Did you know there were at least 35 attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The best known one, its been the subject of numerous books and films, was an attempted coup by high ranking German military officers including the German war hero Field Marshal Erwin Rommel aka the Desert Fox, who after the failure of the plan was forced to commit suicide by swallowing cyanide. The plan was to kill both Hitler and Himmler. There was a Nazi operation in place, codenamed Valkyrie, for who would run the country if Hitler was assassinated and the conspirators were actually able to trick Hitler into signing an updated version of the plan which would have put them in power in the event of his death.

Two small explosives were to be placed inside Hitler's bunker. The relatively small concrete incloser would magnifiy the power of the blasts killing everyone inside the bunker. When the time came to carry out the plan it began to unravel. Unexpectedly warm weather resulted in Hitler leaving his bunker to have his staff meeting in a larger conference room. Then there was a problem getting one of the bombs armed. The remaining bomb inside of a briefcase, was pushed aside by one of Hitler's aides, putting it behind a table leg. The explosion was deflected away from Hitler. Four people were killed but not Hitler or Himmler. The plan still may have succeeded even without Hitler's death if the conspirators had taken control of military and civilian communications. They didn't. Goebbels was able to make phone calls, at least one with Hitler on the line.

When the plan failed one of the conspirators actually switched sides and had the other leaders executed so they could not implicate him.
A 2005 reinactment of the bombing determined that any if one the following had happened Hitler would have been killed A) both bombs worked or B) the meeting had taken place in the bunker, or C) the briefcase containing even 1 bomb had not been moved.

Doesn't really surprise me. I learned plenty from my dads first hand accounts.

Ana

I just read, after the failure of this coup a furious Hitler had the SS round up anyone they merely thought might be a traitor. 4,980 people according to wikipedia were executed.

My grandmother was one of them. He was an evil man.

My mother's parents were Germans from Russia. During WWII they forbid speaking German in their house even though it was their native tongue. An uncle I never knew, I wasn't born yet, died in the war, fighting for the US, but against the Italians I believe.

My parents came here a few years before I was born.