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Peace
messages from Rangsdorf |
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WHO: |
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Carl Clemens Bücker - The Bücker aircraft construction GmbH |
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Biographical Details |
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Colonel Claus
Schenk Earl of Stauffenberg - Chronology of the 20. July 1944
in Berlin |
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07:00
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Claus von Stauffenberg
leaves his flat in Berlin - Wannsee, Tristanstreet 8 with his
Brother Berthold, they drive on the motorways A115 and A10 to
the air station Rangsdorf. |
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08:00
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Start of the flight over 560 km to Hitler’s headquarters in
Rastenburg, together with Stauffenberg’s aide
lieutenant Werner von Haeften. The
courier plane starts just about 8 o'clock because of fog and
lands at 10.15 o'clock in Rastenburg. From the airport
Stauffenberg is driven 6 km to the northern entrance of the
prohibited area II of the „Wolfsschanze”. |
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11:00 |
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Within the prohibited area I. Stauffenberg hears, that the
present „situation” (situation discussion) doesn’t take place
at 13:00 as usual, but even at 12:30. The reason is the visit
of the Italian leader, „il Duce”. On the way to the situation
discussion he notices, that not the
bunker, but the so called „Teahouse” was fixed
as conference room. |
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12:15 |
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Stauffenberg takes the first explosive charge out of the
briefcase, which Haeften had carried since they were landed.
On the explosive charges there are two
British chemical - mechanical detonators, which Stauffenberg
starts with pincers.
During this difficult work they were disturbed unexpected.
Staff sergeant Werner Vogel steps into the room and calls
their attention to the situation discussion. Because of the
confusion the assassin can arm only one of the both explosive
charges. Nobody knows why Stauffenberg thought that one
package would last and didn’t take the second to the situation
discussion. |
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12:30 |
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After that Stauffenberg goes to the „Teahouse”. In the
conference room Adolf Hitler welcomes the colonel in the
general staff with his usual, searching look. „You are a
little late!” Besides Himmler and Göring, who are absent, the
usual persons are present. |
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12:37 |
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Claus von Stauffenberg goes to the map table in the head
quarter and steps between general Kortenbach from the air
force and colonel Heinz Brand. He sets the briefcase with the
armed bomb on the floor and pushes it under the table,
approximately 1.30 metre away from Hitler. From now the bomb
is able to burst within 5 minutes. |
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925 gram plastic-explosive for a new Germany |
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12:40 |
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Stauffenberg excuses his leaving of the conference room with a
phone call used as a pretext. About ten minutes pass since
Stauffenberg starts the fuse of the bomb. |
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12:42 |
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Stauffenberg speaks with
Erich Fellgiebel,
the general of the signal corps, for a few minutes, and then
an enormous explosion happens. |
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12:44 |
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Stauffenberg is accompanied by second lieutenant Erich Kretz
and his aide to the gate-keeper of the prohibited area I. Out
of the driving car, a Horch, they saw the following:
„A dark cloud lies over the
hut, map scraps fly through the air.” They also can hear
voices calling a doctor. |
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Stauffenberg gets a wrong impression of the effect of the
bomb: „As if a 15 cm shell stroked! Almost nobody can be alive.”
On the entrance the car is stopped. Stauffenberg explains to
the gate-keeper, that he had to reach the airport by all means. |
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13:15 |
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Punctual the twin-engined propeller plane He-111 starts from
the airfield on the estate Wilhelmsdorf to the flight to
Rangsdorf. |
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13:30 |
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The news blackout is already in force and the news of the
attempt is transmitted to Berlin. |
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16:00 |
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Stauffenberg lands on the air station Rangsdorf |
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16:05 |
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Phone call Stauffenbergs with
Bendlerstreet:
„Hitler is dead!” |
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16:35 |
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Stauffenberg arrives in the Bendlerstreet. He reports on the
attempt, phones his cousin,
lieutenant Cäsar von Hofacker
in Paris: „Hitler is dead!” |
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since 14:00 |
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First problems appear.
General Friedrich Olbricht wants to start the
coup d'état already on early afternoon, but he is hold back by
colonel-general Fritz Fromm. So Fromm phones
immediately with Keitel in the headquarters and get the answer:
„What should be happened? It’s all right.” When he asks for
the attempt Keitel answers: „There happened an attempt, but
fortunately it failed.”
In the meantime there start first measures in Vienna, Prague,
Paris and Kassel. Later the military department spreads the
failure of the attempt between the forces marching to Berlin.
This doesn’t miss its effect. |
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17:00 |
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Since quarter an hour the fundamental coup d'état order is
given out to the army. However the whole communication runs
very awkward. Every single telex has to be done several. One
dispatch on a code recorder takes about quarter an hour, and
all together about three hours. |
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19.13 |
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The general in Prague,
Ferdinand Schaal,
speaks with Stauffenberg, who explains him: „Hitler is dead,
I’ve been there myself. Previous and further information of
the radio are wrong. Ordered steps against the SD (security
service, subdivision of the SS) have to be speeded up!” |
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19:55 |
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Stauffenberg phones the part of the army unit north, which is
got in trouble on the eastern front and informs their chief of
Hitler’s death. |
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since 20:00 |
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In the meantime the forces arrived in the Bendlerstreet. An
armed group rushes in Olbrichts rooms. All officers standing
in the corridor were pushed in Olbrichts rooms. Herber goes to
Olbricht and asks him: „General, are you pro or versus
Hitler?” Olbricht does not answer. In that moment Stauffenberg
gets there. Herber and his men hold him tight. |
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23:15 |
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Colonel-general Fromm reports: „A drumhead court-martial,
consisting of three generals, condemned four men to death:
Mertz, colonel in the general staff, Olbricht, general of the
infantry, the colonel, whose name I don’t know yet
(Stauffenberg) and the lieutenant (Haeften).” Colonel Claus
von Stauffenberg explains in only a few, firm words, that all
of them acted as soldiers and his subordinated and that he
bears the responsibility. Olbricht, Mertz, Haeften and
Stauffenberg leave the room and were leaded away immediately. |
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00:05 |
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In the dark yard of the Bendlerstreet ten non-commissioned
officers and a second lieutenant stay ready -the execution
squad-
The four defendants were putted in front of a sand heap. The
glaring headlights of the vehicles standing in the yard light
up the darkness. The order sounds. Stauffenberg shouts even
louder: “Long live Germany!” |
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00:10 |
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Colonel-general Fromm spreads the report of the execution by
telex. The executed men were buried by a sergeant on the St.
Matthäus - graveyard in Schöneberg. The bodies were exhumed and
burned on the next day. Their ashes is scattered over the
Rieselfelder in Berlin. |
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©2006
Peace Messages from Military Objects |
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