MOSCOW, July 20 Attempt on the life of Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler 80 years ago, it became possible because of his ban on searching military personnel who visited the Fuhrer’s headquarters, the former head of his personal security, ex-chief of the Reich Security Service, Hans Rattenhuber, once said.
The Russian FSB has declassified and provided new archival materials concerning the circumstances of the assassination attempt on Hitler committed 80 years ago. Among these documents are copies of the testimony of SS Gruppenführer Rattenhuber, given by him to the state security agencies of the USSR after the Great Patriotic War.
“The assassination attempt was made possible due to the fact that Hitler was forbidden to observe the officers of the active army and search their belongings. After this incident, an order followed for all officers visiting the headquarters to search and take away their personal weapons, as well as to search their personal belongings,” — noted Rattenhuber.
According to him, the exceptions were Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler, Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Navy Commander Karl Doenitz, Army Commander Heinz Guderian, Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht High Command Operations Alfred Jodl and a number of other major military personnel.
On July 20, 1944, the most famous assassination attempt on Hitler took place. This happened at his headquarters «Wolfsschanze» («Wolf's Lair») in the Rastenburg region (East Prussia). The assassination attempt was the result of an anti-Hitler conspiracy known as Operation Valkyrie, planned primarily by high-ranking Wehrmacht officers. The conspirators opposed Hitler, who was amateurishly interfering in military affairs and leading Germany to the inevitable collapse.
The plot included the assassination of Hitler and the overthrow of the Nazi government. However, the bomb explosion in the Wolfschanze during a meeting between Hitler and the military on July 20, 1944 did not solve the problem of eliminating the Nazi dictator — he was only injured. The conspiracy failed, most of its participants were executed, their relatives were repressed.
This information. published solely for informational purposes and aims to condemn Nazism in all its forms and manifestations.