How Did Claus Von Steauffenberg Contribute To The Holocaust

Jared Spivey
Mrs. Blakemore
English 11- 7th Period
10 February 2012
Claus von Stauffenberg Claus von Stauffenberg was not your ordinary Nazi. His love for Germany caused him to join the military. However, he did not believe in the atrocities of which Hitler’s followers supported. He was a hardworking man who risked his life in the Holocaust and was looked at as a war hero. Claus von Stauffenberg was born in Jettigen, Germany on November 15, 1907. At age 19, he decided on a military career to become a cadet. He attended a military academy in Berlin. Later on in his career, he was appointed to the General Staff in 1938. Adolf Hitler, leader of Germany, involved Stauffenberg in many of his major campaigns in the early 1940’s. In 1942,
he was promoted to the rank of major. He lost his eye, two fingers on his left hand, and his right hand while riding in his staff car. The car was attacked by enemy aircraft. (“Claus von Stauffenberg"). The Holocaust was an organized murder of 6 million Jews by the Nazis. The Holocaust began in 1939. The Nazi Party was led by Adolf Hitler. His goal was to exterminate the Jewish people and establish the Aryans as the master race. The Nazis took Jews to concentration camps, places where large numbers of prisoners or members of minorities were imprisoned, to kill them. The attempt to kill all the Jews was called The Final Solution. The Holocaust ended on May 7, 1945 when the German forces surrendered to the Allies ("Holocaust History"). Claus von Stauffenberg did not like at all what Hitler was doing.
After his injuries, Stauffenberg became more disillusioned with the war. “It was in the summer of 1944, with Germany heading for defeat, when the conspiracy to kill Hitler became more urgent” (McDonough). The plan was to kill Hitler and then, Ludwig Beck, Erwin von Witzleben, and Erich Fromm were to take control of the German Army. The plan was named The July Bomb Plot (McDonough). They attempted to kill Hitler six times, but all attempts were aborted (“Claus von Stauffenberg”). On July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg decided to go through with their plan to kill Hitler. He was given orders to abort the plan, but he went through with it anyway. During one of Hitler’s military meetings at the headquarters, Stauffenberg carried a bomb in a brief case and placed it on the floor near Hitler (McDonough). “The bomb exploded killing four men in the hut. Hitler’s right arm was badly injured, but he survived the bomb blast” (“Claus von Stauffenberg”). After the attempt had failed, “Hitler told German radio listeners a coup by a ‘clique of ambitious, conscienceless, and criminal and stupid officers’ had failed and would be dealt with in true National Socialist fashion” (McDonough). Five thousand people who were against Hitler were executed that day (McDonough). “In an attempt to protect himself, Fromm organized the execution of Stauffenberg along with three other conspirators in the courtyard of the War Ministry” (“Claus von
Stauffenberg”). It is reported that Stauffenberg died saying, “Long live free Germany” (“Claus von Stauffenberg”). Claus von Stauffenberg risked his life to end the horrors of what Hitler was doing and was a hero for it. He will always be remembered for trying to start a new government after the disaster Hitler had built. If the bomb plot had succeeded, it could have ended the war faster.

Works Cited
"Claus Von Stauffenberg." Spartacus Educational. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.
"Holocaust History." Introduction to the Holocaust. Web. 10 Feb. 2013.
McDonough, Frank. Hitler and Nazi Germany. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 1999.