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 Bendlerblock Memorial - Berlin, Germany
N 52° 30.467 E 013° 21.750
33U E 388865 N 5818777
Memorial for the German officers killed after the failed 20 July plot against Hitler.
Waymark Code: WM100GQ
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 02/02/2019
Views: 5
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On 20 July 1944, a bomb exploded in Hitler's military headquarters, killing four people but leaving Hitler only slightly wounded. This was more than a simple assassination attempt, it was a carefully planned plot to overthrow the Nazi government and to end World War II.
The plan, called Operation Valkyrie was set in motion after the bomb exploded in Hitler's bunker, but after word got out that Hitler survived the coup, the entire organization was betrayed by one of the participating officers in a futile attempt to save his own life. |
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The leaders of the plot, General L. Beck, who started organizing opposition groups of officers in 1943, General F. Olbricht and Colonel A. v. Quirnheim, who were in charge of the Valkyrie operation in Berlin and Colonel C. v. Stauffenberg and First Lieutenant W. v. Haeften, who planted the bomb in Hitler's bunker were arrested the same night and immediately executed.
After the war, in 1952 the location of their execution, the courtyard of the Bendlerblock building in Berlin was officially declared a national memorial and a plaque (picture above) with the ranks and names of the executed officers and the notion "They died for Germany on July 20, 1944" was placed at the wall at which they were standing when they were shot.
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In 1953, a statue was added to the memorial. It shows a naked man with tied hands, symbolizing the victims in the hands of the Nazi-regime.
In 1983, the entire display became part of the Memorial to the German Resistance, which now includes an exhibition in the rooms of the Bendlerblock building as well as other locations, at which members of the resistance were executed.
In total, an estimated 7,000 people were arrested after the 20 July plot and approximately 4,980 of them were executed. A complete list can be found at Wikipedia.
Shortly befor the plot, General Beck wrote in his diary:
This is going to be the ultimate decision for the survival of our nation. History will cast a bloodguiltiness on our leaders, unless they follow their conscience. Military obedience has to end where knowledge, responsibility and conscience prohibit following orders. |
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To this day, this statement of civil (and military) disobedience is considered one of the most important lessons to be learned from World War II.
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Civil Right Type: National Origin
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Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.
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