Valkyrie: The Plot To Kill Hitler

Valkyrie: The Plot To Kill Hitler

by PhilippVonBoeselager (Author)

Synopsis

When the Second World War broke out, Philipp von Boeselager fought enthusiastically for his country, leading a cavalry unit first in France and later on the Russian Front. However, when he discovered what the SS were doing to Jews and Gypsies in the summer of 1942 his enthusiasm quickly turned to disgust. Along with his brother Georg, he joined a group of conspirators in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. After several abortive assassination attempts, including one in which von Boeselager was supposed to shoot the Fuhrer with his own pistol, the plotters finally decided on a plan to blow Hitler up with a bomb. Von Boeselager transported the explosives and passed them on to Claus von Stauffenberg. He and his brother then moved their cavalry units to Berlin to take control of the city. When the plot failed, the SS instituted a terrifying purge of senior army officers. In an attempt to disguise their part in the conspiracy, the Boeselager brothers hurried back to the eastern front with their units. One by one their fellow plotters were found out, tortured and executed, and it is a testimony to their fortitude that they never gave away the Boeselagers' names. Georg von Boeselager eventually died in battle on the Russian Front, but Philipp survived the war and outlived all his fellow conspirators. His family still owns the pistol with which he was supposed to shoot Hitler.

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 192
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: W&N
Published: 12 Jan 2009

ISBN 10: 0297855468
ISBN 13: 9780297855460
Book Overview: Published to coincide with the release of the Tom Cruise film Valkyrie A unique story from a unique and world-famous man Guaranteed media interest - this is a story that can never be repeated an invaluable testimony... von Boeselager has produced an account infused with great honesty, a thousand miles from the standard accounts that sometimes appear in the newspapers - Le Monde

Media Reviews
provides many insights. Detail abounds... astonishing. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - 7 February explains the motivations and frustrations of the conspirators... a memorable short book, written in crisp prose. -- CHRISTOPHER SILVESTER DAILY EXPRESS short, modest memoir... celebrates a long-since vanished generation of scholar-warriors. -- CHRISTOPHER HUDSON DAILY MAIL 16 January a fascinating description of some of the peripheral details of the plot as well as a unique account of the life of a cavalry officer. THE TABLET first-hand account of the 1944 military coup that failed to depose the Nazis. -- Rob Attar BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE
Author Bio
Philipp Frieherr von Boeselager was born in the Rhineland in 1917. As a senior army officer in the war he took part in various plots to kill Hitler, including the famous Stauffenberg plot, 'Operation Valkyrie'. After the war he became a forestry expert. He has since been honoured by both France and Germany for his bravery.