Operation ValkyrieMany have wondered if anyone had attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, one of the greatest mass-murderers in history. Operation Valkyrie was an important event in history that highlighted the attempted assassination of Adolf Hitler. The assassination plot of Adolf Hitler, known as Operation Valkyrie, was drafted to put an end to the atrocities he was committing, drawn up in secret by his own German soldiers, and will forever live on in the history of World War II. Ironically, the German conspirators used a previous German emergency plan as the basis for their assassination plot.
Adolf Hitler had complete control of the German army and was not doing good things. Many members of the German government believed he was destroying Germany and all they have made for themselves, (Crime Museum). The only way to keep from getting taken over by the Allies was to get rid of Hitler and take away his power, (Crime Museum). The conspirators who were all either, part of the bureaucratic government or the military, had a plan to take back control, their plan was based on a modified version of Operation Valkyrie so they could take control of Germany and make peace with the allies before they invaded Germany, the Operation was okayed by Hitler himself in case there was a break down in law and order or communications between different parts of Germany’s Government were cut off due to revolt or attack, (Crime Museum).
In the revised version of Operation Valkyrie, the starting event would be the assassination and death of Hitler along with a few of his key advisors, (Crime Museum). The suspicion of it would then fall on the more frantic branches of the government, thus leaving the Reserve Army, under the direction of General Friedrich Fromm, to take complete control of the government, (Crime Museum). The army would then take control of important buildings such as buildings of communication in Berlin, so that he and the conspirators could gain and reorganize the government, (Crime Museum). The plan to kill Hitler was filled with risk; Claus von Stauffenberg would carry a briefcase loaded with explosives, through the checkpoints to the Wolfs Lair, where Hitler was at, and position the briefcase as close to Hitler during Hitler’s briefing on the status of the war, (Last1).Stauffenberg would then take a phone call to get out of the room and after the briefcase exploded, Stauffenberg would then head back to Berlin, where by the use of the Reserve Army would take control of the government, (Last1). The main conspirators of the operation were Claus con Stauffenberg, Wilhelm Canaris, Carl Goerdeler, Julius Leber, Ulrich Hassell, Hans Oster, Peter von Wartenburg, Henning von Tresckow, Friedrich Olbricht, Werner von Haeften, Fabian Schlabrendorft, Ludwig Beck, and Erwin von Witzleben, (Crime Museum). The group of conspirators was led by Gen Henning von Tresckow. Claus von Stauffenberg was one of the main conspirators of the plot. Tall, well bred, Stauffenberg was the son of one of the most prestigious old families of south Germany, (Galante, Pg.5). He was an aristocrat catholic and spent his life as an army officer, (Last1). In 1943 he was badly injured while serving in Tunisia. He lost an eye, his right hand, and two fingers from his left hand, (Last1). Then in 1944 he became Chief of Staff for the commander of the German Replacement Army, (Last1). This post gave him admittance to Hitler and an opportunity to carry out the assassination attempt, (Last1). Friedrich Fromm was the General of the Reserve Army. He was the only other one than Hitler that could put Operation Valkyrie into effect. If he had not joined the plan would have failed. After planting the bomb and leaving the room, Stauffenberg got in his car and saw the bomb explode and he sped off and got on a plane to Berlin sure that Hitler was dead. Of the four casualties, Hitler was not one of them, (Crime Museum). He’d only suffered minor injuries, with burnt clothes; a cut hand and ear drum problems, (Wilde1). The conflicting reports on if Hitler was dead or not made those in Berlin stall before initiating the operation. The different reports on if Hitler had survived the assassination or been killed caused the conspirators wait before beginning the next part of the operation. Until Hitler himself had recovered enough to call up several officers himself and tell them he survived, (Crime Museum). After news of Hitler’s survival was out things began to fall apart. The first batch of conspirators, including Stauffenberg, were arrested and shot, (Wilde1). Others that were tangentially connected were arrested, tortured, brutally executed and filmed, (Wilde1). By the end thousands had been executed and others sent to camps. Thousands were executed and relatives of important figures were sent to camps, (Wilde1). In spite of their efforts, they failed in achieving their goal. However, Hitler ended his own life later on and Germany surrendered. Operation Valkyrie was created to end the horrors that Adolf Hitler was committing in Germany, was written up by his own German soldiers, and will remain an important aspect in World War II history. Ironically, after Germany was forced to surrender, Adolf Hitler would take his own life.