History Of The Attempt On Hitler's Life (20 Jul 1944) by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, United States, Europe, General, Germany, Special Forces
ISBN: 9781786257567
Google: fdVvCwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2015-11-06T02:57:28+00:00

IV. MY ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT OF 15 MARCH 1943

Army Group Center had prepared in the armory in Berlin an exhibition of captured Russian arias and equipment, war pictures, models, etc., and a few days prior to 15 March 1943 General Schmundt gave put the information that Hitler would personally open the exhibition on the occasion of Heroes Memorial Day. Since Göring and Himmler, as commanders of their respective organizations, were always present at this celebration, this was an opportunity which might never repeat itself. Upon Tresckow’s request, I declared myself ready to make the assassination attempt, inasmuch as my own staff division had organized the exhibit, it was not difficult to have myself sent to Berlin. Field Marshal von Kluge sent Field Marshal Model as his representative.

In the last hour two new problems arose. First, Field Marshal von Kluge, who at that time was not yet a party to the plot, wanted his wife to take part in the ceremony, and, second, at the moment the only available fuse had a time delay of less than ten minutes. The former problem was solved when Tresckow talked the Field Marshal out of his intention. The latter was solved by arranging for 1st Lieutenant von Schlabrendorff to be sent after me in a special airplane and to give me the required material in the Hotel Eden on the night before the ceremony. Together with Field Marshal Model, I was flown to Berlin where I learned from General Schmundt that, after Hitler’s address in the glass-roofed court of the arsenal, he would spend about half an hour going through the exhibit (accompanied by Göring, Himmler, Dönitz, and several aides) and would then carry out the traditional review of the guard honor battalion.

Schmundt informed me in the strictest confidence that the official time of the ceremony had just been changed by several hours. In giving me this information, Schmundt had no idea that he was contributing to the possible success of an assassination attempt. This incident was indicative of the security measures that were necessary to protect the head of the state.

After investigating the layout of the arsenal, I concluded that the actual attempt could only be made during the time that Hitler’s party was going through the exhibition. Construction work in preparation for the ceremony was still in progress in the glass-roofed courtyard. The speaker’s rostrum stood off by itself, making it impossible to plant a bomb there secretly. Moreover, in that position there would have been little opportunity to set off the fuse. That the tour through the exhibit would last at least twenty minutes was a fact of decisive importance, since in the unheated rooms of the arsenal the temperature was only a few degrees above zero and I was therefore forced to calculate on the basis of a fuse time of 15-20 minutes. I was also mindful of the great height of the rooms, which meant that the explosion would not be appreciably confined and that consequently its effect would be reduced.

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