Chapter seven: Colonel Von Stauffenberg

Colonel Claus Schenk count von Stauffenberg

"We took this challenge before our lord and our conscience, and it must be done, because this man, Hitler, he is the ultimate evil."

                              quote from stauffenberg (20th july, page 70)
 
 
 

Stauffenberg was a young anti-nazi officer that took the sinking boat of the resistance to his hand. From this point, he will lead it until the bitter end. Stauffenberg supported the nazi regime in its beginning, but he became an anti-nazi after he saw the horrors of the "Crystal Nacht" in 1938, when the S.A made a wide and extremely violent pogrom against the jews. Stauffenberg, who was civilized and humanistic person, can't stand this barbarism and he took part in Halder's conspiracy in 48 as a minor officer.
 
In the war, Stauffenberg was a supply officer in the russian front and his anti-nazi beliefs became stronger when he saw the jews murder and the nazi terror in Russia. He tried to cancel terror orders in claim that there are spelling mistakes in them, but his noble attempt failed. Stauffenberg was appreciated by everyone that knew him. He was described as a handsome young man, with a marvelous laugh and a healthy sense of humor. He was never tried and always was charming and nice to people. He was a man of great moral, and he was shocked from the terror in occupied france and Russia. After his service in Russia, he was stationed in the African front, and their he was hurt in an air raiding. He lost an eye, a hand and two fingers in the other hand. He was in hospital for months, and the doctors lost hope for his life. With the treatment of his wife, countess Nina, he was healthy again, although he knew he will be handicap all his life.

Friends that saw Stauffenberg before his release from the hospital, said that a new spirit was in their friend. Stauffenberg thought seriously in the hospital and decided to devote his life, that were saved in a miracle, to one cause: the removal of the nazi regime. He was connected to the resistance through General Fridrich Olbricht, that was a senior officer in the home army. Colonel Stauffenberg got a job as a senior officer in the home army, under Olbricht.

Stauffenberg met Beck and he started to work immediately. He collected the ruins of a the military section of the resistance and got it on its foots again. He convinced many officers to join the movement, including his brother, Berthold Von Stauffenberg, that was a high military judge in the navy.

Before Stauffenberg's arrival, Beck was stuck in a deep despair. The brilliant young Colonel gave him a new hope. Beck became a new man and started to plan the coup in great vitality along with Stauffenberg. With every day passing, another officers joined the resistance movement. They didn't knew Beck, or Goerdeler, or Olbricht, they knew just one man: Stauffenberg. He was their idol, he was their leader. They admired him. Although Stauffenberg was very loyal to General Beck and obeyed him as his leader, Beck was put aside. Most of the new members didn't knew him. This situation caused a great unhappiness among some of the old members, including Goerdeler. This phenomena was seen in its most strong way in Gizevius, who started hating Stauffenberg and the new "bad" spirit that came with him. Gizevius complained to Beck that the new members are not anti-nazi enough, and that they, and Stauffenberg, are just opportunist. The moderate Beck understood his old friend's feelings, but he succeeded to make Gizevius and Stauffenberg work together. He compromised, united the different sections of the movement under one flag. In this time Beck was like the father of the resistance. Both Stauffenberg and Gizevius respected him.

But lets get back to Stauffenberg. After he organized the movement again, he turned to think how could he kill Hitler. With the help of Fritz Von Der Schulenburg, who became his closed friend, he followed Treskow's ideas and looked for a man that would agree to blow himself on Hitler. In the end of 43, Schulenburg had found such a man: His name was captain Axel count von dem Bussche.

Axel von dem Bussche was a captain in the eastern front, that was a devoted and fanatic nazi. His passion to Hitler and nazism was broken when he saw a massacre of Ukrainian jews in an abundant airport. When the young captain saw the S.S murderers shoot the innocent men, women and children with automatic fire, he suddenly realized what the meaning of nazism is. He turned to be a fanatic anti-nazi and when Schulenburg found him, he agreed to kill himself, as long as the hated dictator will be killed with him.

Bussche came to Berlin and had a long talk with Stauffenberg. Claus told him what his mission is, and the young captain agreed. Bussche described later the "energy of powerful serenity" that he saw in Stuaffenberg, and said he looked like a poet more than like a soldier. "Stauffenberg", said the young captain, "is the read leader that Germany needs right now."

Bussche was supposed to "model" knew uniforms before Hitler and his officers. General Helmuth Stieff (The one who received a present of two spirit bottles from Treskow, remember?), that was a resistance member in that time, got a bomb, and Bussche was supposed to put it under the new uniform. The time for action had come, but the new uniforms were destroyed in an air raid, and Bussche was wounded in the front. The modeling was canceled, and Hitler's life were saved again. After the revolt in 20th July, Bussche was arrested and tortured by the nazis. He was rescued by the allies forces.

This was the first failure of Stauffenberg. Did he surrender? no way! Stauffenberg didn't know what surrender and despair is. He started looking for another walking-bomb. The next man that he had found was Lieutenant Ewald Heinrich Von Kleist, that was the son of the old resistance member Ewald Von Kleist.

When Stauffenberg told Kleist his mission, he went to consult with his father. Ewald, We can suppose that with broken heart, agreed to the suicide of his son and gave him his blessing. But the modeling was canceled again. Stieff canceled it because Himmler decided that he won't be there, and he thought that there is no point to kill Hitler alone. After 20th July, the brave son and father were arrested. Ewald Heinrich was saved but his father was executed. He died as a hero, and his last words to the nazi judge were: "Its more easy for me to get the punishment, than for you to give it to me."

The next attempt is a very misty case, that the historian Zeller doubt its existence. The walking bomb this time was a man named John Hoffmann, that his father was a member in the resistance. His story is almost like the story of the Kleist family, and if Zeller is right, it is a false version of it. Is it true? We will never know the answer.

In any case, Stauffenberg failed all his attempts to kill Hitler with a walking bomb, and he realized that the method must be change. He realized that only man that can kill Hitler is: himself! He volunteered to carry the bomb and to blow Hitler in his own hand. The commander agreed to be his own soldier. This plan was very problematic, because Stauffenberg was needed for the coup in Berlin. In any case, there was no way back and Stauffenberg decided the fatal decision.

The plans of the coup were prepared in the home army, as plans against revolution of the foreign workers in Berlin. Its true cause was, of course, an overthrowing of the nazi regime. Stuaffenberg looked for an opportunity to get close to Hitler and blow him, and meanwhile there was another disaster, even greater than before: the socialist section of the resistance was destroyed! its members tried to share the coup plans with the communists, and one of the communists was a nazi spy. Leber and Reichwein were arrested, and the socialist flank of the movement was gone. Stauffenberg, that Leber was his close friend, said that the coup must be done with no delay, in order to save Leber.

When the coup plans were planned in a harsh, and Stauffenberg looked for an opportunity to get close to Hitler, one of the most important man in the reich joined the resistance movement. His name is Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. He was one of the chief commanders in the west front, and he was the most popular general in Germany. The German public admired him, and so do many officers in Britain. He was determent to save Germany from disaster, and that's why he joined the resistance. He took command on the resistance armies on the west. Rommel, who had a great military force under his command, could be a great help to the coup.

But there were many bad news for the resistance. The foreign section of the movement, leaded by former ambassador Hassel and Adam von Trott, failed in its mission. The allies didn't agreed to help the resistance, and now it was all alone. Many resistance members despaired in that moment, and said that there is no point for an action now, that Germany will be destroyed anyway. Goerdeler objected the assassination and thought that a coup in the western front will be better.  Stauffenberg and Treskow put all the conspirators on track again, when they agreed that the revolt must be done even if Germany will be occupied, "just from the moral reason". Stauffenberg didn't agree even to hear on any plan that didn't included the assassination of Hitler and coup in Berlin.

When the conspirators looked for an opportunity for a coup, they had a lesson in the nazi barbarity. Another resistance movement was cough, and the nazis destroyed it and killed all its leaders. In this moment, lets move a few years to the past, from Berlin military headquarters to the Munich university, and meet the idealistic young heroes of the "white Rose".

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