I find it incredible that Adolf Hitler managed to evade assassination through to may 45, and in the end he did it himself. When you think of the countless people who had a motive, even his own people tried to get him. In the latter part of the war the allies gave up the quest to kill him, because they realised that Hitler had become their best agent in Europe! It was a shame that he did,nt get the same treatment as mussolini paul
There were actually 43 separate attempts on the life of Hitler, and some of them missed by a hair's breadth...Colonel Brandt moving the briefcase on July 20, 1944...Henning Von Tresckow's champagne bottle bombs failing to go off in 1943...Adolf leaving the stage at the Burgerbraukeller on November 9, 1939 shortly before that bomb went off...dictators seem to lead charmed lives. That's because their cynicism, paranoia, and need for security makes them take measures that more peaceful folk would not do. Saddam Hussein never slept more than two consecutive nights in the same bed. Hitler's hat had armor plate in it. It's good to be the dictator, but it has no retirement plan.
Originally posted by Thomas McCall@Jan 12 2005, 05:08 PM I thought it was Colonel Von Stauffenberg that planted the bomb on the 20 July 1944 [post=30644]Quoted post[/post] He did, but it was moved before it went off and this may well have saved Hitler's life.
I may be incorrect, but I believe that Hitler - as with most others of his ilk - would not received guests carrying weapons and was virtually always under heavy guard and resided in fortified and/or anonymous locations. Again, as with most dictators, those doing the guarding are handpicked for their loyalty and rewarded likewise; the death of their charge from whatever means would be seriously detrimental to their own and their families livelihood and, frequently, actual lives.(Was an SS officer or soldier in such an esteemed position - or for that any servicemen or dignitary -better off under the Nazi regime or upon the death of their leader: even if they escaped the inevitable witch-hunt following any of those associated so closely with a deposed leader, especially those held to be responsible for war crimes, would life have been better as a non-descript soldier, jobless politico or homeless refugee?) Again, serendipity (for Hitler) was much in evidence in the examples on offer when his life was threatened. However, one can argue that only a fraction of the German population wished to see his death until, if at all, the very last stages of the War - when he was a heavily protected recluse - and of those, very few who would possess the determination and capability of undertaking such an assassination. Among the subject populations, one would have to ask what percentage of their peoples would sacrifice their (and their families/town's) life in doing so, before one even examines the possibility of their actually getting into a position to actually commit this act. Best chance could have been during the political upheavals of the '20s and early '30s. Richard
Originally posted by DirtyDick@Jan 12 2005, 01:28 PM Best chance could have been during the political upheavals of the '20s and early '30s. But who (apart from his rivals both inside his party and in opposition groups) would have wanted to do this at a time when he was beginning to be looked upon as a "savior" of Germany? Dave.
My point entirely - unless killed (perhaps accidentally) during one of the numerous public disturbances during the Nazis' rise to power, it would be difficult to suggest a more opportune moment.
