Claus von Stauffenberg: The Man Who Tried to Kill Hitler

Claus von Stauffenberg

Claus von Stauffenberg was a colonel in the German army during Hitler’s reign. He was a dedicated patriot and, by all accounts, a very intelligent man. He was a born aristocrat and able soldier. In spite of all of these accomplishments, and for good reason, he is better known as the man who almost killed Adolph Hitler.

Claus von Stauffenberg was born on November 15, 1907. He was the third son of Alfred Schenck Graf von Stauffenberg and Caroline Grafin von Uxkul-Gyllenband. He had a twin named Konrad Maria, who died the day after they were born. He had two older brothers, who were also twins. Their names were Alexander and Berthold.

During his childhood it was clear that Claus von Stauffenberg was a lover of the arts. He was a talented musician and once thought that he may follow this as a career. He was also a lover of poetry and a follower of the famous German poet George Stefan. Claus also dreamed of one day becoming an architect. In the end, he put aside his dreams of being an artist and instead became a military man.

Claus von Stauffenberg began his officer’s training in 1926, at the age of nineteen. Seven years later, he married Elisabeth Magdalena Vera Lydia Hertha Freiin Von Lerchenfeld or Nina for short. The couple had five children together, Berthold, Heimaran, Valerie, Franz Ludwig and Konstanze. Konstanze was born after Claus von Stauffenberg’s death.

In 1936 Claus von Stauffenberg began studying at the War Academy in Berlin. He graduated in 1938 and was given the post of quartermaster in what was to become the 6th Panzer Division. He went on to gain extensive experience while serving in several major campaigns during WWII. He began to doubt the tactics of the German military under Hitler’s command, though his patriotism never faltered.

It was during Operation Barbarossa (an attack on Russia) in 1941 that Claus von Stauffenberg began to express his disgust at the German military’s treatment of POWs and the Jews. He began voicing his opinion in an attempt to find like-minded men. Rumor has it that, at this time, he told people that Hitler would have to die and that the government would have to be overthrown. It is also said that Claus mentioned that he didn’t care if he had to be the man to kill the fuhrer.

In 1943, Claus von Stauffenberg joined the 10th Panzer Division in Africa. In April of that year, he was shot and severely wounded by Allied aircraft at Sebkhet en Noual in North Africa. He lost his left eye, two fingers of his left hand and his entire right hand during the shooting and subsequent surgeries. He recovered from his injuries quickly and was promoted to Colonel. He was also appointed Chief of Staff to the Reserve Army command under Friedrich Fromm.

In this new capacity, Claus von Stauffenberg was able to attend Hitler’s briefings. This came in handy, as he had joined a group of men that were planning a coup that would overthrow Hitler’s government. The plan was to kill Hitler, the head of the S.S., Heinrich Himmler and the Commander and Chief of the German Air Force, Hermann Goering. After the assassinations, the conspirators would then cut off communications from Hitler’s men and assume control of the army. It was decided that Claus von Stauffenberg would be the man to carry out the assassinations.

Claus von Stauffenberg made the first attempt to place a bomb at one of Hitler’s briefings on July 11, 1943. The plan was aborted because of unexpected complications. This happened a second time on July 15. Stauffenberg finally succeeded in detonating a bomb at a briefing at Hitler’s hideout, Wolf’s Lair, on July 20. Believing the fuhrer was dead, Claus left the hideout and attempted to follow through with the plan. Unfortunately, his co-conspirators failed to mobilize within the first few hours while Stauffenberg was traveling.

Claus von Stauffenberg tried desperately to follow through with the plan, despite the failure of some of the men involved in the coup. However, it was soon announced on the radio that Hitler had not died in the blast. Claus was not only surprised to hear this, but he now knew that all had been lost. With Hitler still alive, there was no way his followers were going to follow new leadership.

Claus von Stauffenberg was arrested that night and executed in the courtyard of the War Ministry in Berlin. His brother, Berthold, who was another conspirator, was also arrested. He was later hanged. Claus’ wife was also arrested and his children were placed in the care of the Nazis. Nina’s uncle “Nux” was also arrested as a conspirator and he was later executed. Luckily, Nina was spared; she gave birth to the couple’s last child while imprisoned by the Nazis.

Nine months after the attempted coup d’etat, Hitler committed suicide. Nina was released from a women’s concentration camp, where she had been held. She was reunited with her elder children one year after her husband’s death.

Sources

Claus von Stauffenberg, retrieved 7/26/09, jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Stauffenberg.html

Berthold von Stauffenberg, retrieved 7/16/09, economicexpert.com/a/Berthold:von:Stauffenberg.html

Claus Schenck Graf von Stauffenburg, retrieved 7/16/09, imbd.com/name/nm1533515/bio