Operation Valkyrie, also known as the July 20 Plot, was a failed assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler and a coup d'état in Nazi Germany during World War II. It took place on July 20, 1944.
The plot was led by several high-ranking German military officers and civilians who were part of the German Resistance, a group of individuals who opposed Hitler's regime and sought to overthrow the Nazi government. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, an army officer, was the key figure in the assassination attempt.
Stauffenberg was able to get close to Hitler during a military briefing at the Wolf's Lair headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia (now Kętrzyn, Poland). He placed a briefcase containing a bomb under the table where Hitler was seated. After leaving the room under the pretense of taking a phone call, Stauffenberg hoped that the bomb would kill Hitler and cripple the Nazi leadership, allowing the Resistance to take control of the government.
However, the assassination attempt did not go as planned. The bomb exploded but did not kill Hitler outright. He survived with minor injuries, as the conference table's heavy legs shielded him from the blast. Several officers were killed, and many others were injured. Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators were swiftly rounded up, and a series of trials and executions followed.
In the aftermath of the failed plot, the Nazi regime launched a brutal crackdown on the German Resistance, resulting in the arrest and execution of thousands of people suspected of involvement. Claus von Stauffenberg and other key figures were executed by firing squad on the same day as the attempt.
Despite its failure, the July 20 Plot remains one of the most significant acts of resistance against the Nazi regime, and it has been immortalized in history as an example of courage and defiance against tyranny.
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