STAUFFENBERG-WHAT WAS HE?

Stauffenberg was not the right man for this mission - he had a wife and family. Because of this he wanted to survive himself. Hence a briefcase with a 15 minute timer.

All the plots against Hitler failed for this reason. It is FAR harder to pull off a successful assassination and escape with your life, than to carry out an assassination and NOT escape yourself.

Best person to pick for a mission like this is a suicide bomber. Someone prepared to activate a three SECOND timer, throw the briefcase at Hitler or jump on top of him while holding it, and suffer the consequences.

I'd like to think that in Stauffenberg's place I'd be prepared to do this. Actually, from one point of view, it is better that way, since you should be able to kill yourself if caught. I'd rather blow myself up than be tortured by the Gestapo!

None of the German plotters were actually prepared to voluntarily give up their own lives in order to guarantee success. This makes them less than true heroes in my view.

 

As far as I know the 24-year old Captain Axel von dem Buscche wanted to blow up Hitler and hisself up with a bomb in 1943. Failed because the planned demonstration of new equipment which was the chance for vom Bussche to get near to Hitler was canceled.

 

Hauptmann Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche witnessed the mass killing od thousands of Jews in Budno in 1942. For this he was shocked and mad with the nazi regime. So he volunteered to be the man who killed Hitler in 1943, even if it meant to die in the attempt, but getting a captain from the front in front of the Führer was nearly impossible. But Oberst Von Stauffenberg had planned that a man, during a fashion-parade of new uniforms before Hitler should kill Hitler by throwing himslef towards the Führer and blow a bomb and captain Von dem Bussche was perfect for the job: he was willing to die and was tall and handsome, perfect for a model. But the parade was cancelled because the deposit of the uniforms was destroyed during an Allied bombing. Von dem Bussche was recruited by Von Stauffenberg again in 1944, but the captain was wounded by a mortar shell and lost a leg. He could avoid being imprissoned after July 20th. He survived the war and became a lawyer.

 

After conspirator Captain Axel von dem Bussche is seriously wounded in Russia and therefore unable to carry out Colonel von Stauffenberg's second plot to assassinate Hitler in January 1944, Stauffenberg again turns to his close friend and co-plotter Count Fritz Dietlof von der Schulenberg who introduces him to another young officer-conspirator: Lt. Ewald von Kleist.

When Stauffenberg asks Kleist whether he is ready to take on the awesome assignment of killing Hitler and sacrificing his own life in the process, Kleist requests to be allowed twenty-four hours to think it over. In that time, he returns to his father's estate to discuss the plan with his father. Count Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin immediately tells his son that he must accept the mission for Germany's sake and for the tens of millions of Germans whose lives can only be saved by physically annilihating the fuehrer. In a second meeting with Stauffenberg, Kleist then declares himself ready to assassinate Hitler knowing that he himself will certainly die in the process.

When Stauffenberg receives word that the uniform demonstration is scheduled for February 11 1944, he also learns that not only Hitler, but possibly Luftwaffe Chief Field Marshal Hermann Goering and far more importantly Reichsfuehrer-SS Heinrich Himmler are scheduled to attend the session. A code-word is then devised to trigger the coup d'etat in Berlin after Hitler and company have been hopefully blown to pieces.

As February 11 approaches, Adolf Hitler, for reasons known only to him, suffers a change of heart and orders the uniform demonstration indefinitely postponed. Kleist in fact never even gets to see his bomb. Hitler finally attends the long-anticipated uniform demonstration on July 7, 1944.

July 7, 1944 - On this occasion, it is Major Helmuth Stieff who is chosen to model the uniform at Kleissheim Castle near Salzburg. The day before, Stauffenberg comes to see Stieff with a briefcase-concealed time bomb urging him to use the device now that the opportunity has finally surfaced. But Stieff rejects the idea out of hand and the modeling session occurs without incident.


Stieff's refusal to pereptrate the assassination himself convinces Stauffenberg that he must now seize the very next opportunity to use the device himself and fly back to Berlin to direct the coup. He attempts to do this four days later on July 11 at Hitler's Berghof and four days after that on July 15 at the Wolf's Lair. On both occasions, he is forced to abort his mission. On July 20, he sees it through to the end.

Shortly after the aborted February 11 plot, Kleist is recalled to the eastern front. He is again in Berlin on that momentous day of July 20, 1944 and inside the Bendlerstrasse fighting for Stauffenberg's ill-fated effort to overthrow the nazi regime. He nevertheless manages to evade the regime's suspicion and survive Hitler's vengeance and the war. His father is not so lucky. Count von Kleist-Schmenzin is among the many conspirators who are tried and hanged in the wave of executions that follow the collapse of the July 20th uprising.

http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Kleist-Attempt.htm

 

I think he had the courage that people rarely show. To me he did the only thing that seemed right to do in world which had gone insane. Von Stauffenberg refused to play it safe.

regards

 

Great stuff Kai. I had wondered about the great ww1 Cavalry Rittmeister's fate. Now I know

You know--it truely is amazing--that someone like me--actually owns a piece of property once owned by this man. Small world eh?

 

Found some interesting pics on him:

http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Stauffenbergroom.htm

 

Nice fotos of the Count. I wish they had posted more about his service though.

Thanks again Kai.

 

Carl, if you are talking about the owner of your WWI Rittmeister epoulettes you are totally confused... Graf von Kleist Schmenzin and his son Leutnant Ewald von Kleist have no relation with Generalfeldmarschall Ewald von Kleist, cavalry and Panzer officer who was captured by the British at the end of the war and died some years after that...

 

Im not confused at all "F," my shoulderboards are from the 5th Uhlan Kav Rgmt, THE Ewald von Kleist who became a Generalfeldmarschall in ww2 was THE only Ewald von Kleist in that Kavalleria Regiment.

Rittmeister is the Kavallerie rank equalling the rank of Hauptmann and for a man to be a Rittmeister he had to be of royal birth--as the ww2 GFM Ewald von Kleist was.

Also--the main source of this info can be found in the 5th Uhlan rangslists--which gives you a complete listing of all officers, NCOs and Men who served in that particular unit from the time when they started publishing rangslists till the unit was disbanded--if it has been disbanded.

A Rangeliste not only gives the complete mans name, but his rank and dates he got his awards. My particular 5th Uhlan Kav Rittmeisters boards date to a period of 1910-1915, based on the Exact style of my Rittmeisters shoulderboards. Therefore, all one has to do is look at the range listes for all men of Rittmeisters rank (which there was only 3 in a 10 year time period dating from 1905 to 1915) and all three of these men--were of royal birth. then judging on the exact style of these shoulderboards (meaning the exact year they were made) and seeing which of these three Rittmeisters served in the 5th Uhlan Kav Rgmt in that year and til 1915, which there was only 1 Rittmeister--and he was Ewald von Kleist.

 

Indeed, my friend. I knew you knew all that. But was the field marshal related to these other Von Kleists?

 

Just found great pics of Stauffenberg during his life:

http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Stauffenbergroom.htm

Enjoy!

 

"F" I think they might have been Cousins--not sure.

 

From my point of view, Stauffenberg wanted to do the right thing, but was too cowardish to execute it successfully... if he had stayed around longer and taken care, Hitler most likely would have been killed. He ran too early.

He lacked the courage to take the necessary personal risk.

 

He had three children and a wife to look after. This is why he had not been selected earlier to carry out the assassination. Only single men were chosen. But at this time, Von Stauffenberg was the only man available to carry the plan out.

 

Maybe he didn't stay to see if the bomb really killed Hitler, but it is already brave that he brought the bomb with him in a bag to such a meeting.

 

CONCERNING THE GENTLEMEN VON KLEIST

To my knowledge, any names of a family/lineage belonging to the nobility is patented, and therefore all those who bear the same noble name are related, albeit in some cases they're related only through a common ancestor several generations back.

CONCERNING GRAF STAUFFENBERG AND HIS ALLEGED COWARDICE

Graf Stauffenberg was indeed willing to sacrifice his life. His co-conspirators would not have it though, since he was essential for the overall command of the coup d'etat itself. He was in fact ordered by Ludwig Beck and the other principals in the plot not to undertake the assassination unless he thought he would survive it. Graf Stauffenberg had little hope of neither success nor ultimate survival, which his testament illustrates.

CONCERNING GRAF STAUFFENBERG "THE TRAITOR"

I will quote Claus Graf Stauffenberg himself here:

"It is now time that something was done. But the man who has the courage to do something must do it in the knowledge that he will go down in German history as a traitor. If he does not do it, however, he will be a traitor to his own conscience."

His brother Berthold expressed a similar view:

"The most terrible thing is knowing that we cannot succeed and yet that we have to do it, for our country and our children".

- Both quotes from Stauffenberg (A Family History 1905 - 1944) by Peter Hoffman, page 243.

CONCERNING THE SUICIDAL VS NON-SUICIDAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Most of the assassination attempts were meant to be suicidal ones, in order to ensure success. At least the attempts of Freiherr Gersdorff, Breitenbuch, Freiherr Bussche and Kleist were. All except Breitenbuch had or would have had explosives attached to their clothing, while Breitenbuch preferred to rely on a pistol.

CONCERNING THE "SINGLE MEN CHOSEN"

Major-General Helmuth Stieff agreed to carry out an assassination attempt. He had a wife and children. He later withdrew from his mission.

Major-General Henning von Tresckow, family-father, volunteered to make an assassination attack, but couldn't get access to Hitler despite repeated attempts.

Colonel (GS) Joachim Meichssner agreed to carry out an assassination attempt. He also had a family. He later withdrew from his mission.

Colonel (GS) Rudolph-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, husband and father, made an unsuccesful assasination attempt on Hitler's life.

Lt-Colonel (Res.) Cesar von Hofacker, a cousin of Graf Stauffenberg's, "husband of a German woman and the father of German children", volunteered to make an assassination attack, but couldn't gain any access to Hitler.

- Both quotes from Stauffenberg (A Family History 1905 - 1944) by Peter Hoffman, page 243.

Major (GS) Joachim Kuhn, co-worker of Stieff, agreed to an assassination attempt on the same grounds as Freiherr von dem Bussche and von Kleist, but could not gain access to Hitler. He was engaged to Graf Stauffenberg's cousin Maria-Gabriele.

Captain (Cav) Eberhard von Breitenbuch, co-worker of Tresckow, family-father, made an unsuccesful assasination attempt.

1st Lieutenant (Res) Werner von Haeften, adjutant to Graf Stauffenberg. Volunteered for an assassination attempt but was dissuaded by his brother on religious grounds and family concerns.

Conclusion: Not only single men was involved in the assassination attempts.

FINALLY

While a succesful assassination would certainly have shortened the war, it would probably have made little difference to the peace.

END TOUCH...

"Yet you will remain with us, defining, leading,
the war-god's lordly herald of the future world,
only enhanced by one eye's sacrifice"

- Poem by Alexander Graf Stauffenberg about his brother Claus.

 

Good work Alecci. I hope you come visit here more often as yu look like your very knowledgable on Imperial Germany and with some stuff I have going on--you will be of great help.

Welcome to the forums

 

BTW,

Col. Baron Wessel Freiherr von Freytag-Loringhoven (1899-1944)

Supplied the detonator charge and explosives for Colonel von Stauffenberg.



Initially fond of Hitler's National Socialist program for Germany but later shocked by the Night of the Long Knives massacre.

July 23, 1944: Commits suicide at Mauerwald camp, near the Wolf's Lair.

http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Loringhoven.htm

 

I happened to find a gallery of pics on Stauffenberg.

So here it is:

http://www.joric.com/Conspiracy/Stauffenbergroom.htm