An intriguing portrait of the central figure in the July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler and a gripping and authoritative account of the planning and execution of the conspiracy.
The attempt to assassinate Hitler is widely acknowledged, but few are aware of the individuals involved. In this detailed family history Peter Hoffmann reveals the tragic and heroic life of Claus, Count Stauffenberg, German aristocrat and would-be assassin of Adolph Hitler.
Hoffmann details Stauffenberg's formative years, showing how his relationship with his brothers Berthold and Alexander, their association with the circle of the poet Stefan George, and their professional and political development led them to resist the tyranny of Hitler and the German government, first through established channels but culminating in the attempted assassination and coup of 20 July 1944. Stauffenberg is based on a comprehensive collection of sources, including family papers, correspondence, and information from numerous contemporaries, as well as a unique collection of illustrative material. Hoffmann's knowledge of Stauffenberg was sought for the highly anticipated feature film Valkyrie, for which he served as an advisor.
This revised edition includes a new preface by Hoffman and important information he has uncovered since the book was first published.
Details
448 Pages, 6 x 9
ISBN 9780773535442
December 2008
Formats: Paperback, eBook
"Peter Hoffmann´s study of Claus, Graf Stauffenberg and his brothers is a work of enormous erudition. It gives a convincing portrait of one of the central figures in the July 1944 bomb plot against Hitler. Particularly interesting is the evidence which Hoffmann has uncovered of the influence of the poet Stefan George, with his view of the special destiny of an idealistic élite, on the Stauffenberg brothers. The book also gives a gripping and authoritative account of the planning and execution of the conspiracy itself." Jonathan Wright, Christ Church, Oxford
"While presenting a sympathetic view of his protagonist [Hoffmann] has managed to remain remarkably objective in portraying Stauffenberg's highly nationalistic and scarcely democratic conception of the German Army as a political institution." Air Power History
Peter Hoffmann is William Kingsford Professor of History, McGill University, and the author of The History of the German Resistance, 1933-1945.
Table of Contents
List of illustrations page vi
List of abbreviations viii
Preface to the Third Edition xi
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Prologue xv
1 Childhood, a World War, and a new beginning
2 Secret Germany 30
3 Reichswehr 42
4 Sea change 60
5 In the Third Reich 75
6 Crisis and war 102
7 On the General Staff 130
8 Stauffenberg turns against Hitler 146
9 In the front line 162
10 Conspiracy r81
11 Planning the coup: internal preparations 190
12 Contacts abroad 213
13 Assassination plans 225
14 Launching the insurrection 234
15 Uprising 253
Epilogue 278
Appendices 286
Notes 303
Bibliography 357
Index 413
ILLUSTRATIONS
1 The Stauffenbergs' mother page 3
2 Lautlingen 4
3 The Stauffenberg brothers, 1908 and 1914 5
4 The Stauffenberg brothers with their mother 1915 8
5 The Stauffenberg brothers, 1913 and 1917 9
6 The Stauffenberg brothers and their parents, 1917 JO
7 The Stauffenberg brothers, 1917 12
8 The Stauffenberg brothers with their parents, 1924 23
9 Frank Mehnert at Lautlingen, 1924 28
10 Mika Classen and Berthold Stauffenberg, Scheveningen, ca. 1930 40
11 The Stauffenberg brothers with friends, 1924 43
12 The Stauffenberg brothers, Stefan George, and friends, 1924 44
13 The Stauffenberg brothers with their father, ca. 1925 45
14 Claus Stauffenberg at Lautlingen, 1926 47
15 Berthold and Claus, 1928, 1926 48
16 Infantry School at Dresden, 1928 50
17 Claus and Berthold with their mother, 1928 53
18 Claus Stauffenberg, ca. 1929 54
19 Claus Stauffenberg, ca. 1930 55
20 Wedding at Berlin-Zehlendorf, 1931 56
21 Claus Stauffenberg at Bamberg, 1932 70
22 Nina and Claus Stauffenberg, 1933 72
23 Stauffenberg and the pioneer statue 76
24 Detail of the pioneer statue (Magdeburg, 1982) 77
25 Stauffenberg taking part in horse trials, 1935 79
26 Postcard by Stauffenberg, 1937 82
27 War Academy staff exercise, East Prussia, 1937 84
28 Frank Mehnert and Rudolf Fahrner with Hindenburg statue 97
29 Berthold Stauffenberg and Frank Mehnert 98
30 At the divisional command post, 1939 113
31 The IST Light Division in Poland, September 1939 114
32 At the divisional command post, May 1940 119
33 The 6th Panzer Division in France, 1940 12~121
34 Stauffenberg and sons, 1940 131
35 Family gathering at Lautlingen, 1940 135
36 Berthold Stauffenberg, ca. 1940 136
37 Stauffenberg with fellow General Staff officers, summer 1942 147
38 Stauffenberg and Mertz von Quirnheim, summer 1942 148
39 Frank Mehnert, February 1943 158
40 The 10th Panzer Division in Tunisia, February-April 1943 166
41 Faid Pass, 1943 167
42 Kasserine Pass, 1943 169
43 At the divisional command post, 19 February 1943 170
44 At the divisional command post, 20 February 1943 172
45 Stauffenberg on convalescent leave, summer 1943 184
46 No.8 Tristanstrasse, Berlin-Wannsee 191
47 Wedding of Olga, Countess Oxkull, to Fredy von Saucken, 28 October 1943 207
48 Alexander Stauffenberg, 1943 241
49 Stauffenberg's 'Oath', 4 July 1944 244-245
50 Stauffenberg and Hider, 15 July 1944 257
51 Sebkret en Noual, Tunesia, where Stauffenberg was wounded 300
52 Hider's East Prussian headquarters, 'Wolfschanze' 302-302a
53 Hider's, Goring's, Himmler's and Ribbentrop's headquarters 302b .
54 Remains of Stauffenberg's briefcase, the fuses and pliers he used, and the discarded parcel of explosives 302C
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