Original subtitles

July the 20th, 1944.

Rastenburg, East Prussia.

Adolf Hitler enters his briefing hut.

Senior Nazi officers gather around their Fuhrer, studying operations maps.

Suddenly there is an enormous explosion.

Four men are killed and everyone else in the room injured.

The Fuhrer is the target of the bomb.

the man whose evil genius has dragged the world into a ruinous war.

How have assassins managed to get to one of the most closely guarded men in the

world? And how have his enemies come so close in their determined attempt to

kill him?

July the 20th, 1944, Rastenburg.

By the summer of 1944, Adolf Hitler has been absolute ruler of Nazi Germany for

more than 11 years.

The bomb plot is the most serious conspiracy, both to assassinate him and

overthrow the Nazi regime, but it is far from the first.

They had begun many years previously, even before Hitler achieved supreme

ranging from attempts by determined individuals to substantial organized

conspiracies.

Once in power in January 1933, the Nazis swiftly eliminate all political

opposition and unleash a ruthless secret police, the Gestapo.

Despite the toughness of the regime, Hitler is widely popular at first.

seen as a strong leader who is pulling Germany out of the chaos which has

plagued it since defeat in World War I.

Most early attempts to kill him are hushed up.

The Fuhrer is so beloved by his people that an assassination attempt is

unthinkable.

But in 1938, Maurice Baveau, a Swiss theology student, is arrested on a train

heading for Augsburg for travelling without a ticket.

Beauvau is found to be carrying a gun and, under questioning by the Gestapo,

confesses to be stalking Hitler. He has already been to Berlin and

Berchtesgaden, but has been unable to get near the dictator.

He then goes to Munich for the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch, but

are too many bodyguards around Hitler as he leads the parade.

Beauvau is sentenced to death and guillotined.

His assassination attempts come just at the time when Hitler is beginning to

make his aggressive intentions clear.

By annexing Austria in March 1938, and then by instructing his generals to

occupy Czechoslovakia's western province, the Sudetenland, which has a

Germanic population.

His recklessness gives rise to a much more serious and long -lasting plot.

For many of his commanders are appalled at the possibility of another major war.

From the start, Hitler's relationship with the army is strained.

Many of the traditional officer corps regard him as a jumped -up corporal and

are alarmed by the threat from the rapidly growing paramilitary SA.

June, 1934.

During the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler is forced to sacrifice Ernst

the leader of the SA, so as to gain the support of the generals.

And this pays off shortly afterwards.

The aged President Paul von Hindenburg dies, and the high command supports

Hitler to succeed him and become absolute ruler of Germany.

July the 20th, 1934.

All members of the German armed forces take an oath of personal allegiance to

Adolf Hitler.

This will give many of them a crisis of conscience when the true horror of his

regime becomes clear and attempts are made to involve them in plots to

it.

Hitler then begins a massive expansion of the armed forces, but this is far

complete by the summer of 1938.

When his willingness to attack Czechoslovakia becomes clear, General

Beck, The Chief of the Army General Staff resigns in protest.

He is succeeded by General Franz Halder, who is equally opposed to the idea.

He begins to plan a coup, which will be triggered if Hitler actually orders an

invasion.

A key role in the coup will be played by the 1st Light Division under General

Erich Hoepner and one of his most trusted subordinates, an aristocratic 31

-old captain named Klaus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg.

A raiding party of officers is selected, which will go to the Reich's transulary

when the coup is announced, arrest Hitler, and then ensure that he is shot

trying to escape.

September 15, 1938, Munich.

The plotters are all ready to move.

when Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, flies to meet Hitler at

Berchtesgaden to try to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The resulting delay causes the plotters to postpone their plan.

And within two weeks, Chamberlain and the French Premier, Edouard Deladier,

betrayed Czechoslovakia by agreeing to Hitler's demands.

German troops march into the Sudetenland unopposed.

The rug has been pulled out from under Halder's plot.

Without an invasion, there is no excuse to begin the coup.

Within a year, the general's worst fears have been realized.

Hitler has invaded Poland, and Britain and France have declared war against

Germany.

But the speed of the Polish collapse raises Hitler's popularity to new

Nevertheless, Halder decides to try again before the war spreads any

A new plot to arrest Hitler and the major Nazi chieftain is planned.

But before anything can be done, the unexpected again intervenes.

November the 8th, 1939, Munich.

On the anniversary of his attempted putsch, Hitler makes a speech in the

Brau Beer Hall.

But instead of lingering to reminisce with old comrades, he suddenly leaves.

Twenty minutes later, a bomb explodes, killing nine and injuring 60.

That evening, George Elson, a cabinetmaker and ardent socialist, is

while trying to get into Switzerland.

Under Gestapo questioning, he confesses to planting a bomb in the pillar behind

the rostrum.

He is sent to Dachau, but not executed until April 1945.

Hitler personally consoles the families of the victims at the funeral.

His lucky escape fuels his belief that he is under the special protection of

Providence.

The Munich bomb leads to a Gestapo clampdown.

Halder's plot is aborted.

May, June, 1940.

All thoughts of overthrowing Hitler are abandoned, as the German armies sweep

through France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

He is at the pinnacle of his popularity.

But by the end of 1941, further plots against Hitler are brewing.

as he brings both the Soviet Union and the United States into the war against

Germany.

Two separate groups are involved.

One, around the former Army Chief of Staff, General Ludwig Beck, and retired

Field Marshal Erwin von Wittler.

Another is headed by the aristocratic Helmut von Moltke and known as the

Circle, after his estate on which the conspirators meet.

February 1943, Stalingrad.

As the remnants of Paulus's Ninth Army surrenders, a group of officers prepares

to arrest or kill Hitler as he visits their HQ at Poltava on the Eastern

But at the last moment, Hitler cancels his visit and the plot is abandoned.

A month later, near Smolensk, explosives disguised as bottles of brandy are

smuggled on board Hitler's aircraft during another visit to the Eastern

The plane takes off with Hitler on board, but gets back safely to

The plotters retrieve the bomb.

which probably failed to ignite because of the freezing temperature in the

storage compartment of the place.

Then in April 1943, Colonel Rudolf von Gerstorff turns himself into a human

and prepares to blow up Hitler at a viewing at the Berlin Museum.

But Hitler hurries through the museum and leaves before von Gerstorff can get

close to him.

Von Gerstorff runs to the nearest lavatory.

and removed the fuses just in time.

That same month, in Tunisia, Kvalchenk Graf von Stauffenberg, now a major, is

severely injured when his convoy is shot up.

He loses an eye, his right hand, and half his left.

While recovering in hospital with time to reflect on the disastrous situation

facing Germany, he decides that Hitler must die.

Stauffenberg decides that his personal oath to Hitler is effectively null and

void because of the evil of the regime and the damage it is doing to the

fatherland.

The young officer, who is now to play a leading role in the most serious attempt

to assassinate Hitler, was born in 1907.

to an aristocratic Swabian family.

His ancestors had served the Hohenstaufen emperors in the 14th

been made freiherr, or barons.

In 1926, Stauffenberg joins the 17th Bamberg Cavalry Regiment. He is soon

recognized as an exceptionally able young officer, and in 1937 he attends

General Staff College.

Promoted to captain, he joins the 1st Light Division under General Erich

as head of logistics.

He learns of the plot to overthrow Hitler should he order an invasion of

Czechoslovakia and believes that it would be justified.

Stauffenberg's division serves with distinction during the invasions of

and France.

And then, on May 27, 1940, Stauffenberg is reassigned to the General Staff,

working under General Franz Halder.

June 22, 1941.

When Germany attacks the Soviet Union, Stauffenberg is able to make liaison

visits to Army Group Center and North.

During these, he witnesses the appalling massacres being carried out by the SS

Einsatzgruppe and begins to discuss the possibility of another coup with Hauser.

But before anything can come of this, he is sent to North Africa and then

seriously injured.

Stauffenberg makes an extraordinarily swift recovery.

In the autumn of 1943, he returns to service as Chief of Staff of the Army

Ordnance Department in Berlin.

Now he uses his aristocratic contacts to get in touch with the Kreisau Circle,

headed by von Moltke, and through him with the Beck -Witzleben plotters.

Stauffenberg now plays a major role in pushing forward the plans for a coup

which will not only kill Hitler, but destroy the Nazi regime.

By now, Hitler is totally obsessed with the Eastern Front and spends most of his

time in his headquarters at Rastenburg, a series of concrete bunkers deep in the

great forests of East Prussia, not far from the site of the epic World War I

Battle of Tannenberg.

January 1944.

The Gestapo arrests von Moltke. The other conspirators realize that they

move fast.

Stauffenberg becomes chief of staff to General Erich Fromm, commander of the

Home Army in Berlin.

He links up with a key conspirator working at Army HQ in the

Colonel Hans Albrecht.

Stauffenberg now has to report regularly to the Fuhrer's daily war conference to

brief him on the Home Front.

He decides to use this opportunity to kill Hitler and other leading Nazi

chieftains.

He will plant a briefcase bomb as close to Hitler as possible and then make an

excuse to get away before the British -made timer sets it off.

Another conspirator, General Erich Felgiebel, is based at the Wolf's Lair.

As soon as the bomb goes off, he will telephone Albrecht in Berlin.

to start the second part of the operation.

The Home Army is responsible for guarding against any uprising by the

slave workers, of which there are millions in Germany.

Operation Valkyrie is the official plan to protect government buildings and key

personnel, and put down armed resistance.

But Stauffenberg plans to use Valkyrie as the key to overthrowing the regime.

As soon as Hitler's death is confirmed, Home Army units will move into their pre

-allocated positions, arrest the remainder of the Nazi leadership, and

the SS and Gestapo.

Stauffenberg hopes that by the time forces loyal to the regime realize what

going on, it will be too late to stop the coup.

Beck is then to be declared head of state, with Wittleben as commander -in

-chief of the army.

Stauffenberg makes two attempts to plant the bomb. On July the 11th, at

Berchtesgaden, and then on July the 15th, at Rastenberg, where he is

photographed standing close to Hitler.

But Stauffenberg aborts both occasions, since Goering and Himmler are not

present at the conference.

He then decides that the attempt must go ahead on July the 20th, whether or not

they are present.

The die is now cast.

July the 20th, 1944, Rastenburg.

At his headquarters, deep in the forests of East Prussia, Hitler has rescheduled

his daily war conference for 1215.

He is due to meet Benito Mussolini, the deposed dictator of Italy, that

afternoon.

Hitler walks to the briefing hut and takes his usual place at the centre of

table facing towards the windows.

These have been open because of the heat.

On Hitler's left are Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Armed Forces Chief of

General Alfred Jodl, Army Chief of Staff, and his deputy, General Walter

Wallimont.

On Hitler's right...

a General Adolf Heusinger, the head of operations staff who is giving the

briefing, another operations officer, Colonel Heinz Brandt, and General

Korten of the Luftwaffe.

Shortly after the meeting begins, Colonel Klaus Schenk Graf von

arrives and moves in between General Heusinger and Colonel Brandt.

He puts his briefcase to the left of the table leg.

After a few minutes, Stauffenberg apologizes to Keitel and leaves, saying

he must make a telephone call.

As Stauffenberg is walking towards his car, the bomb goes off.

The explosion is so enormous that Stauffenberg is convinced that no one

have survived.

The four officers on Hitler's right are all killed.

But Hitler and Heusenker and Keitel to his left are virtually unhurt, while

and Wallimont beyond them are wounded.

A sentry tells Martin Bormann, Hitler's private secretary, that Stauffenberg has

been seen leaving in a great hurry and driving off in his car.

Stauffenberg, with his driver and fellow conspirator, Lieutenant Werner von

Heften, now have to get clear of Rastenberg.

They face two checkpoints.

Their car reaches the first a few minutes after the explosion.

The guards are confused, but when Stauffenberg shows them valid

he's allowed to pass.

At the second barrier, Stauffenberg and von Heften are stopped, but Stauffenberg

demands to speak to one of the headquarters staff and gets permission

They drive to the airstrip through the forest of Görlitz.

where Hefton throws a backup bomb out of the window.

And they take off for Berlin at 13 .15.

While in the air, Stauffenberg is unaware that a disaster has occurred.

Within moments of him leaving, an astonished and appalled Felgiebel sees

stagger out of the hut.

Fatally, he hesitates to ring Albrecht.

and while he does so, communications out of the wolf's lair are cut.

By the time he can get through to Albrecht, rumours that Hitler has

assassination attempt are leaking out.

Hitler is deafened with a perforated eardrum and peppered with splinters

cannot be removed immediately.

Although in deep shock and unable to move his right arm, he is still able to

greet Mussolini, shaking hands with his left.

Hitler then personally shows Mussolini the shattered hut.

Stauffenberg had left his briefcase with the bomb in it close to Hitler, but

Colonel Brandt moved it to the other side of the heavy wooden table leg.

This deflects the blast, which is also lessened because of the open windows.

Later, Hitler's bomb -torn trousers are shown to the news cameras to illustrate

how amazing his escapers be.

Meanwhile, in Berlin, Albrecht hesitates until nearly 3 .30 in the afternoon

before giving the signal, Valkyrie.

Shortly after this, Stauffenberg gets back to Army HQ.

He is appalled to hear that the coup has only just been put into action.

Immediately he arrests his superior, General Fromm, who has been aware of the

coup attempt, but sits on the fence until he can see which way it is going.

He then starts telephoning army commanders, urging them to take action.

But the coup immediately starts to go wrong.

Major Otto Rehmer, commander of an elite guard battalion detailed to arrest

propaganda minister Josef Goebbels, is an ardent Nazi.

He refuses to believe Hitler is dead.

With Goebbels, he manages to contact Hitler at Rastenberg and is ordered to

command in Berlin.

Rehmer and Goebbels rally troops loyal to Hitler and surround the Army HQ.

At 1845, Goebbels broadcasts that Hitler has survived the assassination attempt.

At about 10 .50 in the evening, Fromm stages a counter -coup in Army HQ,

arresting Beck, Albrecht and Stauffenburg.

At his trial, Stauffenberg's former commander and co -conspirator General

Hoepner describes the final moments of the coup.

Now I'm going to do the same thing that you did with me last time.

Then he says, so, in the name of the leader, a court of law from me,

I don't remember if he said it himself or not, he said, a court of law from me

has sentenced four gentlemen to death.

It was this gentleman here, who is the head of the General Staff, the General

Secretary Ulrich.

The four

men are hustled down to the

courtyard and shot.

The bronze plaque commemorates where they fell.

Beck attempts to commit suicide, only wounds himself, and is then finished off

by a sergeant.

At about 1 .15 the next morning, Hitler broadcasts to the German people that

Providence has saved him again.

In an unsparing reaction, more than 5 ,000 people are subsequently executed,

including von Witzleben and General Hoepner.

They are first subjected to a show trial by the rabid Nazi judge Roland

Freisler.

And then hanged with piano wire on meat hooks.

Their death throes are filmed for Hitler.

The savagery of the Gestapo's reaction ensures that there are no further

attempts to kill Hitler.

Ten months later, surrounded by Soviet troops, he shoots himself in his bunker

deep below the ruins of Berlin.

During those final ten months, more people are killed than during the

six years of the war.

If Stauffenberg's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler had succeeded, there can

be little doubt that many millions of lives would have been saved.

It is not often that the failure of an assassination attempt is so deeply to be

regretted.