To The Bitter End“When on July 20, 1944, a bomb—boldly placed inside the Wolf’s Lair (Hitler’s headquarters in East Prussia) by the German Anti-Nazi Resistance—exploded without killing the Führer, the subsequent coup d’état against the Third Reich collapsed. Most of the conspirators were summarily shot or condemned in show trials and sadistically hanged. The conspiracy involved a wide circle of former politicians, diplomats, and government officials as well as senior military men. The Resistance had started as early as 1933 and involved several planned putsches and assassination attempts. Hans B. Gisevius knew or met the major figures—including Beck, Canaris, Oster, Goerdeler, and von Stauffenberg—and barely escaped after the coup’s failure. One of the few survivors of the German Anti-Nazi Resistance, Gisevius traces its history, from the 1933 Reichstag fire to Germany’s defeat in 1945, in a book as riveting as it is exceptional.”-Print ed. |
Contents
The Frenzy of the Masses 64 | |
Bloodless Revolution 124 | |
Part Two FROM MUNICH TO JULY 20 1944 189 | |
Toward the Catastrophe September 1939 to July 1944 254 | |
Too LateJuly 20 1944 327 | |
EPILOGUE 401 | |
Glossary 405 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abwehr action Adolf Hitler army arrest asked assassination Beck Bendlerstrasse Berlin Blomberg bomb Brauchitsch called Canaris chancellery circle civilians Colonel Colonel-General command commander-in-chief Communist coup d’état course Daluege Diels diplomatic everything fact felt field marshal fire force foreign Frick friends Fritsch crisis Fromm Führer German Gestapo Goebbels Goerdeler going Grauert Halder hand headquarters heard Helldorf Heydrich Hitler informed July 20 Karinhall Karl Ernst Keitel Kluge knew later leaders longer looked Lubbe matter military minister ministry months morning Munich Nazi Nazi Party Nebe’s never Nevertheless night o’clock Olbricht once Opposition oppositionists Oster Party persons police political possible Prinz Albrechtstrasse Putsch question Reichstag Reichstag building Reichstag fire Revolution revolutionary Rohm Schacht secret seemed sent situation soon Stahlhelm Stauffenberg Struenck talk telephone terror Third Reich thought took troops wait wanted Wehrmacht Western Powers Witzleben word Zossen