Valentin O. Terentyev

Student, Institute of History and Social Sciences

Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia

(St. Petersburg, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-23-35

Abstract. The article attempts to consider the response of the German military to the news of the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944, also known as Operation Valkyrie. The relevance of this article is due to the revision of the established interpretation of the German population’s response to the failure of the conspiracy, formed by researchers in the field of social history in the 1970s and 1980s based on gendarmerie reports. To achieve this goal, the author examines the response of people of various professions through the prism of private nature sources (memoirs, diaries, and letters from the front). The author critically analyzes the sources and identifies four common types of response to the assassination attempt: condemnation, nonresponse, approval and mistrust. The majority of the military condemned the conspiracy and argued their point of view with three factors: the conduct of the war, the violation of Prussian military traditions and the threat of escalation of the civil war. There was also an indifference to this event, indicating a decline in the military's interest in Hitler's personality. The author also identifies a positive reaction and critically analyzes it. As a result, the author concludes that a minority of soldiers had a positive reaction to the news of the assassination attempt. Her mention in her memoirs was most likely to correct the image of the military in the public’s eyes. Representatives of the Kriegsmarine did not trust this news, which suggests that the German sailors are detached from the rest of the German armed forces.
Keywords: Third Reich, Operation Valkyrie, 20 July 1944, attempted assassination of Hitler, German society, social history, general officers, military.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Terentyev, MO 2025, ‘The Military's Reaction to Attempted Assassination of Hitler on July 20, 1944: to the Problem Statement’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 2 (22), pp. 23–35, https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2025-2-23-35 (in Russ.)

References

1. Einsiedel, G 2012, Dnevnik plennogo nemetskogo lyotchika. Srazhayas na storone vraga. 1942–1948 (Diary of a captured German pilot. Fighting on the enemy side. 1942–1948), trans. A. L. Andreyeva, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
2. Bamm, P 2006, Nevidimyy flag. Frontovyye budni na Vostochnom fronte. 1941–1945 (Invisible Flag. Everyday Life on the Eastern Front. 1941–1945), trans. I. Yemets, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
3. Bartman, E 2018, Tyazhelyye boi na Vostochnom fronte: vospominaniya veterana elitnoy nemetskoy divizii, 1939–1945 (Heavy fighting on the Eastern Front. Memoirs of a Veteran of an Elite German Division, 1939–1945), trans. V. V. Naydenova, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
4. Bergau, M 2020, Malchik s yantarnogo berega: sobytiya sovremennoy istorii glazami uchastnika, 1938–1948 gg (A boy from the amber coast: events of modern history through the eyes of a participant, 1938–1948), trans. M. Tarkan, Kaliningradskaya Kniga publ, Kaliningrad. (In Russ.)
5. Biderman, G 2005, V smertelnom boyu. Vospominaniya komandira protivotankovogo raschyota, 1941–1945 (In a Deadly Battle. Memories of an Anti-Tank Crew Commander. 1941–1945), trans. A. S. Tsyplenkova, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
6. Borman, M 2006, Pisma (Letters), trans. L. A. Igorevskiy, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
7. Varlimont,V 2005, V stavke Gitlera. Vospominaniya nemetskogo generala (At Hitler's Headquarters. Memories of a German General), trans. L. A. Igorevskiy, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
8. Vaydinger, O 2012, Tovarishchi do kontsa. Vospominaniya komandirov pantsergrenaderskogo polka “Der Fyurer”. 1938–1945 (Comrades to the End. Memories of the Commanders of the Panzergrenadier Regiment “Der Führer”. 1938–1945), trans. A. G. Nikolayev, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
9. Verner, G 2003, Stalnyye groby. Nemetskiye podvodnyye lodki: sekretnyye operatsii 1941–1945 (Steel Coffins. German U-Boats: Secret Operations 1941–1945), trans. S. V. Lisogorskiy, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
10. Grantsov, K 2013, Pepel bolshoy voyny. Dnevnik chlena gitleryugenda, 1943–1945 (Ashes of the Great War. Diary of a Hitler Youth Member. 1943–1945), Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
11. Gustav, G 2012, Nyurnbergskiy dnevnik (Nuremberg Diary), Veche publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
12. Denits, K 2004, Desyat let i dvadtsat dney. Vospominaniya glavnokomanduyushchego voenno-morskimi salami Germanii, 1935–1945 (Ten Years and Twenty Days: Memories of the Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy. 1935–1945), Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
13. Kagenek, A 2021, Pravo umirat pervymi. Leytenant 9-y tankovoy divizi ivermakhta o voyne na Vostochnom fronte. 1939–1942 (The Right to Die First. Lieutenant of the 9th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht about the war on the Eastern Front. 1939–1942), trans. V. E. Klimanov, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
14. Karius, O 2019, “Tigry” v gryazi. Vospominaniya nemetskogo tankista. 1941–1944 (Tigers in the mud. Memories of a German tanker. 1941–1944), trans. S. V. Lisogorskiy, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
15. Kern, E 2008, Plyaska smerti: vospominaniya untershturmfyurera SS. 1941–1945 (Dance of Death: Memories of an SS-Untersturmführer. 1941–1945), trans. G. P. Blyablin, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
16. Lyubbeke,V 2017,U vorot Leningrada. Istoriya soldata gruppy armiy “Sever”. 1941–1945 (At the Gates of Leningrad. The Story of a Soldier of Army Group North. 1941–1945), trans. V. S. Mukhin, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
17. Marabini, Zh 2003, Povsednevnaya zhizn Berlina pri Gitlere (Everyday Life in Berlin Under Hitler), Molodaya gvardiya publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
18. Mayer, K 2010, Otkroveniya tankovogo generala SS (Revelations of an SS Panzer General), Yauza-Press publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
19. Melletin, FV 1957, Tankovyye srazheniya. Boevoye primeneniye tankov vo Vtoroy mirovoy voyne. 1939–1945 gg (Tank battles. Combat use of tanks in World War II. 1939–1945), Inostr. lit. publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
20. Plenkov, OYu 2017, Gosudarstvo I obshchestvo v Tretyem reykhe. Realnost diktatury (State and Society in the Third Reich. The Reality of Dictatorship), Vladimir Dal publ, Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.)
21. Plenkov, OYu 2019, Chto ostalos ot Gitlera? Istoricheskaya vina I politicheskoye pokayaniye Germanii (What's Left of Hitler? Germany's Historical Guilt and Political Repentance), Vladimir Dal publ, Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.)
22. Praun, A 2018, Ot soldata do generala. Vospominaniya ofitsera-svyazista ob upravlenii voyskami v voennykh kompaniyakh Tretyego reykha. 1939–1945 (From Soldier to General. Memories of a Signal Officer about Commanding Troops in Military Campaigns of the Third Reich. 1939–1945), trans. V. S. Mukhin, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
23. Reder, E 2004, Gross-admiral. Vospominaniya komanduyushchego VMF Tretyego reykha. 1935–1943 (Grossadmiral. Memories of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Third Reich. 1935–1943), trans. V. D. Kaidalova, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
24. Miroshnichenko, SI (trans., ed.) 2022, Stenogramma Nyurnbergskogo protsessa. (The transcript of the Nuremberg process), vol. 14, Militera publ, Moscow, viewed 10 December 2024, URL: http://militera.org/books/pdf/docs/sb_nurnberg-steno14.pdf (In Russ.)
25. Terentyev, VO 2024, ‘Posledstviya pokusheniya na Gitlera 20 iyulya 1944 g. dlya vnutrenney politiki Tretyego reykha’ (Consequences of the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944 for the internal politics of the Third Reich), Klio (Klio), no. 5 (209), pp. 58–65. (In Russ.)
26. Hartlaub, F 2021, V osobookhranyaemoy zone. Dnevnik soldata stavki Gitlera. 1939–1945 (In a specially protected zone. Diary of a soldier at Hitler's headquarters. 1939–1945), trans. S. Yu. Chuprova, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
27. Heilman, V 2006, Posledniye boi lyuftvaffe. 54-ya istrebitelnaya eskadra na Zapadnom fronte. 1944–1945 (The last battles of the Luftwaffe. 54th Fighter Squadron on the Western Front. 1944–1945), trans. M. V. Zefirova, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
28. Choltitz, D 2015, Soldatskiy dolg: vospominaniya generala vermakhta o voyne na zapade I vostoke Evropy, 1939–1945 (A Soldier's Duty: A Wehrmacht General's Memories of the War in Western and Eastern Europe, 1939–1945), trans. V. E. Klimanova, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
29. Shibel, G 2019, Voyna na Vostoke. Dnevnik komandira motorizovannoy roty. 1941–1945 (War in the East. Diary of a Motorized Company Commander. 1941–1945), trans. S. Yu. Chuprov, Tsentrpoligraf publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
30. Striedter, J 2012, Mgnoveniya. Iz stalinskoy Sovetskoy Rossii v «Velikogermanskiy reykh» Gitlera. Vospominaniya o detstve I yunosti (Moments. From Stalin's Soviet Russia to Hitler's “Great German Reich”. Memories of Childhood and Youth), AIRO-XXI publ, Moscow. (In Russ.)
31. Junger, E 2002, Izlucheniya (fevral 1941-aprel 1945) (Radiation (February 1941-April 1945)), trans. N. O. Guchinskaya, V. G. Notkina, Vladimir Dal publ, Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.)
32. ‘Adalbert Huber an seine Ehefrau am 20.7.1944 (3.2002.7130)’, Die Briefsammlungen der Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation, viewed 10 December 2024, https://www.briefsammlung.de/feldpost-zweiter-weltkrieg/brief.html?action=detail&what=letter&id=688&date_from_mn_name=05&date_from_yr_name=1944&date_to_mn_
name=08&date_to_yr_name=1944 (In Germ.)
33. ‘Alfred Luchs an seine Ehefrau am 25.7.1944 (3.2002.7567)’, Die Briefsammlungen der Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation, viewed 10 December 2024, https://www.briefsammlung.de/feldpost-zweiter-weltkrieg/brief.html?action=detail&what=letter&id=734&date_from_mn_name=05&date_from_yr_name=1944&date_to_mn_
name=08&date_to_yr_name=1944 (In Germ.)
34. Balack, H 2015, Order in Chaos. The Memories of General of Panzer Troops, The University Press of Kentucky publ, Kentucky.
35. Bessel, R 1987, Life in the Third Reich, Oxford University Press publ, Oxford.
36. Broszat, M 1987, Alltag und Widerstand-Bayern im Nationalsozialismus, Piper publ, Munich. (In Germ.)
37. ‘Feldpost aus dem Zweiten Weltkrieg’, Die Briefsammlungen der Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation, viewed 10 December 2024, https://www.briefsammlung.de/feldpostzweiter-weltkrieg/ (In Germ.)
38. ‘Feldpost des Zweiten Weltkriegs’, Editionen zur Geschichte, viewed 10 December 2024, https://jugend1918-1945.de/feldpost/default.aspx (In Germ.)
39. Grundberger, R 1972, The 12-year Reich: a social history of Nazi Germany, 1933–1945, Ballantine Books publ, New York.
40. ‘Günther Roos an Mutter Elisabeth, 22. Juli 1944’, Editionen zur Geschichte, viewed 10 December 2024, https://jugend1918-1945.de/feldpost/default.aspx?id=30486&aid=18230&brief=30486 (In Germ.)
41. ‘Günter Wolf an seine Ehefrau am 24.7.1944 (3.2002.1357)’, Editionen zur Geschichte, viewed 10 December 2024, https://www.briefsammlung.de/feldpost-zweiterweltkrieg/brief.html?action=detail&what=letter&id=547&date_from_mn_name=05&date_from_yr_name=1944&date_to_mn_
name=08&date_to_yr_name=1944 (In Germ.)
42. Hoogenboezem, MJ 2023, ‘Myths of innocence: General Walter Warlimont’s war’, Militaire Spectator, vol. 192, no. 4, pp. 188–197.
43. ‘Horst Boehm an seine Mutter am 23.07.1944 (3.2002.1289)’, Die Briefsammlungen der Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation, viewed 10 December 2024, https://www.briefsammlung.de/feldpost-zweiter-weltkrieg/brief.html?action=detail&what=letter&id=1507&date_from_mn_name=05&date_from_yr_name=1944&date_to_mn_
name=08&date_to_yr_name=1944 (In Germ.)
44. Marko, K 1987, ‘Felix Hartlaubs Zeugenschaft wider den Missbrauch der Vergangenheit. Mehr als 40 Jahre danach’, Zeitschrift für Politik, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 280–291. (In Germ.)
45. Steinert, M 1977, Hitler's war and the Germans: public mood and attitude during the Second World War, Ohio University Press publ.