Assassinating Hitler: Nazi Germany's Last Chance at Salvation
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- čas přidán 18. 11. 2022
- In total, Hitler survived no fewer than 42 assassination attempts from the time he first began his rise to power in the early 1930s, until he eventually took his own life roughly fifteen years later. Some of these plots were no more advanced than a lone-gunman looking for the perfect opportunity to strike, while others required the careful planning and coordination of hundreds. Today, we will be taking a look at this dark time in history and discussing some of the more well-known plots as well as how and why they failed.
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Hitler had ridiculous levels of plot armour.
That damn spear of destiny works wonders, doesn't it? 🤔🧐
@@brandonlordbaltimore5182 guess who has it now
na he just farted so much nobody wanted to be in a bunker with him
Uh yea he had great luck? He'd have been better off going
Almost like something was protecting him. Holy Lance anyone?
Hitler: *Commits suicide*
Spirits of Nazi executed for trying to kill him: "Bruh..."
Very fair justice, even the head of state received the same sentence as everyone else for their attempt on the fuhrer's life
XD
I’m glad to see so many people like the video! I had a lot of fun researching and writing this one.
It was an awesome, and informative, video. Simon mentioned a whole video could be done on one or two of the attempts. I would love a more indepth look at some of these plots. Perhaps, you can pitch the idea to Simon; if you haven already.
Matthew, thank you for writing the script. I can't, however, ignore the fact that the last plot to assassinate Hitler gets little to no air time. Where an Austrian artist, former spy, and first world war veteran who ultimately succeeded in killing Hitler!
Thanks Matt :)
Good job. Thanks for this.
@@realmontgomeryfan he was a spy??
This Adolf H. guy was a very inpressive assassin indeed. 42 plots to assassinate Hitler failed, yet he succeeded with a single bullet.
Psh. Castro survived 600 assassination attempts.
Sometimes if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.
Meanwhile Hitler chillin Argentina
It's still always amazing to me how sheer luck can often play into significant historical events. Just imagining what kinda difference it would have made to the party if he had perished at these different points in the timeline is really interesting, as his cult of personality was a driving force in bringing in the German public's support
Isn't it just. I've heard rumour that after the wheels really started falling off his brainship, we wanted to keep him, hah. Rommel is an interesting character to look into. He seems perhaps merely a nasty German Imperialist rather than the levels of evil most of the high command were.
I just love the irony that that Party was filled with extremely unwell people at the top of the chain, who were enemies of the disabled. An absurd irony. A tragic and nasty one, but I've a very dark sense of humour after what life's done to me
There are so many points at which Hitler's rule could've failed, even before he got to power. He could've easily died in the gas attack which blinded him in WW1, he could've been put in prison for a long time after the Beerhall Putsch and not been able to take advantage of the political and social struggle in Germany at the time. The events which led to him becoming Chancellor and having absolute power are pretty crazy and rely heavily on being in the right place, at the right time.
The same can be said for Putin.
@@TheHorseshoePartyUK The Allies did decide not to assassinate Hitler as his mental state and extremely poor strategic decisions hampered the Nazi war machine more than any bombing raid could ever do.
He diverted funds, materials and manpower to insane projects which never really led anywhere or were completely impractical, like the Schwerer Gustav. The Battle of the Bulge was a disaster because it was rushed and Hitler refused to give up on it, which meant a large portion of the German forces were wiped out with nothing to gained.
Had he been assassinated by the Allies, he would've become a martyr and the competent generals and politicians would've take over, which would've been a disaster for the world.
Rommel has been sanctified, unjustly. He was just like the rest, with the exception of holding military honour in high regard, so he was respected by his enemy. His ideology was no different from the rest of the Nazi's.
@@Yvolve Ah ok thanks for informing me! I'm less sure about Rommel, as he was apparently implicated in a plot to take out Hitler. Though even if he was, if his motivations were about not agreeing with his extreme agenda, or wanting the job himself, I cannot say.
Luck nothing. That dude had patronage from the other side. You don't get that kind of plot armor from dice rolls.
You forgot the time when Hitler could have potentially been assassinated by an archeologist that bumped into him. Hitler signed the man's copy of Mein Kampf, and no one was harmed.
Good one
Or when Albert Einstein went back in time with his Chronosphere to assassinate Hitler with a handshake.
The Last Crusade was amazing.
They should make a movie about that famous incident. 😉
Lol it was a Grail diary.
A icon of history you are. CZcamsrs who are known by everyone. Thanks for your work in this space.
I think a movie or video, exploring in depth, the guy who decided to plant a bomb in the pillar. The year, and patience, he had is amazing to me!
I think there is a movie actually, probably German I don't remember but I have the image in my mind of and old black and white movie with a guy scraping out a hole in a pillar for the bomb.
As I continue down the Simon youtubevers i find myself more and more in disbelief how good some of these entires are and how great the research is. He truly picks out some of the best possible to write for him and I appreciate all the efforts put into them.
Thank you.
Hitler seeing all these assassination attempts: “can’t rely on anyone these days you gotta do everything yourself.”
"We took this challenge before our lord and our conscience, and it must be done, because this man, Hitler, he is the ultimate evil." -- Claus Von Stauffenberg
'Long live our sacred Germany"-Claus von Stauffenberg his last words not all germans and nazis were evil thank you and keep up the amazing work your doing
That was an awesome film. Very well done.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
All nazis were and are definitely evil
It should be important though to make blanket moralizations of the Valkyrie plotters though.
It's true that many of the plotters did have well intentions and were adamantly anti-Nazi.
However a large portion of the plotters, including Klaus von Stauffenberg were not essentially going to be the liberating victors some think they were.
Many of the Valkyrie plotters still believed in instituting an Authoritarian system of government in Germany. Von Stauffenburg for example was leaning towards instituting a direct monarchy under the Kaiser. They would have tried to keep some of their conquered lands in France, Czechoslovakia and Poland (and not just the one populated by the Volksdeutsche, but more core land as well), as well as kept the union with Austria. Not to mention that many of the plotters still had deep anti-Semetic attitudes.
@@JimothyLahey so basically they were still better than the Soviets. Unless you arbitrarily value French independence more than the entirety of eastern Europe.
@@thelordofcringe There is no "basically" in proper historiography. History is much more nuanced than "simply" or "just".
I'm very well aware of and I agree with the fact that the Soviet Union was absolutely horrendous in its campaigns across Eastern and parts of Central Europe. There is no denying that.
What I'm cautioning against is attempting to ennoble the entirety of the Valkyrie plot members, when it included many anti-democratic, anti-semetic, and authoritarian views.
Their attempt to combat the Nazis to save their Germany should not go unnoticed, but it would be disingenuous if we did not recognize that many members of the plot had their own sinister or ulterior motives in getting rid of the Nazis.
Many of the Western Allies' politicians were similar. Members of the US and British governments often misled and played off many of their own smaller Allies to their own gain.
Without a doubt, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were horrible regimes, but there were many more political, ideological, and cultural forces in play during the War that can not and should not be ignored.
A biography of Henning von Tresckow would be interesting…
*"You may hand us over to the executioner,* but in three months time, *the disgusted and harried people will bring you to book and drag you alive through the dirt in the streets"* -Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben, Valkyrie (2008)
*"We have to show the world that not all of us were like him"* -Maj Gen. Henning von Tresckow, Valkyrie (2008)
*"Look them in the eye. They'll remember you...Long live sacred Germany!"* -Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, Valkyrie (2008)
Absolutely great episode. I loved the descriptive nature of Operation Valkyrie with details I just learned through this video. Thank you for your great work!!!
Man dude that hid in the pillar was an absolute legend
"He was executed September the 25th of September, 1944". Yes, but what month, man, what month???
I really appreciate the effort you are putting forth with this channel factboi
"Es lebe das heilige Deutschland!" such strong final words, from a man who gave his life trying to save his country and the entire world. Go watch Valkyrie, what a great movie about the July 20 plot. Spectacular video as always, thank you Warographics
1:10 - Chapter 1 - Early attempts
5:10 - Chapter 2 - The beer hall bomb
8:45 - Chapter 3 - 3 attempts in 1 day
13:05 - Chapter 4 - The July 20 plot
Profit?
Killing Hitler would not change Germany's fate. The Allies would not accept anything less than an unconditional surrender and I do not believe them or the SS would be willing to accept that. That would only complicate things even more. But even then I would have preferred them to have been successful.
@Ewan Callister It is impossible for your scenario not to lead to civil war.
Actually, didn't the conspirators come to terms with that a few days before the attempt, but figured that killing Hitler might make the Allies be less harsh?
@Ewan Callister There was no Waffen-SS in the Soviet Union. In 1944 the SS had over 900,000 units scattered in and out of Germany and I doubt that if Hitler was assassinated they would not seek revenge on those responsible.
@@vitorpereira9515 There was the NKVD though before and during the end of the Stalin Era of Russia how is that different than the SS considering both were mass mobilized ideological fanatics.
God forbid we just wanted him dead simply on the principle of it 🇩🇪🇮🇱
How history might have changed if one of these assassinations had been successful, especially one of the early ones.
Yeah Germany would have ended up like the holodomor in the Ukraine
@@Lord_Humungus 2/10
Thanks Ian. That was awesome! I learned a lot.
One of my grandmother's brothers-in-law was a very high ranking member of the July 20th plot. He was fortunate not to be executed. Instead (Nazi humor here), he was sent to the prison in which Hitler served his time after the Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" while in prison.
George S Patton's 3rd Army was rapidly approaching the prison while my uncle was there so all of the SS guards were really nice to him. They all wanted him to tell the Americans how humane they were.
Ian?
@@dimadobrik4516 Busted! Ian is the first name of the presenter of the other CZcams documentary series that I watch. I got so excited that I mixed them up...
@@dinsdalemontypiranha4349 I was genuinely confused 😂 I only know Ian the Gun Jesus
@@dimadobrik4516 That's him. (guilty pleasures. I hate it that the guns are all intended to shoot people, but they are part of human history) I really enjoy the historical stories in his videos, plus my father was an extremely gifted and accomplished designing mechanical engineer so although I'm not an engineer I can appreciate some of the engineering in these videos. I enjoy Simon's Megaproject videos for the same reason.
This is an excellent video simon!! When you lay it out without emotion straight up the videos rule!!!
I'm not sure how many channels of yours I follow at this point, But they all make my brain satisfied.
Talk about commitment, courage and patience from Johann Elser. But it was a stroke of sheer bad luck that history as we know it could have been altered...
Since you did the rebuilding of Warsaw on the other channel. I hope you will cover the 1944 Warsaw Uprising here
This was very exciting, I was hoping any of them would work out even tho we know how history whent lol. But this shows you how great written and narrated this video was.
The bomb at the Wolf's Lair probably didnt have the impact it would have had because, being July, it was hot and the windows were opened, allowing much of the bombs power to dissipate.
I know you guys have a lot of different channels and I can never remember which ones are which, but I’m just glad the video I clicked this time isn’t the one where Simon tries to be funny. He performs much better when he’s serious
The dude with the bomb in his pants during the art exhibit is extremely lucky and unlucky...lucky he didn't die, and unlucky that hitler was rushing through everything
Another great video. Please do another documenting any assassination attempts made against Stalin.
Dude was one of the most evil men in history but damn if he wasn't crazy lucky.
Also being a messenger runner in ww1 and only being gased is also kinda crazy
This is you you always invest in your “Luck” stat.
The amount of sheer, dumb luck that surrounded that monster and kept him alive longer is absolutely mind-boggling
I knew about a few of em but holy crap. I just know how vlogging through history saying how luck, weather and etc changes events in history so hard.
Apparently constantly being on a timetable and then constantly being behind on that timetable can save your life.
So big brain energy should predict that
Since you're talking about the more well known ones, does that mean we'll get a second one on the lesser known ones..? 😇
Hit me in the feels. Bjce one, factboi.
Stauffenbergs briefcase was recovered by Kryten in Red Dwarf after Lister goes to Nazi Germany. Classic episode.
A man of culture I see!
Cool video. Any chance of a Boer War episode?
And in the end it was a simple Austrian corporal and failed art student who pulled off what all the rest couldn’t.
noone truly knows, if he really killed himself in Berlin, the Soviets never provided the body.
You should make a separate video on the night of the long knives
"[20 July] could demand a video by itself."
Yes, Simon. YES.
It is mind blowing to know that Hitler avoided so many assassination attempts. So many of them sounds like something you'd see in a film or something. Several them sound very interesting. And I can't say I ever knew there was a German resistance to Hitler, so yeah, really crazy stuff.
It sounds like a Mr. Magoo bit
Speaking of German Resistance in WW2 you need to do a biographics on Dietrich BonHoeffer
And his brother in law, Hans von Dohnanyi. Both remarkable human beings in terms of their moral compass and courage… rather inspiring!
It's ironic that the Gestapo was able to suss out these conspiracies since they were infamously inept and understaffed.
Was that the Gestapo or the military intelligence? Wasn’t the leader of that branch also sympathetic to the allies/working against the nazis?
@@jordanclark4635 You're thinking of Abwehr(military intelligence) and Wilhelm Canaris.
@@Ruosteinenknight Bingo. And he certainly had no love for the Gestapo and worked to sabotage them, too.
Funnily enough I've been thinking about rewatching Valkyrie for the last 3 weeks. I think I'll save this video for when I have
One of the most remarkable attempts to assassinate Hitler was in the 1943 running of what was Nazi Germany's equivalent to remembrance day. On that day, which occurred not long after the catastrophic (for the nazis) defeat at Stalingrad. After delivering a short address, Hitler was then shown around a display of captured Soviet weapons. While there, the plan among some high ranking army Generals was for one of them, Von Gehrsdorf (I hope I spelled it right), to activate the 10 minute fuses on the self concealed explosives within his uniform tunic and remain close to not just Hitler, but other significant leaders of Nazi Germany at the same time so as to take them out all at once.
One photo taken while Hitler was being shown round this display shows Von Gehrsdorf, unbeknownst to most, bombs armed standing close to Hitler. However, the picture also gives a clue as to what happened next. Hitler wasn't really paying any interest or attention to what he was being shown and instead of wandering around the display for 30 minutes, left abruptly after 2 minutes. Von Gehrsdorf excused himself from the entourage, dashed to a toilet, where he defused both bombs with very little time to spare.
Prior to seeing the video about it by Mark Felton, I hadn't heard of what was probably the closest he could have come to being assassinated, but the story is extraordinary
Please do an entire video on the July 20 plot please.
come on simon. i can subscribe only so many times.. you are killing me here
Those are some strong last words.
Love your channels ✌️🇳🇴
They tried him a bunch, damn dude was ducking death consistently
This is on Warographics? I'd have put it on - Into the shadows - if I were you Simon mate
Still, love your content as always! 👌👍👍
French resistance in ww2 and the Filipino-american war please
Can you do something on the Nuremberg trials? Please
Interesting video
thank you
if there was ever someone that could be said to possess the devil's luck
Simon that beard is getting glorious damn
This video is going to do well
Sometimes with assassination, you gotta play the long game by making the target lose all hope and they do the job themselves.
Lol if you're going to try and assassinate someone who prefers to eat plant based meals, DONT POISON THE MEAT! I found that to be really funny.
To be fair, he wasn't consumate vegetarian at that point. He dropped meat out of his diet somewhere between 1937-38.
I would love to see this done as a Brain Blaze video.
Your spelling of "Freiherr" is funny!
As a german speaker: "Frei" = free, spelled like "shy" or "high"; "Herr" = mister, spelled like "where" with a hard RRRRRRR-sound
The night of the long knives was an internal power struggle, which Ernst Roehm lost… so he and his SA were murdered by those Nazis who won. Ernst Roehm was a committed Nazi, a thug, utterly ruthless and brutal, a friend of Hitler from the early days and also gay… the being gay bit played a role for some of his Nazi friends who plotted against him, others just wanted more power. Anyone murdered during the night of long knives were hardcore Nazis, so no innocent blood spilled … Nazis turning on other Nazis, for power, and because at the end of day someone who does not fit their worldview will be taken care once the person served his/ her purpose….
It's almost as if the universe HAD TO endure Hitler.
You might be right. The example of pure evil has stayed many a powerful mans hand since. One can only wonder how many have stopped themselves with the single thought "Don't be Hitler" sadly though not enough. As the saying goes "Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it".
@@rickyal9810 say the guy who doesn't know what the holodomor was
Great video! But you forgot the only plot that was actually successful. The plot led by lt. Aldo Raine and the basterds that took place in a movie theatre in France during a screening of "the nation's pride". Some sources also say the theatre was actually burnt by the owner who was secretly a jew.
hats off for those glorious efforts to make a big change. true heroes but too bad it failed in the main goal.
Anyone recognizes the music this video uses in the beginning? It's too quiet, short and Simon's voice doesn't help. Heard it in other Warographics videos, but again, too quiet and too short.
The memorial to the members of the july 20th plot is chilling. They definitely showed the world not all germans were like Hitler.
How many channels does he have
Great episode. People still believe hitler commited suicide?!. Surely he would have given himself a get out plan.
How did the SS find out all the time? Especially how did they get the guy who planted the podium bomb? No CCTV, no internet. It’s baffling.
probably had a list of who entered everyday. They used to write down people names who entered a lot of places sort of like a visitor log.
A few forgotten heros there. Salute
The only assassin he couldn't thwart was himself.
I need a movie about all the assassination attempts on Hitler and Castro, wacky and not because that level of plot armor is like it was written for TV. I think between them there’s 200 attempts
Why does Von Gersdorff look like Eric Bischoff from WCW & WWE lmao
Hitler had the luck of the Irish that Michael Malloy had.
What did I learn? The Gestapo were really good at their job... 🤔
when I saw the title, I though it was part of Mega Projects🙄🙄🙄
Wasn't Val Kylrie in Batman???
Up next;Belleau Woods
"Planning a coup to overthrow the gov" sounds like someone who's saying some of the same that's a current leader targeting a specific political group
We Germans tried very seriously a few times to get rid of the devil. But our devil was a lucky bastard.
3:42 September the 25th of September?
A war of ideologies, of generations, of greed and ancient feuds. A war imported from a far off land and fought in the heart of America, on the streets of the Empire City. A war that would lay the foundation for one of the most powerful entities in 20th Century America. An incubator for cultural icons and folk heroes that laid bare the inherent nature of man and capitalism right on the front pages. I suggested a few times in your earlier videos and am once more nominating, for topic consideration, The Castellammarese War. THE factional Mafia war that acts as the basis for the very concept of gangland warfare.
(I hope you do this topic because I'm posting this comment on every video till you do. I am a terrorist)
What do you say to death?
Hitler’s luck: Not today! No today!
You know what bothers me, when a youtuber repeatedly says a word wrong over and over again. Its Val•ka•re
Hitler gets a lot of bad rap, but we have to remember Hitler killed Hitler. And a relative of mine attempted to kill him.
I bet you wont ever make these about the most brutal dictators, same faction or actually its identical twin
Adolf-kun was the protagonist and we are just the side characters
Alternate title. A tier list of Germany's absoltue chads.
3:42 Executed on September the 25th, September of 1944? Too much Septembers?
I have respect for Rommel wasn't he forced to commit suicide for this ? I thought of all germans as bad guys during WW2 well there were heros like these
Hitler was eventually assassinated... by Hitler.
Bro said Valkyrie wrong
1.Castro
2.Hitler
Somehow I do not think that a fascist and military leadership would have been left standing, especially near the last time when the Soviets were already in Poland.
Their demands and conditions for territory were absolutely outrageous. They planned sue for peace with hopes to restore 1939 borders(this included sudetenland, Austria and Alsace-Lorraine). There were also demands for restoration of overseas colonies.
As for Poland, they were divided, as some wanted back areas ceded in 1918 and others wanted annex it all. These were all non-starters for allies.
And he beat them to it!