20/07/2026
July 20, 1944 – The Assassination Attempt on Hi**er and the German Resistance
On July 20, 1944, at 12:42 p.m., an explosion rocked the Führer’s headquarters, the “Wolf’s Lair,” in East Prussia. What initially appeared to be a terrorist attack developed within a few hours into one of the most significant events in modern German history. Behind the assassination attempt was a group of officers, civil servants, and civilians who wanted to overthrow the N**i regime and end the war.
The Path to the Resistance
In the summer of 1944, the German Reich found itself in a militarily hopeless situation. In the East, the Red Army had crushed the German Army Group Center with Operation Bagration. In the West, following their landing in Normandy, the Allies were fighting to break out of their bridgeheads. Many members of the military leadership recognized that the war could no longer be won.
Yet resistance to Adolf Hi**er did not emerge only in the final months of the war. As early as the 1930s, people from various social groups had been opposing the N**i regime—including clergy, trade unionists, Social Democrats, conservatives, students, and officers. Their motives were varied: moral conviction, Christian faith, a sense of patriotic responsibility, or the realization that Hi**er’s policies were leading Germany into catastrophe.
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg played a central role. As an officer on the General Staff, he had access to Hi**er and became a key figure in the conspiracy.
Stauffenberg was seriously wounded during the African campaign. He lost his right hand as well as two fingers on his left hand and went blind in one eye. Despite these severe injuries, he returned to duty. His experiences on the front lines and his knowledge of N**i crimes strengthened his conviction that Hi**er must be eliminated.
The Assassination Attempt at the Wolf’s Lair
On the morning of July 20, Stauffenberg flew to the Führer’s headquarters, the “Wolfsschanze,” near Rastenburg. In his briefcase is an explosive device with a time fuse.
Shortly before the briefing begins, he manages to arm the bomb. Due to time constraints, however, only one of the two planned explosive devices can be armed. Stauffenberg then places the briefcase as close as possible to Hi**er under the map table and leaves the conference room under a pretext.
At 12:42 p.m., the explosive device detonates. Four people die, and numerous others are injured. Hi**er, however, survives with relatively minor injuries. A solid tabletop, as well as the fact that the meeting had been moved from a bunker to a more lightly constructed wooden barracks, significantly reduced the impact of the explosion.
“Operation Valkyrie”
While Stauffenberg flies back to Berlin, the implementation of the coup plan begins there. Under the code name “Operation Valkyrie”, the conspirators intend to seize control of the army, the administration, and the police. Originally, Valkyrie served as a contingency plan to suppress internal unrest, but the conspirators repurpose it for the planned change of government.
Since it is initially unclear whether Hi**er is actually dead, delays ensue. When news finally arrives that Hi**er has survived the assassination attempt, the coup quickly collapses. Many military units refuse to obey the conspirators’ orders.
The Failure and Its Consequences
That very night, on the night of July 21, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, General Friedrich Olbricht, Colonel Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, and First Lieutenant Werner von Haeften were shot in the courtyard of Berlin’s Bendlerblock.
In the weeks that followed, a widespread wave of arrests began. More than 7,000 people came under the Gestapo’s scrutiny. Around 5,000 of them were arrested; approximately 200 participants or alleged supporters were executed following trials before the People’s Court or without trial. Many relatives of the conspirators were also persecuted under the so-called “kin liability” policy.
July 20 in the Culture of Remembrance
After the end of World War II, July 20 was viewed in different ways. While the conspirators were long portrayed in the GDR primarily as representatives of conservative elites, recognition of their actions as an expression of German resistance against the N**i dictatorship increasingly took hold in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Today, July 20, 1944, is regarded as an important symbol of responsibility, decisions of conscience, and the courage to stand up to a criminal regime. The Memorial to German Resistance in Berlin’s Bendlerblock commemorates the men and women who lost their lives in the fight against the N**i dictatorship.
Historical Context
Historians point out that the July 20 Group was not a unified political movement. The conspirators held differing views on the future political order of Germany. However, they were united by a common goal: the end of N**i rule and the war.
The assassination attempt failed both militarily and politically. Nevertheless, July 20 remains of outstanding historical significance to this day. It demonstrates that there were people within Germany who were willing to resist the dictatorship at great personal risk—even if this resistance could ultimately no longer alter the course of the war.
