Tributes have poured in this week for Phillipp Freiherr von Boeselager who shot to unparalleled notoriety after his failed attempt to assassinate Hitler became widely known.
Von Boeselager,90, is considered to be the final member of the group which planned to assassinate the Fuhrer to pass away. The plot aimed to kill Hitler by the use of an incendiary device which was to be planted with a briefcase on 20th July 1944.

Last week the Ministry of German Defence conveyed his death to the world, although they made no other statement associated with this.

The former Nazi officer is said to have saved many Jewish lives during the evolution of the Final Solution as he gallantly disturbed many executions and atrocities which he witnessed, most notably on the Russian front. He was said to have joined a group dedicated to the defeat of Nazism and the assassination of it’s figurehead in 1942, and was to be actively involved in the plans to kill Hitler which were developed by von Stauffenberg.

It was said to have been von Boeselager who acquired a vast array of explosives from the British and presented these to von Stauffenberg to carry out their plan.

In a fascinating sequence of actions, it is thought that after von Stauffenberg left the room which contained the Fuhrer and a multitude of his leading officers, the briefcase was moved and this slightly diluted the impact of the explosion which was to follow. The meeting room was destroyed, whilst three officers were killed in the blast, Hitler survived however with relatively minor injuries.

It is interesting that if the assassination had succeeded, then von Boeselager was ready with over twelve hundred men to lead an uprising against the Nazi regime. During this stage of the war and the gradual unveiling of the Final Solution which was being conducted at the time, the uprising was sure to have generated a certain degree of support with the German nationals. Many people “supported” the Nazi’s because there was no other viable option, other than to be executed. If news had have come that Hitler was dead, then it is almost a certainty that an uprising would have elicited much supported, and even if unsuccessful, would have severely hampered the war effort.

From documents which have been uncovered over recent years, we now know that all those who were known to have been directly involved in the plot to kill Hitler were rounded up and executed. The only people who were to avoid this fate were those who refused to be captured by the regime which they aimed to overthrow, and bypassed this by committing suicide.

However, nobody at the time ever became aware of the role which von Boeselager played in the plot and as a result he survived the backlash of the Nazi’s. In later memoirs, he did highlight the fact that until the end of the war, he constantly carried around a cyanide tablet with him, just in case he should ever be recognised. Like many of his compatriots, he would rather have dies than have placed his fate in the hands of the Nazis.

Von Boeselager was to live until he reached the grand age of 90 and is regarded somewhat of a war hero by Germans and allies alike and this site would like to pay tribute to him in the strongest possible manner.
Rest in Peace

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