Anti-Hitler Conspirators: Heroes or Traitors?

The image of Nazi Germany many of us have today is one of a nation firmly behind Adolf Hitler. The German people, according to this image, either strongly backed the dictator's destructive policies or were too scared to oppose them. This is a fuzzy image.

The harsh nature of Hitler's regime made it difficult for his opponents to express their views without risking death or imprisonment. Yet there were individuals within Hitler's circle who disliked his policies and tried to stop them. One group tried to assassinate Hitler in the hope of turning around Germany's fortunes in the final months of World War II.

From the outset, Hitler never fully trusted his professional army officers. Part of his distrust stemmed from his belief that millions of German soldiers were forced to die in World War I because of the poor leadership of their generals. Once Hitler seized power in 1933, this distrust deepened into dread.

Far from being the confident man who captivated audiences with his fiery rhetoric, Hitler was constantly worried that the military would try to overthrow him. In 1934, Hitler dismantled the SA, the feared organization that had brought him to power the previous year. The SA had become increasingly anxious for power and wanted to replace the regular army, the Reichswehr. This angered the generals. Hitler finally agreed to dismantle the SA, but only after the army signed an oath of allegiance to him.

As Hitler began focusing on his goal of conquering Europe, German generals were disturbed by what they considered his unrealistic military plans. As their despair grew, some officers considered overthrowing Hitler, but the dictator was always a step ahead of them.

After Hitler plunged the world into World War II on September 1, 1939, Germany's early successes deprived his opponents of a strong basis to act. When military losses began mounting in late 1943 and early 1944, Hitler replaced or forced many generals into retirement. Senior officers became openly critical of this interference.

One such critic was Lt-Col Klaus von Stauffenberg, who had direct access to Hitler during briefings. Stauffenberg disliked Nazi party's policies, especially the atrocities committed against Jews. As a member of one of Germany's famous families, Stauffenberg had added contempt for Hitler, who came from humble Austrian origins. Gen. Ludwig Beck, chief of staff of the military in 1938, became leader of this anti-Hitler group.

The Allied landings in Normandy encouraged these officers to make their move. On July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg placed a briefcase packed with explosives inside the "Wolf's Lair," Hitler's command post for the Eastern Front in Rastenburg, Prussia (Ketrzyn, Poland today). He quickly left the room for a nearby shelter where he waited until the bomb exploded. Confident that Hitler had been killed, Stauffenberg walked out of the heavily guarded compound and flew to Berlin.

The conspirators were anxious for confirmation that Hitler really was dead. They did not immediately seize government ministries, radio stations and telephone exchanges in Berlin. When Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Propaganda Minister, brought news that Hitler had suffered only light injuries in the blast, army units in Berlin crushed the coup.

Four people were killed in the explosion and almost everyone present was injured. Hitler suffered wounds to his right arm and lost part of his hearing. According to some accounts, Hitler was shielded from the bomb by a conference table. Others said Hitler survived because an aide had moved the briefcase. Stauffenberg learned of the failed assassination attempt after he landed in Berlin. By midnight, he was tried and executed by a firing squad. Hitler loyalists rounded up the other conspirators.

Erwin Rommel, the brilliant tactician who personally directed the campaigns in Africa at the front with German armored divisions, was also implicated in the plot. Rommel's precise role continues to be debated. Some historians suggest he had been approached by the plotters but had refused join the conspiracy. Others believe Rommel was the candidate to succeed Hitler.

For Hitler and his supporters, Rommel was guilty of failing to inform them of the plot. He was given a choice: commit suicide and receive a state funeral or watch his family die before facing his own execution. Rommel took poison and killed himself. The military commander who was best able to change Germany's fortunes in the war was gone.

Thousands of family members of the plotters were forced to commit suicide or were sent off to concentration camps. Eight of the conspirators were hung on meathooks, their final agony filmed and shown to Hitler. The dictator used the July 20 plot as an excuse to destroy anyone in the army he feared would oppose him. Eventually, 10,000 were either killed or sent to concentration camps.

After the assassination attempt, Hitler became obsessed with his health. His personal physician prescribed medicine that contained hemlock, which Hitler consumed heavily. The dictator slowly poisoned himself and the tremors in his right hand worsened. But he vowed to fight till the end.

Suppose Hitler had died in the blast? Would the course of the war - and world history - have changed? Over the decades, experts have been searching for answers. Germany's position was grim. The Russians had crossed the pre-war eastern border of Poland. Hitler was holding the conference in East Prussia because the Russians were closing in on the province.

In the west, the Allies were breaking out of Normandy and heading toward Paris. The conspirators thought that by surrendering to the Allies in the west, they could quickly end war on that front. Germany was not totally defeated. The country was still producing significant amounts of armaments and capable of mounting new offensives. Some of the conspirators believed peace on the Western front would allow them to join with the Allies in a war against Russia.

All this would have depended on the coup leaders' ability to control the situation. A provisional government under Gen. Beck might not have been able to gain full control. The official civil service could do nothing without the cooperation of the Nazi Party. A post-Hitler government could have neutralized the party with the support of the army, but it was already spread thin. Moreover, soldiers on the eastern front were committed Nazi members, unlikely to follow Gen. Beck's orders.

Much would have depended on who really succeeded Hitler. Hermann Goering, Hitler's designated successor, may have been more likely to attempt to negotiate a peace. In 1939, Goering had tried to avert war. By 1944, however, it was fr from clear that he would have succeeded Hitler. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, the instrument of terror that maintained the political power of the Nazi Party and implemented its worst policies, had grown more powerful.

To protect his regime, Himmler could have negotiated peace with either the Allies or the Russians. Given his record of ruthlessness, Himmler's regime might have been more extreme, although it might not have lasted long.

Over the decades, historians have studied the motivations of the plotters. Who were they? Why did they feel they had to act so late into the war? Would their government have been really that different from Hitler's? The conspirators represented a broad group. Some were Social Democrats, others were former labor union activists and still others wanted to bring back the monarchy. If they were united by anything, many scholars agree, it was their growing disgust for Nazi war crimes and a desire to end the war.

From one standpoint, history might have taken a different course had the conspirators succeeded in killing Hitler and in ending the war. More people died between the July assassination attempt and the end of the war than in the four-and-a-half years before that.

In 2004, Germany observed the 60th anniversary of the assassination attempt, casting the conspirators in a new light. Two movies on the event and participants encouraged much public debate over whether Stauffenburg and his allies were heroes or traitors. The debate continues.