(Image Source: Joachim Fest's Plotting Hitler's Death)
Military Plotters
Hitler & Stauffenberg, and other military personnel at the wolf's lair

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    Army opposition to Hitler began during the early days of his rule. The fact that Hitler was Austrian, lower middle class, and had achieved only the rank of a corporal during his military service was frowned upon by many officers.  Army leaders were also  leery of Hitler's SA troops,  which they viewed as a threat to their own power.  Hitler managed to alleviate some of these fears during the "Night of the Long Knives", when he purged most of the SA leadership thus guaranteeing his own control over  SA troops.  Most  SA organizations were either disbanded or infused into the SS.  The SA  posed a problem for Hitler. Ernst Rohm, the SA's leader, insisted on incorporating the German army into the SA's organizational framework.  This distressed many of the army's leaders. Hitler, who needed the military to establish total control, realized the problem  Rohm presented. Hitler needed Rohm  out of the way in order to solidify his command and win the army's support.

    The Army was in no way won over by Hitler immediately.  During the "Night of the Long Knives" Hitler not only purged the SA, he also took the opportunity to murder  other  governmental, military and civilian opponents.  Two such victims were General Schleicher and  his assistant General  Ferdinand von Bredow. Thanks to a military cover up in which Schleicher was implicated in a supposed attempted coup,  many in the military turned a blind eye to the murders.  Yet Hitler's actions were not forgotten by  all.  The  Fritsch Affair also created a degree of tension between Hitler and members of the military. General Fritsch,  a well respected general, was dismissed from his office under fraudulent allegations of homosexuality.  Fritsch's continued outspokenness over   Schleicher’s and von Bredow’s murders was a leading factor in his dismissal.   Most of the other generals realized that the charges were the result of setup, and never forgot Hitler's intimidation techniques.

    Despite existing tensions, Hitler's subsequent policies gained the support of many within the military.  However, there were still those, like General Ludwig Beck  who were opposed to  his aggressive war policy.   Beck believed that Nazi militarism would eventually lead to Germany’s ruin.  Others, like Major General Henning von Tresckow  were appalled by the atrocities that occurred during the Reich’s eastward expansion.   Dissent also developed within the Abwehr (military intelligence) and the Foreign Service.  Eventually dissenters began to seek one another out through a network of resistance cells.  A major resistance group under the leadership of General Tresckow developed on the Eastern Front.  Tresckow soon formulated plans to kill Hitler.  One of the earlier plans was "Operation Flash" , an attempt to detonate a bomb on Hitler's plane.  Unfortunately, Tresckow and his collaborators failed to pull off this and subsequent attempts.

     While General Tresckow  planned Hitler's’ assassination, Ludwig Beck was becoming a principle leader in the civilian resistance back in Berlin.  Beck, upon his retirement from the military, joined up with other resisters in the civilian sector.  They formed a resistance cell that included members from the churches, Foreign Service, intelligence agencies, and even  members of the German Social Democratic  and Communist parties.  The Berlin resisters spent much of their time theorizing about the type of government that would replace National Socialism once Hitler's regime was toppled.  Since their political orientations ranged from the conservative to the left wing, the resisters did not always see eye to eye.  In general, they seemed to be aiming for a  type of Christian socialism.

Suggested Link German Resistance Memorial Center's section on  Stauffenberg and the Assassination Attempt of July 20, 1944

    General Friedrich Olbricht and Count Stauffenberg. became the prime movers in the July 20 plot to kill Hitler.  A  pre-existing government defense plan known as Operation Valkyrie was earmarked by the plotters for  implementation in a coup.  The plan involved the reserve army's suppression of a possible uprising of foreign laborers.  The plotters hoped to  kill Hitler and then make it look as though they were seizing control to prevent a coup.  After many difficulties the plan was initiated when Stauffenberg  detonated a bomb in the Wolf’s Lair.  Hitler survived and the plan ultimately failed.  Other problems complicated matters.  There was a lack of support among the generals, and major technical  and communication difficulties  between the conspirators .  Following the failed coup Beck, Olbricht, Stauffenberg, and many others were  immediately executed.  Hundreds more were  murdered following a series of staged trials.

    Some scholars argue that the plotters were concerned with avoiding Germany’s total defeat, as opposed to stopping Nazi atrocities.  Those who argue this point emphasize that the attempt was only taken toward the end of the war.  However,  many of the plotters had attempted to combat National Socialism well before July 20, 1944.  It is essential to remember that the resisters within the military had  little support within and outside Germany.  The concept of utilizing "Operation Valkyrie" developed as more military personnel joined up with their cause. Furthermore, the Holocaust did not reach full bloom until the expansion eastward began.  General Tresckow and others had complained to military officials as they witnessed atrocities being committed in the East by members of the Einsatzgruppen and the SS death squads.  Tresckow formulated plans to kill Hitler as early as 1941[3]. He was the leading organizer in "Operation Flash", an attempt to bomb Hitler's plane in the Summer of 1942.  Carl Goerdeler, the former mayor of Leipzig, resigned  in 1937 after a statue of the jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn, was removed from its position in front of Lepzig's main concert hall.. As early as 1938 members of the resistance tried to contact British and American officials to warn them of Hitler's future war policy.  Adam von Trott zu Solz (picture), a member of the German Foreign Service traveled  to England and the United States  in  hope of gaining support for the resistance cause.    He was invariably turned away by British and American leaders who were suspicious of the Resistance's motivations.

    There can be little doubt that many of the conspirators desired to save Germany. However, it would be unjust to interpret their patriotic sensibilities as being equitable with Nazi aims.   Furthermore, it is unjust to paint a monolithic image of the conspirators as being  indifferent to the plight of Jews and other victims. Aversion to Nazi policies of genocide and patriotic concerns were for  many conspirators, intrinsically bound.  The Resistance was comprised of individuals with different concerns, but they did share one common agenda - the  destruction of  the Nazi regime.     General Tresckow’s and other plotters often made  allusions to the cosmic battle of Good and Evil in explaining their motivations(see Tresckow Quote).

   Many of the conspirators were attempting  to show “another Germany.”  Such a symbolic image was essential for future generations of Germans.    An example would be needed to show that opposition  existed among Germans   Without, their supreme sacrifice, future generations would only have Nazism as a point of reference.  The resisters, by taking a stand against Nazism, insured that an example of human resiliency would exist for the  future.   They demonstrated that individual ethics can override nationalistic bonds. It is  unfortunate that  their actions have often been misrepresented.