Operation Valkyrie: The Wolf's Lair
On July 20th, 1944, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Herman Goering and Heimlich Himmler took place in a small meeting room during a discussion of the eastern front (Simkin). The attack, nicknamed Operation Valkyrie took place at Hitler’s headquarters in Eastern Prussia, known as the Wolf’s Lair (Short 4). By 1944, Hitler had already been the focus of several assassination attempts, so he was well guarded and wary of the possibility of another attempt on his life (“July Plot”). The mastermind behind the attack was a German Army officer named Claus von Stauffenberg. Stauffenberg, appalled by the actions of the SS and the Nazi Party, plotted with a number of other high-ranking military officers to kill Hitler and overthrow the Nazi regime
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The conspirators barricaded themselves inside their building and awaited the assault from a battalion of the German Army (Galante 227). General Fromm and his men took control of the building, most likely so that it would appear that Fromm was a hostage and not in any way involved with the coup (Duke 38).
General Fromm informed Claus von Stauffenberg, General Olbricht, and two other key conspirators that he had ordered them all to be court-martialed in the name of the Fuhrer (Galante 228). Knowing they were all loose ends that could testify to his involvement, Fromm immediately ordered all four to be executed by firing squad (Duke 38). General Beck, who was one of the generals that was supposed to seize command of the German Army, shot himself twice before being shot and killed by a Sergeant (Baigent 56).
Hitler used the last attempt on his life as an excuse to rule Germany military for the remainder of his life with an iron fist (Duke 38). Henning von Tresckow, Erwin von Witzleben, Erich Fromm and anyone else suspected of being a part of the attempted coup were either tried and executed or took their own lives before trial (Simkins). Around 4,000 people are thought to have been executed by the German government for their involvement in the coup (Short
The conspirators barricaded themselves inside their building and awaited the assault from a battalion of the German Army (Galante 227). General Fromm and his men took control of the building, most likely so that it would appear that Fromm was a hostage and not in any way involved with the coup (Duke 38).
General Fromm informed Claus von Stauffenberg, General Olbricht, and two other key conspirators that he had ordered them all to be court-martialed in the name of the Fuhrer (Galante 228). Knowing they were all loose ends that could testify to his involvement, Fromm immediately ordered all four to be executed by firing squad (Duke 38). General Beck, who was one of the generals that was supposed to seize command of the German Army, shot himself twice before being shot and killed by a Sergeant (Baigent 56).
Hitler used the last attempt on his life as an excuse to rule Germany military for the remainder of his life with an iron fist (Duke 38). Henning von Tresckow, Erwin von Witzleben, Erich Fromm and anyone else suspected of being a part of the attempted coup were either tried and executed or took their own lives before trial (Simkins). Around 4,000 people are thought to have been executed by the German government for their involvement in the coup (Short