The July 20, 1944

The July 20, 1944

“The attempted coup of July 20, 1944, is the defining event of the resistance against National Socialism. After lengthy preparations by civilian and military circles, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg decided in early July 1944 to attempt the assassination of Hitler himself, despite his serious injuries and his key role in Berlin. On July 20, 1944, he succeeded in smuggling a bomb into the heavily guarded “Führer Headquarters Wolfschanze” near Rastenburg in East Prussia and detonating it during the situation briefing. Stauffenberg was able to leave the “Führer Headquarters” and fly back to Berlin.

After the coup attempt failed, Stauffenberg, his aide-de-camp Werner von Haeften, Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim, and Friedrich Olbricht were shot that very same night in the courtyard of the Army High Command on the orders of Colonel General Friedrich Fromm.

On Hitler’s orders, an “honorary court” of the army expels the officers involved in the coup attempt from the Wehrmacht. This allows them to be tried by the “People’s Court” rather than by the Reich Military Court, which would otherwise have jurisdiction.

This marks the beginning of a series of more than 55 trials, resulting in over 100 death sentences. Beginning in October 1944, those convicted also include people who supported those involved in the coup attempt or helped them escape.”

Quoted from the Plötzensee Memorial website

https://www.gedenkstaette-ploetzensee.de/hinrichtungen-in-ploetzensee/der-20-juli-1944

Berlin, July 20, 2026