1 ww 2 history club 22-apr-2015 killing hitler. 2 meeting agenda 1.pledge of allegiance...
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WW 2 History Club
22-Apr-2015
Killing HitlerKilling Hitler
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Meeting Agenda
1. Pledge of Allegiance2. Administration3. Killing Hitler Introduction4. Margaret Sgritta5. Video6. Q&A7. Closing
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WW2 Vets
WW2 vets are meeting before each regular Wednesday
meeting( 1:30 to 3:00 )
See Lou Branch
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WW2 Vets
WW2 vets are meeting for breakfast at Lil’ Bits Cafe
(off Rte 466) the Tuesday following each regular Wednesday meeting
See Lou Branch
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Web Site
The place to find out what is going on
The place for interesting items on WW2 (daily)
www.ww2hc.org
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Future Meetings4th Wednesday of the month
Colony Cottage May 2015: POWs Jun 2015: German Military Commanders Jul 2015: British Military Commanders Aug 2015: End of War Alternatives Sep 2015: Beginning of War Alternatives
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Movie Night3rd Wednesday of the month
Seabreeze Rec Center
May 2015: Unbroken Jun 2015: TBD Jul 2015: TBD
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WWII Book ClubNEW!! 4th Friday of the month
Colony 1PM to 3PM
May 2015: Unbroken
details on web site
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WW2 Vets flown to Wash DC Over 450 vets so far Lots more in the queue Next regular Mission is 27May’15 WW2HC donated $3,500 in Feb’15
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WW 2 History Club
22-Apr-2015
Killing HitlerKilling Hitler
Assassination AttemptsAgainst World Leaders
• Hitler – 4 attempts before 1933 prior to seizing power; 10 attempts post 1933 after seizing power; 1934-1944 27+ attempts
• Churchill – 2 attempts
• Stalin –7 attempts
• FDR – 1 attempt
• All US presidents – 20+ attempts
Source -- Wikipedia
Killing Hitler
• Hitler proved amazingly difficult to kill
• Multiple assassination attempts but only wounded during one
• Was this due to divine providence (guardian angel), inept security, or bumbling assassins?
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Hitler’s Health and Safety
• Obsessed with his own mortality– Preoccupied by thoughts of a potential assassination
attempt• Security measures
– Carried a pistol in public
– Had armed personal bodyguards
– Demanded security be constantly updated & intensified
– Multiple security organizations• SA, SS, Leibstandarte, RSD
Security Nightmares
• Unpredictable routine
• Reckless behavior
• Transportation arrangements– Multiple cars; preferred open-top
• More important to be seen than safe
– Airplanes– Train
Security Lapses• Background checks lax
– Not all were Nazi supporters/party members
– Staff members hired based on who they knew or personal recommendations
– Little or no screening of people meeting with Hitler
• Guards not always conscientious
• Little or no training– Don’t be rude in public
– Served as messengers or errand boys
• Competition between multiple security organizations– No one organization became too powerful
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Killing Hitler Over 30 known assassination attempts
Some quite famous, most relatively obscure
Several more were “mental exercises”, e.g., Albert Speer’s gas attack in Feb 1945
More still were well-thought-out plans that did not go operational, e.g., Operation Foxley
Probably many more that were aborted for some reason unknown to historians
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Killing Hitler
Although the elimination of Hitler seemed like a good idea
Many analysts would argue that he did more harm to the Axis cause while alive than if he had been eliminated
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Time LineDate Location Attempted By
< 1933 Various 4 attempts between 1923 and 1933
1933 Various 10 attempts
1934 Berlin Beppo Römer
1934 Berlin Helmut Mylius
1934 Unknown Unknown
1934 Unknown Unknown
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Time Line
Date Location Attempted By
1935 Berlin Marwitz group
1935 Berlin Paul Josef Stuermer
20-Dec-1936 Nuremberg Helmut Hirsch
1937 Berlin Josef Thomas
1937 Berlin Sportpalast Unknown man in SS uniform
9-Nov-1938 Feldherrnhalle, Munich Maurice Bavaud
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Time Line
Date Location Attempted By
5-Oct-1939 WarsawMichał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski,[2] Service for Poland's Victory
8-Nov-1939 1939
Bürgerbräukeller, Munich
Johann Georg Elser
1939 Berlin Erich Kordt
1940 Paris, France Erwin von Witzleben
1941 Berlin Nikolaus von Halem
1941-1943 (several)
Berlin Beppo Römer
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Time Line
Date Location Attempted By
1943 Walki, USSRHubert Lanz, Hans Speidel, Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz
13-Mar-1943
Flight to Smolensk, USSR
Henning von Tresckow, Fabian von Schlabrendorff
March 1943
Smolensk, USSR
Friedrich König, Philipp von Boeselager
21-Mar-1943
Zeughaus, Berlin
Henning von Tresckow, Fabian von Schlabrendorff, Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
1943Wolf's Lair, East Prussia
Unknown Pole
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Time Line
Date Location Attempted By
16-Nov-1943 Wolf's Lair, East Prussia
Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche-Streithorst
January 1944Wolf's Lair, East Prussia
Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin
11-Mar-1944Berghof, Obersalzberg
Eberhard von Breitenbuch
1944 (several) Berlin Claus von Stauffenberg
20-Jul-1944Wolf's Lair, East Prussia
Claus von Stauffenberg
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Time Line
Date Location Attempted By
30-Apr-1945 Führerbunker , Berlin
Hitler
Killing Hitler Book Club Discussion
• Maurice Bavaud• Georg Elsner• The Abwehr• Polish Resistance• The Soviet Union• The British• July 20th, von
Stauffenberg• Albert Speer
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Killing Hitler
So, after numerous attempts on his life, Hitler died at his own hand on 30-Apr-1945? Or did he?
The evidence is pretty convincing but …
There are also uncomfortable inconsistencies in the “facts”, evidence and testimony