Joachim Fest - Plotting Hitler's Death

Groscurth, Helmuth (1898-1943)

Career officer. Colonel on the general staff. Joined Military Intelligence in 1935. Was a driving force in and helped organize the abortive coups in 1938 and 1939 as a liaison officer between OKW Military Intelligence and the OKH. Became OKH chief of military affairs and, in February 1942, chief of general staff to the Eleventh Army Corps in Stalingrad. Taken prisoner there in 1943 and died of typhus in March of that year.

Haeften, Hans-Bernd von (1905-44)

Lawyer. Joined the Confessional Church in 1933. Served in the diplomatic corps in Copenhagen, Vienna, and Bucharest. Became acting head of the Foreign Office’s cultural department in 1940. Refused to join the NSDAP. Was the Stauffenberg group’s confidant in the Foreign Office and a member of the Kreisau Circle. Slated to become state secretary in the Foreign Office in the future government. Arrested after July 20, 1944, and executed in Plötzensee prison on August 15.

Haeften, Werner von ( 1908-44)

Younger brother of Hans-Bernd von Haeften. Lawyer for a Hamburg bank. In 1939 became a first lieutenant in the reserves. Took part in the Russian campaign. After recovering from serious wounds, became Stauffenberg’s ad­jutant in reserve army command in November 1943. Flew with Stauffenberg to Führer headquarters in Rastenburg on July 20, 1944, and helped with final preparations for the assassination attempt. Succeeded in getting out of the Restricted Area with Stauffenberg after the bomb went off and flew with him to Berlin. Executed on the night of July 20-21 in the courtyard of army headquarters on Bendlerstrasse.

Halder, Franz (1884-1972)

Career officer. In 1938 succeeded Beck as army chief of general staff, remaining in this post until 1942. In 1938 told members of the opposition that he would support a putsch in order to avert a war in Europe. Toyed with the idea of arresting Hitler if war broke out with Britain and France, a plan that failed because of the Munich agreement. Thereafter made a strong distinc­tion between his personal dislike of Hitler and the loyalty demanded by his position. Contributed substantially to the early German successes on the eastern front. Dismissed on September 24, 1942, for opposing Hitler’s deci­sion to withdraw troops from the front so as to concentrate on Stalingrad. Thrown into a concentration camp after July 20, 1944. Toward the end of the war, numbered among the prominent prisoners taken from one camp to another but freed shortly before he was to be executed. From 1946 to 1961 headed the United States Army’s court-martial research staff. In his book Hitler als Feldherr (translated as Hitler as War Lord), published in 1949, he criticized the Führer’s strategy and his leadership qualities.

Hammerstein-Equord, Baron Kurt von (1878-1943)

Career officer of the old school. Became chief of army command in 1930. In late January 1933 went to Hindenburg to express the command’s doubts about Hitler’s fitness to become chancellor. Resigned in the fall of 1933. For a short time in 1939 commanded an army division in the West. Was soon relieved of his command because of his negative attitude toward National Socialism. Died of cancer in 1943.

Hassell, Ulrich von (1881-1944)

Lawyer and diplomat who held a number of important posts abroad. Served as German ambassador in Rome from 1932 until recalled in 1938. Later active in private business. From the outset strongly criticized Hitler’s foreign policy as leading inevitably to war. After hostilities broke out, used his international contacts to arrange contacts with representatives of Great Britain and the United States. Hoped that a successful coup would soon lead to the conclusion of a peace treaty with the Western Allies. Worked with Goerdeler, Beck, and Popitz on plans for Germany after the coup. Named as prospective foreign minister in all surviving cabinet lists drawn up by the resistance. Arrested on July 28, 1944. Condemned to death by the People’s Court on September 8 and executed in Plötzensee prison.

Heinz, Friedrich Wilhelm (1899-1968)

Officer in World War I who later joined the Erhardt Freikorps. Until late 1923 a leader in the SA. Expelled from the NSDAP. From 1925 to 1928 a member of the Stahlhelm’s national leadership. Finally a lieutenant colonel in the OKW Military Intelligence division. Was supposed to lead a task force attacking the Chancellery in September 1938. Wanted to prompt a scuffle during this action and shoot Hitler. In 1941 became commander of the Fourth Regiment of the Brandenburg Division. On July 20, 1944, was to lead a task force for the resistance. Though present on Bendlerstrasse, he managed to survive the war by hiding in Berlin. After the end of hostilities, became a municipal politician in the Soviet zone, then a controversial em­ployee in the rearmament office in the West German government.

Helldorf, Count Wolf-Heinrich von (1896-1944)

Fought in World War I and was a member of the Freikorps. Became a National Socialist in 1925 and a member of the Prussian state assembly. In 1931 became the SA leader for Berlin-Brandenburg. Appointed Berlin prefect of police in 1935. After Kristallnacht upbraided his police officers for obeying orders to do nothing and stated that if he had been in Berlin he would have issued orders to shoot. Participated in the resistance. Arrested alter July 20, 1944, and executed in Plötzensee prison on August 15.

Hofacker, Cäsar von (1896-1944)

Lawyer. Began to work for the Vereinigte Stahlwerke (United Steel) com­pany in Berlin in 1927, rising to considerable prominence there. Joined the Stahlhelm in 1931. As a lieutenant colonel in the reserve, was drafted into the Wehrmacht in August 1939. Became head of the iron and steel section of the military administrative staff in Paris, and later personal aide to the mili­tary commander in France. Acted as messenger between Stülpnagel and Stauffenberg. Attempted to win Rommel over to the conspiracy and later revealed his name under torture, sealing Rommel’s fate. Arrested on July 26, 1944, and condemned to death by the People’s Court on August 30. Exe­cuted in Plötzensee prison on December 20, 1944.

Jessen, Jens Peter (1895-1944)

Professor of political science at Göttingen, Kiel, and Marburg and lived in Berlin starting in 1936. Supported the Nazis before 1933 because he be­lieved that they were the only force that could prevent an imminent Bolshe­vik takeover in Europe. He said, however, that once the Nazis assumed power he was likely to go into opposition. Was outraged at the abuses and corruption of the new regime. During the war was a captain in the reserves in the office of the quartermaster general of the army. Helped the July 20 conspirators travel. With Popitz and Planck, developed plans for a new con­stitution that conflicted with those of Goerdeler. Arrested in August 1944. Condemned to death by the People’s Court on November 30 for “failure to report treasonous activities” and executed the same day in Plötzensee prison.

Kaiser, Jakob (1888-1961)

Bookbinder. Served from 1924 to 1933 on the executive of the Christian Trade Unions. Became a Center Party deputy in the Reichstag in 1933. With Wilhelm Leuschner attempted, also in 1933, to bring the various trade unions organized along ideological and philosophical lines together into a single union so as to forestall Nazi Gleichschaltung. Later, with Josef Wirmer, became one of Carl Goerdeler’s most influential advisers. His calm, open-minded, but determined temperament contributed substantially to re­lieving the tensions between various resistance groups. Went underground after July 20, 1944, and successfully eluded capture. In 1945 helped found the Christian Democratic Union in the Soviet occupation zone and Berlin. Was a West German minister from 1949 to 1957 and acting chairman of the CDU until 1958.