Germany's Scholz commemorates 'Valkyrie' plot against Hitler
July 20, 2024
The citizens of modern Germany must stand against "any kind of hatred and extremism," Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday, as the country marks the 80th anniversary of the failed assassination of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Speaking at the memorial ceremony in Berlin, Scholz said modern-day Germans no longer need to engage in dangerous acts such as assassinating a dictator.
However, he stressed that the enemies of democracy "will always be met with our decisive resistance," adding that it "relies on our tireless efforts, on the efforts of each and every one of us."
What prompted the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944?
The plot to kill Hitler and take power in Nazi Germany, known as "Operation Valkyrie," was spearheaded by a group of senior military officers and members of the nobility. It is the best-known assassination attempt against the Nazi dictator, although several other attempts were made at different points in Hitler's political career.
In 1944, Germany was facing a military defeat after suffering devastating losses against the Soviet Union and failing to repel the Allied invasion in France. The conspirators planned to assassinate Hitler, seize key command posts and administration points, and negotiate the end of the war on the Western Front. It is believed they had plans to maintain a fighting force to protect German-controlled territories in the east.
According to the declaration prepared by the would-be post-Hitler government, one of the goals was also to immediately end "the prosecution of Jews" and dissolve concentration camps.
Who was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg?
The man tasked with killing Hitler was Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. Like many of his co-conspirators, von Stauffenberg was a nationalist who believed Hitler had to be killed for Germany to be saved.
On July 20, Von Stauffenberg was scheduled to report to Hitler at his secret compound known as the "Wolf's Lair" in present-day Poland. Taking a military plane to the command center, the colonel brought a briefcase containing two explosive devices.
The plotters expected the meeting with Hitler to be held in a concrete bunker. Due to the summer heat, however, the conference was moved to an above-ground cabin with relatively thin walls, and the windows were kept open. Von Stauffenberg managed to excuse himself to the washroom and arm one of the two devices, but was interrupted by a guard knocking on the door.
He was unable to arm the second device and left it with his aide. Von Stauffenberg returned to the cabin and placed the briefcase close to Hitler, then left again some minutes later to answer a pre-arranged phone call.
One of the attending officers then moved the briefcase away from the Nazi leader to give him more room. The bomb exploded as intended, killing four people — but not Hitler, who was protected by the thick table leg and avoided more serious injuries due to the blast dissipating through open windows and thin walls.
Believing Hitler was dead, von Stauffenberg flew back to Berlin to take part in the attempted coup, but was hunted down and executed before the end of the day.
What did Olaf Scholz say about the lessons of the plot?
Speaking on Saturday in Berlin, Olaf Scholz said that the message of anti-Nazi resistance was that "we don't have to be resigned" to forces of history. The members of the resistance showed that a "different, better Germany" was possible.
"'It's up to me' — that's the conviction that must also unite us today," he added.
The German chancellor also used the memory of von Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators as an example for the modern German military, the Bundeswehr.
"Serving in the Bundeswehr today requires you to think for yourself and not just blindly obey," he said.
While accepting that conspirators behind Operation Valkyrie were not "flawless heroes," Scholz stressed that they were people "who did the right thing at the right moment and at great risk to themselves and their families."
dj/ab (dpa, EPD)