Berlin
Germany devoted a day of remembrance this week to the man who tried to kill Hitler. In 1944, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, a colonel in the Nazi army, smuggled a bomb into the Nazi “Wolf’s Lair” headquarters, in what is now Poland. The bomb went off, killing four top aides, but Hitler escaped with only minor injuries. Stauffenberg was promptly shot, but Hitler’s furious retaliation went further. More than 5,000 suspected conspirators were rounded up, and 140 of them were killed. Most were hung from meat hooks to die slowly, their suffering filmed for Hitler to watch. This week’s ceremonies were the first official recognition of Stauffenberg’s heroism 60 years ago.
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