The term "OperationValkyrie" (in German: Operation Walqure) ended up becoming popular as a synonym for a plan to assassinate the leader of the Nazism, adolfhitler, as if it were an operation designed strictly for that purpose. In fact, “Operation Valkyrie” was prepared by the German army itself (Wehmarch) in 1941, with Hitler's own knowledge and approval, and had another objective. But how did the name of the operation become associated with one of the many plots to attempt on Hitler's life? To answer that, we need to know what the Widerstand, that is, the German Resistance.
THE Widerstand and the conspiracy against Hitler
Hitler's rise to power in Germany in 1933 initially pleased and mobilized in his favor a large part of the country's civilian and military elite. However, the more power was being given to the Fuhrer, the more explicit was his inclination towards totalitarianism, whose expression could be seen in the manipulation of the masses (through party symbols, military parades, propaganda, etc.) and in the initial persecution of the Jews, some people – including the military – began to look down on the path that the
III Reich treaded.When did the SecondWar, the real projects of Hitler and his close officers, such as Goring and Himmler - this last commander of the paramilitary unit of the BrokenNazi, a SS – started to appear. Among these projects was the construction of concentration camps in Eastern Europe. Faced with this reality, those who opposed the path that the Nazism trod organized the call Widerstand, or German Resistance. This organization had a secret and conspiratorial character, being its greater objective to assassinate the Führer and negotiate the end of the war with the leaders of the allied countries.
Among the members of the German Resistance was a group of high-ranking military men with great influence over the lower ranks of the army. These soldiers had aristocratic nationalist characteristics and were more aligned with the Guilhermin past, from the II Reich, than with the mass democracy shaped by the totalitarianism of Hitler's III Reich. Among the main conspirators were the generals Henning von Tresckow and FriedrichOlbricht, who articulated the plan for a bombing to kill Adolf Hitler in July 1944, the same month in which the Day D by the allies.
The subversion of Operation Walqure for the German Resistance
But the plan was not just to kill the Führer. It was also necessary to have the military support of officers and soldiers who were faithful to the Resistance. That's because, when Hitler was dead, the Resistance would need to take power in Germany by storm. Therefore, Tresckow and Olbricht started to sabotage the call OperationValkyrie, a plan to contain a possible revolt of forced foreign workers. Resistance generals began to enlist members of the Replenishment Army (reservists) who were prepared for Operation Valkyrie to prepare, secretly, to seize power when Hitler was killed. That's why this plan to kill Hitler became associated with the name of the aforementioned operation..
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As for the action of the attack, the members of the Resistance agreed to designate the colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg to carry it out.
Execution of the plan on July 20, 1944 by Colonel Staunffenberg
Staunffenberg was one of the most outstanding officers of the German army in the early years of World War II, but very quickly his praise for the III Reich fell to the ground as he came to see the atrocities committed by the regime. But why, among the members of the Resistance, could only he carry out the bombing of Hitler? Because he was the only one who had traffic in the wolfsschanze (The "Toca do Lobo”, in German), the headquarters Nazi.
In 1942, Stauffenberg attained the rank of General Staff officer of the 10th Tank Division in Africa. His mission was to protect the detachment of the marshalRommel, who commanded the AfrikaKorps, German army forces in North Africa. On April 7, 1943, Stauffenberg lost an eye and a hand in Tunisia and, after his recovery, was named chief of staff to the colonel-general. Friedrichfromm, because of his experience in strategy. This post gave him access to meetings at “Toca do Lobo”. The “Wolf's Lair” was a fortification complex that was located in East Prussia (today Polish territory), very well protected against any external attacks. The only way to make an attempt on Hitler was, therefore, from within.
Stauffenberg took with him to headquarters a piece of plastic explosive with blown fuses to detonate in a few minutes. He knew he would be called to the conference room by Hitler, where he deliberated on questions of strategy. Arriving in the morning at "Toca do Lobo", he went to a room, prepared two bombs with the explosive, but only managed to put one of them in a briefcase, before an officer knocked on his door and said the Führer was demanding his presence.
As historian Antony Beevor narrates:
After answering the questions put to him about the Replenishment Army, he pushed the briefcase with only one bomb prepared under the heavy table where Hitler sat. He left unobtrusively as everyone around the table bent over the maps. He was leaving in his car when the bomb exploded. [1]
Certain that Hitler was dead after the explosion, Stauffenberg flew to Berlin to link up again with the Resistance leaders. But, incredibly, despite the severe damage that the explosion caused in the conference room of the "Lair of the Wolf", Hitler left with only a few scratches. Suspicion soon fell on Stauffenberg, who had left the room minutes before the explosion. The next day, July 21, the colonel, the two generals involved in the subversion of “Operation Valkyrie” and almost everyone officers related to them or who raised any suspicion of being part of the Resistance were summarily shot.
GRADES
[1] BEEVOR, Antony. The Second World War. Trans. Cristina Cavalcanti. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2015. P. 672.
**Credits: Shutterstock / Igor Golovniov
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes