BROICH: No. He had a charming wife.[376] He was one of the cleverest, an exceedingly well-educated man, a brilliantly clever fellow!
BAO: How old was he?
BROICH: He must have been about thirty-eight.[377]
BAO: The whole thing seems very funny to me. How did those people get in?
BROICH: There must have been some conference or other.[378] He belonged to the General Staff. I believe he was serving again. Maybe he was present at the conference; he was in the organisation department up at GHQ for two years. He told me a lot of things; he said that I have no idea what things were like there.
BAO: So he threw that bomb.
BROICH: Yes, I can well believe that of him; he was a sincere fellow!
SPONECK: Now a massacre will start in GERMANY, the extent of which we can’t realise.
BROICH: Yes.
BAO: It has already started.
BROICH: Nobody will die a natural death. I can’t understand that STAUFFENBERG, who usually is such a reliable person, only took such a small bomb![379]
BAO: I heard HITLER’s broadcast. He said that the bomb exploded two metres away from him. Even so, he wasn’t wounded.[380]
BROICH: That’s funny!
BAO: And that this ‘Putsch’ was instigated by dismissed Generals, who hadn’t done their duty, as, for instance, RUNDSTEDT[381] and all those people. That is probably the reason for all those peculiar accidents those Generals have had.
BROICH: Well, DOLLMANN really did have a stroke.[382] Two years ago DOLLMANN suffered with his head; he always used to drink a lot of red wine and smoke huge cigars, and that tells in time.
SPONECK: No, that can’t be so.
BROICH: And MARCKS in a car – that’s true, too; MARCKS didn’t commit suicide.[383]
BAO: Is STAUFFENBERG’s wife still in GERMANY?
BROICH: Yes, she’s in GERMANY, she is on her father-in-law’s estate.[384]
[…]
BROICH: His father[385] was Lord Chamberlain to the King of WÜRTEMBERG.
BAO: But isn’t STAUFFENBERG a famous name?
SPONECK: Yes, it is. Count SCHENCK von STAUFFENBERG, a very old family. Good God, that grand fellow – he should have at least done the thing properly.
BAO: Well, goodbye, Sir! (BAO leaves)
SPONECK: It means civil war.
BROICH: Good God, STAUFFENBERG! I wouldn’t have believed anyone else capable of it! STAUFFENBERG is such an honest man, I always said: ‘He would be the first to do it himself.’ A shame, he was such a charming man.
?: Now they’ll start agitating against all officers, you see if they don’t.
BROICH: He said that others are supposed to be implicated, too.
?: Now, in view of this, they’ll liquidate every discontented General and everyone they don’t like the look of. They’ll be having concentration camps for Generals next.
BROICH: It’s quite possible.
SPONECK: I believe it is the end.
BROICH: I don’t think so yet.
SPONECK: Unfortunately it didn’t come off; I can only say I think it a great pity that STAUFFENBERG didn’t succeed.
BROICH: That’s the pity. Good Lord, why did that bomb have to be so small!
?: Well, he didn’t want to kill the others as well.[386]
SPONECK: Yes, but that just can’t be helped. It must have been a hand grenade; it can’t have been anything larger.
?: But, gentlemen, surely that would have been ample if a hand grenade had exploded two metres away from him.
BROICH: Yes, but you can be unlucky with a hand grenade. Perhaps someone stood in the way or perchance the burst somehow or other went to the side. Good God, good old STAUFFENBERG. Well, he’s sure to have been at OKW, he used to work there and he is in a position to get at those people. It’s remarkable that the FÜHRER broadcast!
?: Did he broadcast?
BROICH: Yes. The BAO said just now that he heard him.
?: THOMA (PW) heard it just now—
(THOMA enters)
THOMA: It’s a nasty business, gentlemen!
BROICH: Yes, it is the STAUFFENBERG who was my GSO I (Ops). I always thought him capable of it.
THOMA: Yes. Well, STAUFFENBERG – we often discussed it.
BROICH: He’s the one who, in 1943, drove around to all the field marshals and army leaders and asked them whether they would take part or not. MANSTEIN is said to have been the only one who refused to take part. He said that all the others agreed to take part immediately, but they weren’t prepared to take over the leadership. If, however, someone would do that, they would at once be—
THOMA: Yes, but they wouldn’t take over the leadership.
BROICH: Then, I believe, the time was not yet ripe. He said MANSTEIN had said that the whole thing was out of the question.[387]
?: Yes, it was not yet ripe, because the whole of the German people would have howled like a whipped dog and would have said: ‘Our beloved FÜHRER’ and ‘against that man of genius’ and ‘our Generals have landed us in this.’ But I can imagine that now perhaps the workers—
BROICH: And who has been dismissed, the Generals or who?
THOMA: ZEITZLER has gone[388] and one of those who was injured is said to have died.[389] They didn’t mention any names at all. The saddest thing is that GUDERIAN is to be HIMMLER’s Chief of Staff.
?: That is horrifying.
BROICH: That means he’s lost to us!
SPONECK: The question is whether in these circumstances GUDERIAN will not try to seize power himself.
?: Yes, because on the whole GUDERIAN was a decent fellow.
BROICH: He was a decent and energetic fellow – I can’t understand it.
SPONECK: Wait and see, I could imagine him doing it.
?: What, with HIMMLER?!
BROICH: What is HIMMLER’s job?
THOMA: HIMMLER is supposed to be there to clean up all the internal affairs in GERMANY, and for the GAF for GERMANY proper STUMPFF has been appointed; there must be something up, that comes from the German news service.
SPONECK: He is the stupidest man there is.
THOMA: He (HITLER) hasn’t got anyone else. And then it has also been said the GOERING and DÖNITZ immediately made speeches of loyalty to HITLER on behalf of their respective services.[390]
?: That is of no importance.
BROICH: And is anyone else from Headquarters gone?
THOMA: Georg ZEITZLER[391] – but apart from that, nothing else has been said about the whole business.
?: But there must be something going on at home, otherwise they wouldn’t… to the world—
THOMA: Yes, because it is from the German news service, naturally from the short-wave transmitter. I am very sorry about STAUFFENBERG. He is said to have been shot immediately.
SPONECK: My God, it’s a tragedy that he missed.
THOMA: Yes, one can really say so.
?: Providence will preserve HITLER for a harder punishment.
? SPONECK: I think if HITLER were dead, this business with HIMMLER would probably have come about just the same. I am convinced now that HIMMLER will twist this whole business to his advantage. That was always the intention.
THOMA: I mean they have obviously had an inkling(?) that something like this would happen. HIMMLER has become considerably less sure of himself since HEYDRICH is dead. HEYDRICH was bloodthirsty. HIMMLER is only a… I have always heard from those around him that HIMMLER is a silly fool. As a boy he was… his father was always complaining that he should have such a stupid son.
376
Nina Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, née Freiin von Lerchenfeld (27.8.1913–02.04.2006).
378
The bomb exploded during the midday situation conference at FHQ Wolfsschanze, Rastenburg, in East Prussia. Stauffenberg took part in this conference in his capacity as Chief of Ersatzheer Staff reporting on the formation of the Volksgrenadier-Divisions.
379
Stauffenberg had brought with him two explosive charges, but armed only one and left it in an attaché-case below the map table. Therefore the explosive effect was less than expected and killed only four of the 24 persons present, sparing Hitler. See note 389 below.
381
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt (12.12.1875–24.2.1953) was relieved of command as C-in-C West on 2.7.1944 and transferred to Führer-Reserve. He was not involved in the coup and later proved his loyalty to Hitler. Recalled to his former post on 5.9.1944, in August and September he was President of the Wehrmacht Honour Court (Ehrenhof), the purpose of whose sittings was to expel from the Wehrmacht those officers involved in the plot in order that they could be brought before the People’s Court. Ziemke, ‘Gerd von Rundstedt’; Messenger, ‘The Last Prussian’; Huber, ‘Gerd von Rundstedt’. The British officer, most probably ‘Lord Aberfeldy’ made most of his references to generals Hoepner, von Witzleben and Beck, who were all discharged from the Wehrmacht, having been involved in the plot.
382
Generaloberst Freidrich Dollmann (2.2.1882–28.6.1944), from 25.10.1939 C-in-C 7.Armee, which had been dislodged from Normandy in June 1944. On 28 June he suffered a heart attack at his command post. According to a report by Generalmajor Max Pemsel, Chief of Staff, 7.Armee, Dollmann committed suicide because he felt culpable for the defeat of his force. Ose, ‘Entscheidung im Westen’, p. 152, note 305.
383
General der Artillerie Erich Marcks (6.6.1891–12.6.1944), Cmmdg Gen., LXXXIV.Armeekorps, lost his life to a low-level air attack while visiting the front north of St Lo.
384
Stauffenberg’s wife Nina (see note 376 above) was arrested at Schloss Lautingen near Ebingen where she had been staying since 18.7.1944. The family had owned the property since the early seventeenth century. Peter Hoffmann, ‘Stauffenberg’, pp. 15, 422, 447.
385
Alfred Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (27.6.1860–20.1.1936) had been Major-at-Readiness between 1908 and 1918 and Senior Marshal at the Court of the King of Württemberg.
386
If both charges had been detonated, the blast would probably have been sufficient to kill all present in the barrack hut. See note 379 above.
387
In September 1942, Stauffenberg visited General der Infanterie Georg von Sodenstern (15.11.1889–20.7.1955), Chief of General Staff, Army Group B, and the Cmmdg Gen. XXXX.Pz.Korps, Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg, and attempted without success to recruit them for the planned assassination of Hitler. On 26.1.1943 he attempted to persuade Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein to head a coup d’état, which he declined. One cannot simply say that Manstein was the only field marshal ‘who had not gone along with it’. Broich repeats here Stauffenberg’s impressions on the field marshals as a whole. Stauffenberg could only infer from Henning von Tresckow’s soundings that Feldmarschall von Kluge was not opposed to a conspiracy but did not want to be part of it. At that time Stauffenberg could only have been certain of the support of von Witzleben. After the conversation with von Manstein, Stauffenberg remarked, ‘These guys are either shitting their pants or have straw heads, and don’t want it.’ Peter Hoffmann, ‘Stauffenberg’, pp. 250, 252f, 262f, 265–8. Broich was of the opinion in October 1943, from a conversation with Bassenge, ‘that all had said they were ready’, but none wanted to lead it. ‘Manstein is the only one who said… the time is not yet ripe, and he rejected it absolutely, and it is madness.’ SRGG 506, 24.10.1943, TNA, WO 208/4166.
388
General der Infanterie Kurt Zeitzler (9.6.1895–25.9.1963) was Chief of the Army General Staff from 24.9.1942 to 20.7.1944. He applied to be relieved on four occasions and was only successful finally by reporting sick on 10.7.1944. Stahl, ‘Zeitzler’.
389
Four persons lost their lives when the bomb exploded: stenographer Dr Heinz Berger died the same afternoon; Oberst Heinz Brandt, Ia Staff; Operations-Abt. and General der Flieger Günther Korten, Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff died on 22.7.1944; Generalleutnant Rudolf Schmuundt, Hitler’s Senior Wehrmacht Adjutant and Head of the Army personnel Office on 1.10.1944. Peter Hoffmann, ‘Staatsstreich’, p. 496.
390
The proclamations by Grossadmiral Dönitz are reproduced in,