![Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1972-025-12, Zerstörte Lagerbaracke nach dem 20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1972-025-12%2C_Zerst%C3%B6rte_Lagerbaracke_nach_dem_20._Juli_1944.jpg)
Operation Valkyrie (german: Unternehmen Walküre) was a German
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
emergency
continuity of government
Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war.
COG was developed by the British government bef ...
operations plan issued to the
Territorial Reserve Army of Germany to execute and implement in the event of a general breakdown in civil order of the nation. Failure of the government to maintain control of civil affairs might have been caused by the Allied
bombing of German cities, or uprising of the millions of
foreign forced labourers working in German factories.
German Army (''
Heer'') officers, General
Friedrich Olbricht
Friedrich Olbricht (4 October 1888 – 21 July 1944) was a German general during World War II and one of the plotters involved in the 20 July Plot, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. He was a senior staff officer, with the rank of ...
, Major General
Henning von Tresckow
Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the German Army who helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassina ...
and Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
Despite ...
modified the plan with the intention of using it to take control of German cities, disarm the
SS, and arrest the Nazi leadership once Hitler had been assassinated in the
20 July plot
On 20 July 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of Nazi Germany, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia, now Kętrzyn, in present-day Poland. The ...
. Hitler's death (as opposed to his arrest) was required to free German soldiers from their oath of loyalty to him (''
Reichswehreid''). After lengthy preparation, the plot was activated in 1944 but failed.
Planning
![Claus von Stauffenberg portrait (1907-1944)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Claus_von_Stauffenberg_portrait_%281907-1944%29.JPG)
The original plan, designed to deal with internal disturbances in emergency situations, was developed by General
Friedrich Olbricht
Friedrich Olbricht (4 October 1888 – 21 July 1944) was a German general during World War II and one of the plotters involved in the 20 July Plot, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. He was a senior staff officer, with the rank of ...
's staff in his capacity as head of General Army Office and was approved by Hitler.
Coup-oriented revisions
The idea of using the Reserve Army in the German homeland for a potential coup existed before, but apart from Hitler himself, only Colonel-General
Friedrich Fromm
Friedrich Wilhelm Waldemar Fromm (8 October 1888 – 12 March 1945) was a German Army officer. In World War II, Fromm was Commander in Chief of the Replacement Army (''Ersatzheer''), in charge of training and personnel replacement for combat divi ...
, Chief of the
Reserve Army since 1938, could initiate Operation Valkyrie. Fromm's refusal to co-operate in a prospective coup posed a serious obstacle to the conspirators. Nevertheless, after the lessons of a failed
assassination attempt on 13 March 1943, Olbricht felt that the original coup plan was inadequate and that the Reserve Army should be used in the coup even without Fromm's co-operation.
![Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1976-130-53, Henning v](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1976-130-53%2C_Henning_v._Tresckow.jpg)
The original Valkyrie order only dealt with a strategy to ensure combat readiness of units among scattered elements of the Reserve Army. Olbricht added a second part, 'Valkyrie II', which provided for the swift mustering of units into battle groups ready for action.
In August and September 1943, Generalmajor
Henning von Tresckow
Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the German Army who helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassina ...
found Olbricht's revision inadequate, and thus greatly expanded the Valkyrie plan and drafted new supplementary orders. A secret declaration began with the words: "The Führer Adolf Hitler is dead! A treacherous group of party leaders has attempted to exploit the situation by attacking our embattled soldiers from the rear to seize power for themselves".
Detailed instructions were written for the occupation of government ministries in Berlin, of Himmler's headquarters in
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
, of radio stations, of telephone exchanges, of other Nazi infrastructure through
military districts and of
concentration camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
. (Previously, it was believed that Colonel
Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his 20 July plot, failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lai ...
was mainly responsible for the Valkyrie plan, but documents recovered by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
after the war and released in 2007 suggest that a detailed plan was developed by Tresckow in autumn 1943.) All documents were handled by Tresckow's wife, Erika, and by Margarete von Oven, his secretary. Both women wore gloves so as to leave no fingerprints.
In essence, the coup plan involved tricking the Reserve Army into the seizure and removal of the civilian government of wartime Germany under the false pretence that the
SS had attempted a
coup and assassinated Hitler. The conspirators depended on the assumption that the rank-and-file soldiers and junior officers designated to execute Operation Valkyrie would be motivated to do so on the basis of their false belief that the Nazi civilian leadership had behaved with disloyalty and treason against the state, and were therefore required to be removed. The conspirators counted on the soldiers to obey their orders as long as they came from the legitimate channel—namely, the Reserve Army High Command—in the emergency situation following Hitler's putative death.
Apart from Hitler, only Colonel-General Friedrich Fromm, as commander of the Reserve Army, could activate Operation Valkyrie. For the planned coup to succeed, therefore, the plotters had either to win Fromm over to the conspiracy or to neutralize him in some way. Fromm, like many senior officers, largely knew about the military conspiracies against Hitler, but neither supported them nor reported them to the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...
.
Implementation
The key role in its actual implementation was played by Colonel
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
Despite ...
, after his assassination attempt on Hitler on 20 July 1944. Stauffenberg also further improved the Valkyrie plan and made changes to address changing situations.
Stauffenberg's position as
Chief of Staff
The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
of the Reserve Army gave him access to Hitler for reports and at the same time required his presence at headquarters for implementation of Valkyrie. At first, Tresckow and Stauffenberg sought out other officers with access to Hitler who could carry out the assassination.
General
Helmuth Stieff
Hellmuth Stieff (6 June 1901 – 8 August 1944) was a German general and a member of the OKH (German Army Headquarters) during World War II. He took part in attempts by the German resistance to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 7 and 20 July 1944.
C ...
, Chief of Organization in
Army High Command
The Army High Command (ACE) of Brazil is formed by the Army Commander and other army generals in active service. The country currently holds sixteen active 4-star generals, several of then in command posts, in addition to a post in the Ministry o ...
, volunteered to be the assassin but later backed down. Tresckow attempted several times to be assigned to Hitler's headquarters without success. Finally, Stauffenberg decided to carry out both the assassination attempt and the Valkyrie operation, which greatly reduced the chance of success. After two abortive attempts, Stauffenberg placed the bomb on 20 July and hurried back to Berlin to assume his pivotal role.
Discovering from Field Marshal
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office as chief of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's Armed Forces, duri ...
that the bomb had not killed Hitler, Fromm refused to initiate Valkyrie, only to know that General Friedrich Olbricht had initiated in his name; refusing to co-operate, he was removed and arrested by the conspirators and replaced by General
Erich Hoepner
Erich Kurt Richard Hoepner (14 September 1886 – 8 August 1944) was a German general during World War II. An early proponent of mechanisation and armoured warfare, he was a Wehrmacht army corps commander at the beginning of the war, leading hi ...
. Meanwhile,
Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel, military governor of
occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
, managed to disarm the
SD and
SS, and captured most of their leadership. He travelled to
Günther von Kluge
Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. He commanded the 4th Army of the Wehrmacht during the invasion o ...
's headquarters and asked him to contact the Allies, only to be informed that Hitler was alive.
By this time ''Reichsführer-SS''
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...
had taken charge of the situation and had issued orders countermanding Olbricht's mobilisation of Operation Valkyrie. This led to the failure of the coup, with most of the commanding officers learning that Hitler was alive and cancelling their operations.
When it was clear that the coup had failed, the less resolute members of the conspiracy in Berlin began to change sides. Fromm was freed from his detention room and, after a brief fight, he managed to regain control of the
Bendlerblock
The Bendlerblock is a building complex in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, Germany, located on Stauffenbergstraße (formerly named ''Bendlerstraße''). Erected in 1914 as headquarters of several Imperial German Navy (''Kaiserliche Marine'') off ...
. In a desperate attempt to cover his involvement, he ordered the executions of General Friedrich Olbricht, his chief of staff Colonel
Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim
Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim (25 March 1905 – 21 July 1944) was a German Army colonel and a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany involved in the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler.
Early life
Quirnheim was born in Munich, the son of Herma ...
, Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
Despite ...
and his adjutant Lieutenant
Werner von Haeften. Shortly after midnight, the condemned men were led to a mound of earth back-lit by idling vehicles where each was executed by firing squad in the courtyard of Bendlerstraße headquarters. (The street has since been renamed Stauffenbergstraße in honour of Colonel Stauffenberg.) Further executions were forbidden following the arrival of
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
personnel under the command of ''Obersturmbannfüher''
Otto Skorzeny
Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...
.
Initial order to the Wehrkreise
See also
*
Assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler
This is an incomplete list of documented attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler.Christian Zentner, Friedemann Bedürftig (1991). ''The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'', pp. 47–48. Macmillan, New York.
All attempts occurred in the German Reich, ...
*
List of members of the 20 July plot
On 20 July 1944, Adolf Hitler and his top military associates entered the briefing hut of the Wolf's Lair military headquarters, a series of concrete bunkers and shelters located deep in the forest of East Prussia, not far from the location of t ...
*
Fighter Pilots' Revolt
Bibliography
English
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German
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References
External links
German Resistance to Hitler – Valkyrie Conspiracy– German Conspiracy against the German government culminating in the Coup Attempt of 20 July 1944
The Conference Room at the "Wolf's Lair" after the Assassination Attempt (20 July 1944)fro
German History in Documents and Imagesa project of th
German Historical InstituteAdolf Hitler – antihero of the 20th centuryTelex Message by the Conspiratorial Stauffenberg Group to the holders of executive Power (20 July 1944)fro
German History in Documents and Imagesa project of th
German Historical Institute
*
ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGth5owendE&t=47s Operation Valkyrie (History Channel documentary)Consequences
{{Authority control
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...
1944 in Germany
20 July plot
German resistance to Nazism
Military of Nazi Germany
Continuity of government
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...