OPERATION VALKYRIE

The 20 July plot of 1944 was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, inside the Wolfsschanze near Rastenburg, East Prussia. This was made to take power by means of an emergency plan called Operation Valkyrie (Unternehmen Walküre). Operation Valkyrie was approved by Hitler himself and, at face value, it was intended to be used in the event that disruption caused by the Allied bombing of German cities resulted in a breakdown in law and order. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg played the key role in the plot and was in charge of Operation Valkyrie. Because of his position, von Stauffenberg was allowed access to Hitler to make reports and for carrying out the other intended use of Operation Valkyrie.

The 20 July plot was the culmination of the efforts of the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi regime. Its failure, both in Hitler's "Wolf's Lair" (Wolfsschanze) Headquarters and then in Berlin's Bendlerblock, led to the arrest of at least 7,000 people by the Gestapo ^[1]. According to records of the Fuerhrer Conferences on Naval Affairs, 4,980 people were executed ^[2] which ultimately led to the destruction of the resistance movement.