I know I am late: Just saw Valkyrie

[Bob Womack]

We don't go to the theaters too much because my wife has a little hearing loss in one ear that makes discerning dialog a little hard. We've assembled a home theater that keeps us from feeling like we are missing all that much.

Well, anyway, having read a book or two on the subject, I feel like this was an excellent reading of the story in movie form. But for movies like this, the principles conveyed would be lost by some who aren't readers.

Bob

Information

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[tmark]

I didn't read the books but saw the movie. I conclude the movie is part factual and part fictional. Did your books corroborate the movie's statement that 15 attempt were made on Hitler's life?

[jon_norstog]

15 attempts, huh? Wait 'till I get my time machine working.

jn

[Bob Womack]

According to accounts I've read, that's the accepted number of reported attempts. HERE is one online list which puts it at more like 18.

Bob

[Vern Humphrey]

One point of interest is the bomb used by Von Stauffenberg was provided by the American OSS. It is theorized that Von Stauffenberg and his fellow conspirators who met at a Catholic Bible Study session, used the Church to contact the OSS. Both Donovan (head of the OSS) and Dulles (staton chief in Switzerland) were Catholic. Priests could travel between Germany and Switzerland.

[Bob Womack]

The coup group in this case was a stem of Admiral Canaris' Abwehr German Intelligence Group, who used pastor Dietrich Bonnhoeffer as their liason between themselves and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden via Church of England Bishop (and member of the House of Lords) George Bell. Bonnhoeffer was arrested a year before the Valkyrie plot, was imprisoned for the rest of the war, and died by hanging like the rest of the conspirators. But contact had been made and was continued.

Sadly, those in Allied intelligence who were involved with this resistance effort admitted absolute perfidity in the matter: They encouraged the resistance but when the members were on the run and needing shelter, they simply washed their hands and turned their backs, leaving the German officers to be rounded up and executed. Their feeling was that it was a win-win: If the plots succeeded, Hitler was dead. If they failed, lots of German officers were killed, Germany was left short of some of its best officers, and Hitler wasted lots of time trying to find the resistance members.

Bob

[M1 Rifleman]

It might also be argued that the various "plots" helped to shorten the European War. Hitler and his Nazis were kept busy "chasing their tails" and preventing them from focusing on larger issues such as the Normandy Invasion, and other various Operations (Anvil and Dragoon) during that time period. Also, Nazi work on "superweapons" (such as the Nazi version of the Atomic Bomb) was curtailed enough to prevent their eventual use.

[gunner]

Î `ve seen a history report on the screen. And they said that Hitler was only
a few Kilogramms of atomic equipment away from making a atomic bomb. They said when the war lasts only a few months longer he were able to use this bomb against the UK. Hitler had lost the war in winter 1942/1943 and in the" Kriegstagebücher des OKW der Wehrmacht "( a diary ) you can read the
Wehrmacht had enormous problems with all kinds of supply`s. So the unfortunately useless death of the courageous german officers had no influence on the end of war. That`s my opinion.

Regards,

Gunner

[Bob Womack]

So the unfortunately useless death of the courageous german officers had no influence on the end of war. That`s my opinion.

Regards,

Gunner

I think you are right, Gunner. It did, however, show the world that there were men of character within Germany who were willing to make great sacrifices to try.

Bob

[Bill H]

I believe the bomb materials, at least the one which was planted on Hitler's plane, and failed to explode, were from captured british SAS material.

Some of the reported attempts on Hitler's life were hopelessly inept, and never had a chance of success. Von Stauffenberg's was at least well planned, but he surely could have used a better bomb.

From what I have read, they were not even close to producing a usable atomic weapon, in part due to the fact that they chose "heavy water" as the moderating medium, where we chose a much more convenient graphite medium.

One account claims that deception helped influence this decision.