrines imposed at the Wolf's Lair, Stauffenberg and Haeften were allowed to pass through all three checkpoints and proceed to the airport, succeeding in getting away before clarity could be established back at the now completely demolished briefing hut.[5] In the last hours of 20 July, Stauffenberg, Haeften, and several other plotters, were arrested and summarily condemned to death.[1] The executions were carried out by soldiers under Major Otto Remer early on the morning of 21 July.[1]
Following the assassination attempt Hitler came to believe that the Wehrmacht leadership could not be trusted; he launched a purge of the officer corps and also used the shock of the attack to round up all the surviving members of the old opposition in the Reichstag.[1] At the same time, those officers who had been injured or killed by the bomb were awarded the 20 July Wound Badge and hailed as heroes.[10] General Günther Korten, General Rudolf Schmundt, Colonel Heinz Brandt and stenographer Heinz Berger were given a state funeral with a eulogy delivered by Vice-Chancellor Hermann Göring.[1]
Contents
Participants
Approximate positions of participants when bomb exploded
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Isbouts & Schwartz 2008.
- ↑ Zaloga 1996, p. 7.
- ↑ Zaloga 1996, pp. 6–9.
- ↑ Housden 2013, p. 513.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 Martin & Newark 2009.
- ↑ Housden 2013, pp. 113.
- ↑ Housden 2013, pp. 115–117.
- ↑ Moorhouse 2010, p. 281.
- ↑ Shirer 1960, p. 29.
- ↑ Williamson 2002, p. 40.
- ↑ Hoffmann 1996, p. 663.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 BBC News 2004.
- ↑ Short & Dennis 2013, p. 32.
- ↑ Hamilton 1984, p. 144.
- ↑ Short & Dennis 2013, p. 55.
- ↑ Short & Dennis 2013, p. 74.
- ↑ Domarus 2004, p. 2918.
- ↑ Miller 2006, p. 316.
- ↑ Eberle & Uhl 2009, p. 223.
- ↑ Kershaw 2008, p. 925.
- ↑ Hoffmann 1996, p. 677.
- ↑ Hamilton 1984, p. 148.
- ↑ Weinberg 2013, p. 324.
- ↑ Zeimke 2014, p. 419.
- ↑ Williamson 2002, p. 43.
Sources
Printed
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Online
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