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It's been 80 years since the daring plot to kill Adolf Hitler unfolded at Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in present-day Poland. Today, Germany commemorates the uprising at the Resistance Memorial Center in Berlin. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid a wreath in memory of those involved in the attempted coup against the Nazi dictator on July 20th, 1944. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the resistance was a reminder not to resign in the face of history. But what if the plot had succeeded? And what does the legacy of the resistance mean for us today?
On July 20th, 1944, Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, a family father and high-ranked officer in the German Army, led an attempt to assassinate Hitler. Disillusioned by the atrocities of the Nazi regime, Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators planned Operation Valkyrie. Their objective was to kill Hitler, seize control of the government, and negotiate a peace deal with the Allies. Stauffenberg attended a meeting with Hitler, carrying a briefcase containing a bomb. He positioned the briefcase near Hitler and shortly after he left the room, the bomb detonated. The explosion caused significant damage, but Hitler survived, slightly injured. Someone had moved the suitcase, reducing the impact. Hours after the failed assassination, an impromptu court-martial sentenced Stauffenberg and several conspirators to death. They were executed the same night.
Despite its failure, Stauffenberg's attempt to assassinate Hitler is remembered by many Germans as an act of resistance to the Nazi regime. Joining me now is Elizabeth Rüger, a publisher and author, and the granddaughter of Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg, who was one of the central figures in the conspiracy against Hitler. After the failed assassination attempt, he was arrested and a few weeks later executed.
"My grandfather actually had studied law and was a civil servant, but he was then in the military and he came from a German aristocratic family that was very much involved in the military," Rüger explains. "His main function, he's often called the motor of the resistance, was to build a bridge between these various parts of society: the military, civil society. He was friends with Social Democrats; he was one of the people who said we have to work with the Communists. So he really decided we have to have this big undertaking if the plot goes through, we have to make sure that we don't have a civil war in Germany."
But how would history have changed if Stauffenberg and other conspirators had been successful? Many people argue that it came too late and that these people were just trying to save their own skins, knowing the war was over. However, millions of people actually died in the months afterwards. One of the main things that could have been different is that millions of lives could have been saved.
On a day like today, when her grandfather and other members of the resistance are honored by the German Chancellor and Germany's President, Rüger feels very happy. "I feel we're living in a time where even our societies, our Western societies, are threatened, democracy is threatened. I think that the people in the resistance can really be important for us to understand how to stand up against tyranny and oppression," she says.
So, as we remember the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler 80 years ago, let's also remember the bravery and sacrifice of those who resisted the Nazi regime. Their legacy serves as a reminder to never resign in the face of history and to always stand up for what is right. But what can we learn from the resistance today? And how can we apply their lessons to the challenges we face in our own societies? These are the questions that linger in our minds as we reflect on this significant moment in history.
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