Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assassinate Hitler

by Nigel Jones

Although there were more than 40 plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler, none came closer to success than the July Plot of 1944. The attempt was masterminded by Count von Stauffenberg, a member of the German General Staff, who had been rushed back from Africa after losing his left eye and right hand. For his injuries, he had been decorated as a war hero. Never a supporter of Nazi ideology, he was increasingly attracted by the approaches of the German resistance movement. After an attempt to assassinate Hitler in November 1943 failed, Stauffenberg developed a new plot to kill him at the Wolf's Lair Headquarters on 20th July 1944. Besides the Fuhrer's assassination, Stauffenberg organized plans to take over command of the Germany forces and sue for peace with the Allies.

The attempt ultimately failed. Only one bomb was detonated and Hitler was only injured: his life was probably saved because the bomb, hidden in Stauffenberg's suitcase, had been placed behind a heavy table leg which reduced the impact of the black.

In remarkable detail, with photographs, explanatory maps and diagrams, author Nigel Jones dissects the lead up to the attempt, the events of the day in minute-by-minute detail, and the aftermath in which the conspirators were hunted down.

No other work on the July Plot contains such accessible detail and full explanation of this attempt on Hitler's life. In addition to a forensic analysis of the day, the book includes short biographies of the key characters involved, the first-person recollections of witnesses, and a 'what if' section explaining the likely outcome of a successful assassination.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, War, Biography, Military History, Military Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

In William L. Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", (Ch29) nearly 7,000 people were arrested in the plot to kill Adolph Hitler (Operation Valkyrie) in July 20,1944. Of those 7,000 people, brought in front of the sadistic taunting Hitler appointed Judge Roland Freisler 4,980 were executed. Not all of them were connected with the plot, since the Gestapo used the occasion to settle scores with many other people suspected of opposition sympathies.

Of the many books on the attempt to assassinate Hitler "Countdown to Valkyrie" is undoubtedly one of the best. This thorough work traces the many attempts on Hitler's life through Valkyrie. When it describes the plot at Valkyrie it looks at 35 suspects that took part in this assassination. With much detail Jones examines the characters involved and their reasons for wanting Hitler's death. The plots, the mistakes and the outcomes of each of the assassination attempts show that many German military officers were eager to try and save their country from destruction. It sometimes does get a little confusing at times with a lot of minor characters to keep straight. The only character that you have to concern yourself with is Claus von Stauffenberg the "Tom Cruise" of Valkyrie. The author does a great job of presenting his life. If you find yourself trying to keep tract of all these suspects there is a excellent chapter called Dramatis Personae towards the end of the book that gives you a heads up on who is who in this book and their role in this assassination. Hitler always credits "Providence" for his survival and he would continue his plan for Germany. Its to bad Stauffenberg did not exceed in his attempt.

[Bruce MacBain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book. The plotters, who included some of the highest ranking officers in the Wehrmacht, come off as such hapless blunderers that you wonder how they conquered Europe in the first place.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting much from this book, though this title is a little gem that not only details the various plots to assassinate Hitler, but also provides a nice little narrative of WWII from Germany's perspective. I come away with a few firm thoughts after reading this. First, the number of high military officials who despised Hitler and the Nazis might have exceeded those who were either positive or neutral towards him. This puts into question the notion of every German being a willing executioner. Military officials in high places almost universally despised the dictator and his racial politics but were morally weak to do anything about it (nary a few heroes, such as Stauffenberg, Tresckow, Olbricht, etc.). Second, the men who plotted against Hitler and the Nazis were true heroes - their quotes, sprinkled throughout this book, are haunting, especially Tresckow's prophecy that Germany would have to answer for Hitler's war for the next 500 years. And a final (and much lesser) point: the movie Valkyrie nails all of this. I hate to give props to a Hollywood movie, though the writers definitely did their homework.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A steadily moderately paced read as one would expect with any narrative about such a subject. So, it’s never boring! A reader might catch on and go with the flow better if he or she has just a touch of knowledge of post-WWI Germany, particularly the breakdown of the Weimar Republic. But such a deficiency is quickly corrected as the book moves on.

Don’t be intimidated by the plethora of persons included in this drama. Just keep reading and the paramount players will become more and more familiar as the read progresses. A nice bit of “lagniappe,” as we say here in Louisiana, is an appendix featuring names and detailed descriptions of all the major persons connected with Valkyrie. Also, a touching post script included from the eldest child of Staffenberg is eye-opening as it gives singular insight to a child’s sobering experience in Hitler’s Germany.

More people than I thought were adamantly against the Nazi regime.

Those against the Nazi regime were motivated by mostly a love for Germany, not for any selfish gain.

This narrative includes some of the best, and most easy to follow information of the development of the Nazi party and all its parts (brown shirts, SD, SA, etc).

The book is better than the movie.

The courage of the conspirators, and their plotting amongst their “enemies” is something to behold.

It’s surprising to learn, as the book educates its reader, that there were several attempts on Hitler’s life, all unsuccessful. The reader’s frustration mounted, so imagine what those opposed to Hitler experienced as they tried and failed and tried again to rid their beloved Germany out of Nazi strangulation.

So many books written of this dark time in history just allude to the graphic horror and violence of Nazism. This one does not. It is not shy to detail just how gruesome and maniacal Hitler and his cohorts were.

Real-life characters are flawed. We all are. So there are lessons to learn and encouragement to be had as one is pulled, real time, into the plot that is Valkyrie!

Be prepared, as the book nears its nail-biting end, to want to stay with it till you’ve finished. Beware “the point of no return”
😉

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of things that one can take away from a book like this.  It is easy to look at the failure of the Valkyrie plot and wonder what would have happened with a bit more time to make sure that the bomb killed Hitler, or wonder about the failure of the plotters to have thought about basic questions of how to ensure that Hitler's loyalists didn't disrupt efforts at forming a new government, or whether it was in fact far too late by that time for there to be a peace treaty between Germany and others that would allow for some of Germany's gains from the beginning of World War II to be preserved.  It is obvious today that Hitler was a world-historical level monster but it was less than obvious how he was to be removed, and this book examines the tragic history of those who opposed him within Germany, many of whom lacked the sort of resolution that he had, and often found that their own lack of character and resolution made things easier on Hitler and undercut their sane opposition to Hitler's opportunism and warmongering.

This book is almost 300 pages long and is divided into ten chapters.  The book begins with an introduction and then a prologue that begins in media res by looking at sumer at the Wolf's Lair where Hitler ran the efforts to stem the Soviet counterattack from Barbarosa.  After that the author discusses the early life of Count Claus von Stauffenberg, looking at his family life as well as the influence of the Georg circle (1).  Then the author turns to a discussion of the rise of Hitler (2) and the rule of the outlaws during the chaotic years where extralegal violence became ordinary (3).  The author discusses Hitler's march to war (4) as well as Hitler's war (5), and even a full chapter on a lone wolf effort on the part of Georg Elser to kill Hitler in Munich that narrowly failed (6).  The author discusses the devil's luck and the failure of various army plots against Hitler (7) as well as the role of Stauffenberg (8) in providing firmness to efforts at ousting Hitler to save Germany.  A chapter is spent on detailing the events of the July 20th 1944 plot (9) and then the author discusses Hitler's cruel revenge (10), after which the book closes with an afterword with Claus' son, a list of dramatis personae, a guide to sites, acknowledgements and sources, as well as photo credits and an index.

At the end of this book there is a particularly poignant discussion of what the son of Stauffenberg felt in the postwar German army as the son of an anti-Nazi hero, given the fact that even in those times there were some who would have felt it wrong to celebrate someone who gave his life in an attempt to put Hitler to death and to stop Germany from at least some measure of its madness and folly.  The reader must determine whether or not they celebrate tyrannicide, or even attempted tyrannicide, and where this would be applicable in other cases.  Sadly, it appears as if there was a great deal of incompetence in Valkyrie and other efforts like it, but that should not stop us from realizing that it demonstrates the existence of at least some sane people in Germany, even if those sane people were not sufficient to stop Germany's decline into barbarism.  We must all lament the use of violence towards political ends, but sometimes one faces desperate choices, and it would be wise for us not to condemn others lest we in turn be condemned ourselves.  Clearly the author views tyrannicide as legitimate and it colors the way this book is written, even if the plotters were sadly incompetent in many respects.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best books i've ever read just because I love to read about war stories and learn about history through a detailed story. The book is about Valkyrie which was the closest attempts to assassinate the German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944 after the failed attempt in 1943. The plan was carried out by a German by the name of Count von Stauffenberg who was not a fan of the German ideas or plans because he realized how bad it truly was. The plan was to detonate 2 bombs inside a briefcase that would be planted next to the dictator at a meeting in a bunker. The meeting was with a lot of the top ranking axis power leaders and government officials so the plan was to detonate the bomb next to Hitler and kill him and wound or kill some of the other officials. Read the book to find out the flaws to the plan and why it failed.

I really liked this book because I love to read about history and learn about how popular and famous events unfolded and ended. Since this book is Non-Fiction my favorite part about it was the detail that all of the events were explained and how much you really could feel the tension of all of the situations. I also really loved the theme of this book and how action packed it was and how much you could feel for all of the people involved in it and it changed their lives. The imagery was also phenomenal in this book because it involved the pictures from all of the events and showed you the aftermath of all of the destruction of the German government. The final reason that I liked this book was the style in which the book was written by telling stories of the people involved and how their lives changed in the process.

One of the reasons that this book was not 5/5 stars was because of the pacing of the book sometimes there would be a bunch of events at once and then there would be a lot of unnecessary explanation. Another reason that this book was not 5/5 was because of some of the events were very poorly explained and they were not carried out very well. But overall this was a phenomenal book that I very much enjoyed which says a lot because it is hard for me to find books that I like to read.

Anyone that loves history would love this book because it was one of the largest events of WWII and it was explained in remarkable detail. People who also like reading about war and learning about some of the big events from WWII would also love this book.

[Mbuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho hum, just another memoir on a failed assassination attempt. That's what the initial reaction is. But as you get down to it, 'Countdown to Valkyrie' is one of the best and most balanced accounts of the most famous assassination attempt on the life of Hitler.

After a slightly slow beginning when all the players are brought onstage, this book, which also mentions the earlier plots to stop Hitler, all of which were doomed, and their consequences, reads more and more like a cold fusion of tragic reality and wild suspense/action thriller, moving faster and faster, and then rippling out to encompass all of Germany in the savagery of the aftermath. There is little hysteria in the account, but even the facts, as they occurred, send chilling horror down your spine. 'Countdown to Valkyrie', while highlighting the role of Major von Stauffenberg, also acknowledges the roles played by the other, equally gallant, conspirators who tried their best against a maniac. But Hitler seemed to have struck a bargain with the dark forces for a life that was proof against all assassination attempts. A compelling, detailed, illustrated and very moving retelling of a very dark moment in the darkest days of human history.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never knew of the earlier-numerous plots by German citizens to rid their country of Hitler. While many of the participants were thoroughly dedicated, many more were in it for only selfish reasons and played CYA (cover your ass). How many innocent life’s would have been spared if only one attempt had been successful?

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant and Harrowing

The writing of this tale is excellent. One feels as if you are actually there. The details on occasions are sickening but important that they are recorded for posterity. Man's inhumanity never ceases not to exceed my expectations.

[Ridwan Anam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantabulous! A very thorough and thorough read on 20 July Plot. A wonderfully detailed piece of WWII history. 9/10.

[Trent Hutzenbuhler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written, easy to follow along, extremely interesting facts.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

A masterful work on the final plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Nigel Jones’ writing is as informative as it is engaging. I’m grateful to have stumbled upon it.

[Nitay Arbel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want a one-volume history of anti-Hitler plots in the Third Reich, this book delivers the goods. I'm pretty well read on that era, going back to Hans-Bernd Gisevius's highly entertaining, if equally self-serving, inside story "To the bitter end". Peter Hofmann may have written a more scholarly treatment, but this volume, at less than $5, still was an eye-opener, as well as concise and very readable.

The title tried to create a tie-in with the movie "Valkyrie", but while the Stauffenberg Plot/Operation Valkyrie/The July 20 Plot is narrated in great detail, a substantial section of the book is devoted to earlier attempts. Especially noteworthy, to this reviewer, were two would-be suicide bombers (who ironically both survived the war to tell the tale): Axel von den Bussche and Rudolf von Gersdorff -- who intended to blow himself up with the Fuehrer (y"sh) at a planned visit to an exhibition of captured Soviet weaponry at the old Berlin arsenal. As it happened, Gersdorff had set a timed fuse for 10 minutes, assuming this would be right for a 30-minute visit, but his target rushed through the exhibit in a couple of minutes and made his way elsewhere. Gersdorff was reduced to rushing to a restroom and yanking the fuse out of the explosive charge.

Motivations are shown to be varied. Some senior officers (many of whom came out of noble families with long military traditions --- significantly, several of the key plotters were related to each other by blood or affinity) turned against Hitler at the occasion of the takeover of Sudetenland and later of the Czechoslovak rump state. Others after witnessing atrocities in Poland or later in Russia --- van den Bussche, for instance, witnessed the liquidation of the Dubno ghetto. There sure were malcontents such as the Berlin police chief von Helldorf. Yet others were motivated by seeing their comrades die by the thousands as a result of Hitler's disastrous, delusional, and dilettantish military decision making. "Save what can still be saved" surely motivated some, but at the other extreme, arch-plotter Henning von Tresckow explicitly said that the attempt must be made for the sake of Germany's honor. "Just as G-d would have spared Sodom for the sake of ten righteous men, He will save Germany." Indeed, several of the main plotters were devout Lutherans (Bonhoeffer, Gersdorff, Tresckow) or Catholics (Stauffenberg).

The author addressed the question why no attempts succeeded, and why no more were made than the dozen to several dozen (depending on criteria) that took place. He points out that the near-miss of the Nov. 9, 1939 Buergerbraukeller bomb, followed by the successful assassination of "the Butcher of Prague" Heydrich (y"sh) in 1942, led not only to ever more elaborate security measures (with physical access increasingly being limited to only the most trusted parties). but also led the Fuehrer to deliberate capriciousness in his schedule. (Several attempts indeed misfired because the target failed to show or deliberately showed up late or left early.)

Additionally, several key conspirators (notably the designated prime minister, deposed Leipzig mayor Carl Goerdeler --- but also Stauffenberg's own adjutant, Lieutenant von Haeften) were unable to keep their mouths shut.

The book is well-edited: once or twice I had a "WTH" moment, such as the reference to a "Brigadier-General" in the Wehrmacht --- a rank that did not exist, as Wehrmacht ranks jumped straight from Oberst (full colonel) to Generalmajor, with an additional rank of Generaloberst ("Colonel-General") sandwiched between General and Field Marshal.

I will try to write a longer review later.

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great history of the military and government resistors to Hitler. It was thorough and engaging and had a lot of pictures. I was on the edge of my seat hoping for a different outcome this time. It was a great companion / follow up to the Bonhoeffer biography. I liked reading about some of the some people and events over again. It helps my not so great memory for facts and dates, etc. The last chapter was about the aftermath of the failed July 20, 1944 plot - executions, torture and investigations. It was heart breaking but also inspiring. Here are some quotes I liked:

Henning von Tresckow (shortly before suicide to avoid giving up names in questioning after failed plot): "Now they will heap abuse on us all. But I am convinced, now as much as ever, that we have done the right thing. I believe that Hitler is the arch-enemy, not only of Germany, but of the entire world. In a few hours' time I shall stand before God and answer both for my actions and the things I neglected to do. I think I can with a clear conscience stand by all I have done in the battle against Hitler. Just as God once promised Abraham that he would spare Sodom if only ten just men could be found in the city, I have reason to hope that, for our sake, he will not destroy Germany. No one among us can complain about his death.....A man's moral worth is established only at the point when he is prepared to give his life for his convictions."

Fabian von Schlabrendorff, when asked how he had endured tortures of the Gestapo: "We all made the discovery that we could endure far more than we had ever believed possible. The two great polar forces of human emotions, love and hate, together formed a supporting structure on which we could rely when things became unbearable. Love, the positive force, included our faith in the moral worth of our actions, the knowledge that we had fought for humanity and decency, and the sense of having fulfilled a higher duty. Those among us who had never prayed learned to do so now, and discovered that in a situation such as ours, prayer, and prayer alone, is capable of bringing comfort and lending almost superhuman strength. One also finds that love in the form of prayers by relatives and friends on the outside transmits currents of strength. Hate, the negative force, was just as important in sustaining us. The consuming, unqualified hatred, made up of equal parts of revulsion, contempt, and fury which we felt for the evil of Nazism, was so powerful a force that it helped us endure situations which otherwise would have been intolerable."

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing account of the heroic individuals within the German army during World War II that attempted to assassinate Hitler. I had no idea that so many people within Germany wanted to remove Hitler from power. There were numerous attempts to assassinate him by various high ranking personnel within the German army. Many of the attempts and the conspiracy as a whole were the direct result of the atrocites that Hitler committed on the Jews, Russians and his own people. Unfortunately all the attempts failed but Hitler committed suicide less than a year after the final attempt. Hitler's revenge after each attempt on his life killed numerous innocent german people as well as the german conspirators. Hitler surrounded himself with sadistic and in my opinion satanic individuals (equally if not more) bent on brutallity, torture and depravity. It is a powerful testament to those brave and heroic men that against all odds struggled to protect the german people, the jews and anyone else that stood in Hitler's path.

[Scott Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife picked up this book as a Father's Day gift after we watched Tom Cruise's VALKYRIE and I wondered about the accuracy of the movie. Countdown to Valkyrie is an excellent accounting of that fateful day. Nigel Jones offers a biography of Claus von Stauffenberg and how he came to the decision to assassinate Hitler as well as the numerous failed attempts, most by the German military, to remove Hitler from power. Nigel's telling of the actual events of 20 July 1944 is compelling and riveting.

My only problem with the book is that, although it is well researched and sourced, there are no footnotes so readers can fact check or engage in additional research of their own.

And for those who are curious, according to Nigel's book the movie VALKYRIE is highly accurate with only a few incidents slightly altered for dramatic affect.

[Philip Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are precious few works available that present the story of the German military resistance to the Nazi dictator in a readable form. It seems the authors get side-tracked and bogged down in unnecessary details that smother the actual facts. This book does none of that. Cleanly written, it gives the reader a window to the story of the various attempts on Hitler's life throughout his time as dictator and a concise summation of the personalities involved. The deep sadness of the failure of the 20th July plot and the terrible consequences of that failure are masterfully handled.

[Adrian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this book only 2stars because of the amount of grammatical errors contained within its covers.
Apart from the errors the book tells a very vivid account of the 20th of july 1944 plot to kill Hitler.

If you can get past the grammar errors (in which there are so many,most ive seen in a book) then you will find this book informative on the events surrounding this plot.

If anybody has read any good books on operation valkyrie and the 20th july 1944 plot to kill Hitler,then please let me know,as im looking for something with less grammatical errors in it.

Kind regards

Adi

[David Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let anyone tell you there wasn’t a deep resistance to Hitler and Nazism. From 1934 right on through 1945 over a thousand people lost their lives for over their overt or quiet resistance. Nazism and Hitler came to power because it was a different time in the world, as capitalism was viewed suspiciously and authoritarianism was seen as the best form of government. Hitler capitalized on this. But many Germans saw as their Christian duty to remove Hitler from power when they saw how brutal his regime was and how they saw Hitler slowly destroying the Germany they loved.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this one up because of the movie, which I thought was pretty good. The movie obviously was limited in the detail it could include. So, it was nice to get the full picture from the book. I was shocked at the breadth of the retribution after the plot.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

There were many more highly ranked Germans involved in trying to assassinate Hitler than I realized. Excellent research and execution - no pun intended.

[Douwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

a well known assassination attempt, but I had no idea of the extent of this conspiracy...

[Honeylynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it interesting the number of failed attempts on Hitler's life. How life would've been like if the Germany Army were allowed to surrender to Allies ending Hitler's ill-fated war.

[Winnie Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book: detailed, readable, compelling. I was also astonished at how closely the film Valkyrie (filmed around the same time this was written) followed history.

[JW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written history aimed at a general audience. Could have used more background on Stauffenberg, but that's a minor quibble.