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

Deborah Sampson: Undercover Female Soldier of the Revolutionary War

Engraving of Deborah Sampson

Deborah Sampson is one of the rare women who literally fought the British during the Revolutionary War. While other women were doing their part by caring for their families, standing behind their husbands and tactfully lending their opinion on political issues, Deborah Sampson was donning men’s clothing and carrying a rifle. She wasn’t a feminist and she wasn’t railing against injustice; she was simply doing what she could for her country. Aside from her bravery and skill as a soldier, there was nothing particularly unique about her. Perhaps that is what made her such an admirable individual.

Deborah Sampson was born on December 17, 1760 in Plympton, Massachusetts. She was the oldest of six children born into an impoverished family. She had two sisters and three brothers. Her parents were Jonathan and Deborah Sampson (originally spelt Samson). Before Deborah was five-years-old, her father left his family to seek his fortune at sea. It was later learned that he likely died there. Dead or not, he never returned to his wife and children. Deborah’s mother had no means to care for her children and so she sent them all to stay with friends, relatives and neighbors. Her namesake was sent to stay with a female relative, who unfortunately died three years later.

After the death of Deborah’s foster mother, she went to live with another family for a couple of years. When her time there was up, a deacon named Jeremiah Thomas took her on as an indentured servant. It would seem that Jeremiah was good to Deborah, but she certainly worked very hard in both the fields and in the home, becoming a skilled laborer during her time there. She was also allowed to attend school when work around the farm was scarce. This enabled her to become a teacher at the age of 18 when her servitude was over. She stayed with the deacon for a little while longer, but then Deborah Sampson began leading a very different life.

Soon after Deborah Sampson left her longtime home, she began dressing as a man and enjoying freedoms she couldn’t have in women’s clothing. She also attempted to enlist with the Continental Army, but was soon found out. Undeterred, she tried again and on May 20, 1782, Deborah Sampson enlisted in the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental Army as Robert Shirtliff. After she had left Massachusetts with her regiment, her church excommunicated her for her previous behavior. None of them knew that she had succeeded in enlisting.

Deborah Sampson’s time in the military was eventful. During a skirmish in New York, she was wounded in both the head and leg. She hid the leg wound so that her gender would not be discovered. Her comrades did not suspect that Robert was a woman; they just assumed that “he” was very boyish. Nonetheless, her gender was eventually discovered in Philadelphia. She had come down with malignant fever and was hospitalized. A kind doctor treated her in the hospital and then allowed her to stay in his home. He did eventually reveal her secret, but he did so while extolling her admirable qualities. General Henry Knox gave her an honorable discharge on October 25, 1783.

Deborah returned to Massachusetts and found work on a farm. She married a farmer named Benjamin Gannett in April of 1784. The couple had three children together. Their names were Earl, Mary and Patience. Deborah was granted a single soldier’s pension payment of 34 pounds around 1792. Years later, her friend Paul Revere penned a letter to Congress requesting a fair soldier’s pension for the veteran, Deborah Sampson. The request was granted and in 1804, she began receiving a monthly pension of four dollars a month.

In 1802, Deborah Sampson gave lectures about her service, during which she donned her Army uniform and conducted drills with her rifle. She must have been quite the sight to people of colonial Massachusetts. This would be the first time she was able to reveal both of her identities in public without fear. She died twenty-three years later, at the age of sixty-six. Her body was interred at the Rockridge Cemetery in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Sources

Boris, Danuta, Deborah Sampson, retrieved 2/27/10, distinguishedwomen.com/biographies/sampson.html

Barney, Lora, Deborah Sampson, retrieved 2/27/10, teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-famous/sampson.htm