Nazis With its onion-domed steeple and octagonal towers, Hartheim Castle is a remarkable example of Renaissance architecture in Upper Austria, a region located west of Vienna. However, the estate has become a symbol of one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history, when it was transformed by the Nazis into a factory of death.
Since the late 19th century, the castle housed an institution for disabled people, managed by a Catholic organization. With the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938, the facility fell into the hands of the Nazis, and by March 1940, the residents and caregivers were forced to leave and were relocated to other institutions.
A gas chamber was installed in the castle, making it one of the six “euthanasia” facilities of the Aktion T4 program, established in 1939: “It was a centrally organized assassination program, primarily targeting individuals with mental illnesses and disabilities. There was a standardized procedure in all six facilities: the gas chambers were disguised as shower rooms, and carbon monoxide was used to kill,” explains Florian Schwanninger, a historian at the Hartheim Memorial.
The victims were transported by bus from the care facilities where they resided and were executed immediately upon arrival. Their bodies were then burned in a crematorium. Between 1940 and 1941, 18,000 people suffering from mental illnesses or disabilities were gassed under the supervision of two doctors. This tragedy illustrates the findings of a study published last week in the British scientific journal The Lancet. It highlights the “central role” played by the medical profession in the crimes of the Nazis, noting that by 1945, 50 to 65% of non-Jewish German doctors had joined the Nazi Party—a proportion “significantly higher than in any other academic profession.”Hartheim Nazi killing center, bus with driver, circa 1940. Credit: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Although the Aktion T4 program officially ended in 1941 following protests from parts of the population and the Church, the killings did not stop. Individuals with mental illnesses and disabilities were then murdered in care facilities, often through the use of drugs. From that point on, Hartheim was used to kill other groups, including sick or non-working concentration camp prisoners. Between 1941 and 1944, 12,000 people were gassed there, bringing the total death toll to 30,000.
A milliner in the city of Graz, she developed an illness in 1935: “She was diagnosed with what no doctor can explain today: juvenile insanity. We assume it was a form of schizophrenia,” says Raoul Narodoslavsky, her grandson. In January 1941, she was taken to Hartheim and murdered there. She left behind two children, including Raoul’s mother. Today, he strives to keep the memory of his grandmother alive—a woman he never knew and of whom he has only one photograph. He knows the history of Aktion T4 inside out and remains deeply angered by the involvement of the medical profession: “Hundreds of doctors compiled lists of ‘lives unworthy of life,’ and hundreds of nurses watched their patients starve in psychiatric institutions! They made such atrocities possible!
March 12, 1938: Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany
1939: Launch of the Aktion T4 program to assassinate individuals with mental illnesses or disabilities
May 1940: Start of the killings at Hartheim Castle
July 24, 1940: Establishment of the Am Spiegelgrund clinic
August 24, 1941: Official end of the Aktion T4 program, though killings continued in different forms
December 12, 1944: Dismantling of the killing center at Hartheim Castle begins
The murders at Hartheim and under the Aktion T4 program also played a significant role in the implementation of the Holocaust: “Many participants in this program later moved to occupied Poland after its conclusion to develop the extermination camps at Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka. The killings there followed the same pattern as in the Aktion T4 facilities,” explains Florian Schwanninger. Today, along with his team, the historian is working to identify the names of those murdered at Hartheim. Out of 30,000 victims, 23,000 have already been identified.
Medicine in the Service of Child Murder
Viktor Brack testifies in his defence at the Doctors’ Trial in Nuremberg in 1947. Credit: Public Domain
Today, as one strolls along the quiet, tree-lined paths of the Penzing Clinic in Vienna, it is difficult to imagine the scale of the tragedy that unfolded there eighty years ago. Yet, starting in 1940, a process of murdering children deemed unfit to develop was set in motion at the facility, then called Am Spiegelgrund. This was in line with Nazi doctrine, which advocated for the elimination of “lives unworthy of life” to “purify the Aryan race.” These crimes, carried out by doctors, led to the deaths of nearly 800 children.
Many of the children at this clinic had previously been in orphanages or foster homes. A significant number had mental disabilities, physical deformities, learning difficulties, or neurological disorders.
Upon arrival at the facility, the children underwent medical observation. Caregivers then classified them into different categories, which, in the eyes of the Nazis, reflected their ability to contribute to society and the potential cost they might impose on it. A diagnosis of “unfit for development” was tantamount to a death sentence: From the doctors’ perspective, this meant there was no prospect of improvement in the child’s condition, that they would have to live with their disability, and that they could not be expected to support themselves in the future.
Undernourished, the children lost weight and were at greater risk of developing infections. They were often killed with an overdose of Luminal, a barbiturate that disrupted blood flow to the lungs, making breathing difficult. Many death certificates from Spiegelgrund listed pneumonia as the cause of death.
The bodies were also used for experimentation: “One of the priorities was the study of neurological pathologies. For example, they sought to understand the various causes of what was then called ‘feeble-mindedness’: Was it due to a congenital anomaly or a hereditary disease? Examining the brain and other organs was therefore of great interest to the doctors.
However, the expert refuses to label this as “pseudoscience”: “This term has too often been used to suggest that it wasn’t a problem with science itself but merely the fault of individuals who had gone astray. Many Nazi doctors were fully recognized by the profession and sought to address questions that, at the time, appeared urgent and justified.
“I received and distributed the personal mail addressed to the Führer. Many women wrote to him passionately. Some had nothing better to do than write to him every week.” Until Adolf Hitler‘s suicide on April 30, 1945, in his Berlin bunker, his secretary Traudl Junge continued to receive love letters. Such female fascination for the mustachioed chancellor of the Reich might seem anecdotal. However, upon reading Hitler’s Furies, it becomes clear that this fascination reflects a broad approval among women for the Nazi regime, its expansionist policies, and its racial ideology.
In the popular imagery propagated by Nazi propaganda, German women of the Third Reich were portrayed as loving wives and robust mothers. As exemplary patriots, they replaced men fighting on the front lines, worked in fields or factories, served as nurses, and formed battalions of teachers and secretaries.
In the immediate post-war period, several trials of female camp guards, such as the “Hyena of Auschwitz” Irma Grese or the “Bitch of Buchenwald” Ilse Koch, shed light on shocking female participation in the genocide of Jews. However, these highly publicized and dramatized cases in cinema did not significantly tarnish the heroic image of the millions of German women who, considered victims of Nazism, suffered from war, hunger, and rape. These courageous women were even honored with statues for clearing the rubble of ruined cities.
Accomplices or Actors
Yet, as Professor Wendy Lower emphasizes, “the apoliticism of German women is part of post-war myths.” By July 1932, German women were already as likely as men to vote for the Nazi Party. “The entire female population of Germany (nearly 40 million in 1939) cannot be labeled as victims. A third, or 13 million women, actively joined organizations linked to the Nazi Party, and the number of female party members steadily increased until the end of the war,” she notes in a widely acclaimed study that has been translated into twenty languages and recently published in French.
Drawing on multiple sources—German war archives, Soviet investigations into Nazi war crimes, East German secret police files, trial records, Simon Wiesenthal archives, diaries, private correspondence, and testimonies—the researcher observes a massive participation of women as witnesses, accomplices, or active participants in the genocide of Jews, particularly in the Nazi-occupied territories of the East: Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
Colonization of the East
Based on official figures from the time, the historian estimates that half a million German women were deployed in the Eastern and Southeastern territories, including the Polish provinces annexed by Germany in 1939. Aged 17 to 30, often single, these representatives of the lower middle class enlisted out of patriotism, having already been recruited at 14 into the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) and heavily indoctrinated from primary school.
While they joined the vast colonization program of the East—Heinrich Himmler’s Generalplan Ost—they were also driven by ambition, as opportunities for advancement in Germany were limited. Whether they were nurses, teachers, resettlement advisors, secretaries, wives of SS officers, or camp guards, all played a role in the functioning and expansion of the Nazi destruction machine.
Racial Selection
Women’s participation in the Final Solution took many forms. For example, the 2,500 teachers sent to Poland, like young Ingelene Ivens on a “civilizing mission” in the remote village of Reichelsfelde, were required to report any children with disabilities to the authorities. “If a child couldn’t button their coat properly, had poor academic performance, or lacked coordination in sports or playground activities, they were subjected to a screening test,” the historian recounts. Non-German children were excluded from the school system, while German children in Poland were privileged but also indoctrinated.
Racial selection also involved sending “orphans” to Germany for adoption. These children were actually stolen from their parents before the latter were thrown into camps or murdered. Estimates suggest that between 50,000 and 200,000 children were abducted from the Eastern territories. Racial “hygiene” selection was even more systematic in hospitals, where the nursing profession had acquired “a deeply nationalist and ideological character.” To obtain the status of a certified nurse, one had to provide proof of Aryan ancestry and political reliability.
Crossing the Line
While some nurses turned out to be serial killers (see below), crossing the line into violence could occur in any profession. For instance, typist Gertrude Segel would shoot at her gardeners from her balcony for amusement. Erna Petri, the wife of an SS officer, cold-bloodedly murdered six children who had escaped a death train. As for the ambitious secretary Johanna Altvater, she had the “horrifying habit”—as one survivor put it—of luring Jewish children with sweets to kill them…
The secretaries and mistresses of SS-Gruppenführer Odilo Globocnik, who managed the loot stolen from Treblinka deportees, may have been less violent. “But they nonetheless contributed to the normalization of perversity,” comments Professor Wendy Lower.
They were convinced that the violence of their actions was justified as vengeful punishment against the enemies of the Reich. From their perspective, these acts were merely expressions of their loyalty. Given that none of these women were forced to kill, such an attitude is all the more staggering. The horror knows no bounds…
Arbitrary Violence
The SS female guards of concentration camps for women have been the subject of meticulous historical studies. In 1945, these guards represented a professional body of 3,508 members spread across 13 camps throughout Europe. Their training primarily took place at Ravensbrück camp. For these young women, averaging 26 years old and mostly from working-class backgrounds, this job offered attractive salary prospects and opportunities for advancement. They earned twice as much as a female armaments factory worker and, at least initially, enjoyed a level of comfort they had never known at home. The uniform made an impression, and the prospect of wielding power was not without its appeal.
Some of these guards had criminal pasts. However, their extreme brutality and arbitrary violence are better explained by the context of the camps: the guards were often understaffed and had to assert their authority despite social and cultural deficits. The most sadistic among them were eventually brought to justice. The “Hyena of Auschwitz,” Irma Grese, was sentenced to hang. And the “Bitch of Buchenwald,” Ilse Koch, wife of camp commander Karl Koch, ended her life in prison, committing suicide in 1967.
The Guardians of “Racial Hygiene”
“Of all the female professions engaged in the East, nursing was the deadliest. The genocidal operations planned by the central authority did not begin in the gas chambers of Auschwitz or on Ukrainian execution sites. They started in the hospitals of the Reich,” historian Wendy Lower reminds us.
The first victims were children. During the war, specially trained nurses administered overdoses of barbiturates or morphine to thousands of infants they deemed malformed, as well as to disabled adolescents. Meticulously following the Reich’s euthanasia program, some nurses participated in the selection and elimination of the mentally ill and disabled. They also worked in the infirmaries of concentration camps. They were among the first witnesses to the Final Solution.
In Poland, mass executions of patients began as early as September 1939. Mobile units traveled across the country, then through Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic states, killing thousands of patients in asylums and hospitals or gassing them in special trucks. According to Wendy Lower, “racial hygiene” was also secretly applied to severely mutilated German soldiers on the Eastern Front to “deliver them from their suffering.” Families were told they had died “in combat.”
On November 11, 1918, the armistice was signed, marking the end of World War I. The extreme right attributed this failure to the home front, Jews, Republicans, and the left.
Anton Drexler, 1920.
On January 5, 1919, the German Workers’ Party (DAP) was created by Anton Drexler. Among the founders of this far-right party were Dietrich Eckart, the editor of an anti-Semitic periodical, and the economist Gottfried Feder.
Treaty of Versailles, english version.
June 28, 1919, saw the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, attributing the overall responsibility for the war to Germany. Reparations and war indemnities of 269 billion Reichsmarks were demanded from the Germans.
The Weimar Constitution in booklet form.
On August 11, 1919, the official birth of the Weimar Republic took place as it adopted a constitution. The German extreme right immediately rejected this parliamentary regime, considering it corrupt and guilty of signing the Treaty of Versailles.
First political program of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Image: Museum of World War II Boston.
February 24, 1920, marked the transformation of the DAP into the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP). The party advocated for a “racist and nationalist” state, with Adolf Hitler emerging as a prominent figure among its fervent supporters.
State memorial ceremony with Rathenau’s laid-out coffin in the Reichstag, 27 June 1922. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-Z1117-502 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
In less than a year, nationalist attacks on January 26, 1921, and June 24, 1922, claimed the lives of two Republicans: Matthias Erzberger, a signatory of the armistice, and the Jewish industrialist Walther Rathenau.
French soldiers and a German civilian in the Ruhr in 1923. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R09876 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
In January 1923, the occupation of the Ruhr occurred as France and Belgium conducted a military operation to forcefully claim war reparations from Germany. The NSDAP perceived it as another affront to the German people.
Early Nazis who participated in the attempt to seize power during the 1923 Putsch. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2007-0003 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
The failed Beer Hall Putsch on November 8 and 9, 1923, in Munich, led by Hitler and supported by Göring, Himmler, and Ludendorff, became a foundational myth of the Nazi Party.
Ludendorff in 1915. Image: Bundesarchiv Bild 183-2005-0828-525 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
March 29, 1925, witnessed a presidential election in Germany. Erich Ludendorff, chief of the German armies in World War I and an active supporter of the NSDAP, was strategically pushed by Hitler to run in a presidential election destined for failure. Ludendorff secured only 1.1% of the votes in the first round.
Title page of the 1940 edition, exhibited at the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nuremberg. Image: Public Domain.
On July 18, 1925, Mein Kampf was published. Hitler, imprisoned after the failed putsch, wrote his manifesto behind bars with the assistance of Winifred Wagner, the daughter-in-law of Richard Wagner.
Gregor Strasser, c. 1928. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 119-1721 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
The Nazi Party congress in Bamberg on February 14, 1926, was convened by Hitler to solidify his legitimacy, gaining support from figures like Gregor Strasser and Joseph Goebbels from the left wing of the party.
Crowd gathering on Wall Street after the 1929 crash.
The Wall Street Crash on October 24, 1929, prompted the United States to withdraw its capital from Germany overnight. The NSDAP seized the opportunity to strengthen its nationalist discourse.
Adolf Hitler. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-12922 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
On September 14, 1930, the NSDAP secured 18.3% of the votes in the legislative elections, following the dissolution of the Parliament due to disagreements on unemployment insurance. Financial support from magnates like Emil Kirdorf, Fritz Thyssen, and Hjalmar Schacht contributed to the Nazi Party’s rise.
Camp service of the NSDAP delegation, in the first row SS Chief Heinrich Himmler, SA Chief Ernst Röhm and Hermann Göring. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-02134 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
October 11, 1931, witnessed the creation of the “Harzburg Front,” an alliance of heavy industry employers and right-wing and far-right parties, including the NSDAP, opposing Chancellor Heinrich Brüning and advocating for a strong leader for Germany.
In February 1932, with unemployment at 33.8%, Brüning chose deflation to support the economy, leading to a 25% reduction in public spending, a 14% cut in unemployment benefits, and a 15% increase in taxes. Meanwhile, on February 25, 1932, Hitler obtained German citizenship.
Hitler with Nazi Party members in December 1930. Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 119-0289 / Unknown author / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
On July 31, 1932, the NSDAP became the largest party in Germany, securing 37.3% of the votes in the legislative elections, surpassing the Social Democratic Party (21.6%). President Paul von Hindenburg refused to appoint Hitler as chancellor.
Hjalmar Schacht (photo from 1931). Image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-12733 / CC-BY-SA 3.0.
November 19, 1932, saw an appeal (Industrielleneingabe) from 19 financiers and industrialists to President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor, but he refused. Göring, a Nazi party member, had been leading the Reichstag since August 30.
Recently appointed as German chancellor, Adolf Hitler greets President Paul von Hindenburg in Potsdam, Germany, on March 21, 1933. Image: US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Finally, on January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor as Hindenburg yielded after weeks of political intrigues, orchestrated in part by von Papen and the German National People’s Party (conservative), believing they could “control” the Führer.
Reichstag Fire. Image: Public Domain.
On February 27 and 28, 1933, the Reichstag Fire, a criminal act, was used by the Nazis to implement a policy of suspending individual liberties and suppressing communists. On March 23, after the arrest of 4,000 opponents, the new parliament passed the Enabling Act, granting Hitler full powers.
No one in world history has had more written about them. More than 90 separate biographies of Adolf Hitler have been published in German alone since 1945, not counting short profiles, translations, and right-wing tributes. The other literature on individual aspects of his rule over Germany is literally immeasurable.
Nevertheless, there are still aspects that remain relatively unexplored, such as his personal finances. It was carefully cultivated as part of Hitler’s propaganda image that he selflessly led the fate of Germany, lived a modest life, and had only the well-being of “his” people in mind. The reality was quite different.
In 1934, Hitler was sued by the Munich tax office for 405,494.40 Reichsmarks in unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties. He tried to settle the case by offering 2,000 Reichsmarks, but the tax office rejected his offer. Hitler then used his newly acquired position as Führer to issue a decree that granted him immunity from taxation and retroactively canceled his tax debt.
While the “Völkische Beobachter” announced on its front page in bold letters on February 7, 1933, that “as the Reich Press Office of the NSDAP reports, the Führer, as Chancellor, does not receive a salary, since he earns his income as a writer, he has waived the Chancellor’s emoluments.” However, this demonstrative modesty didn’t last long because, from 1934, Hitler resumed receiving his salary as Chancellor and, since August 2, 1934, also that of Reich President following Paul von Hindenburg’s death. Such dual remuneration was, in principle, not permitted by German civil service regulations, but it posed no obstacle for Hitler.
A similarly unsavory and lesser-known secret revolves around Hitler’s honesty in paying taxes. Earning money is only half as enjoyable when a considerable portion of one’s income must be surrendered to the state. Hitler had encountered difficulties with tax authorities before his rise to power.
Hitler curtly responded, according to his tax file in the Munich State Archives, 18 days after receiving a request from the Munich East tax office on May 1, 1925, to report his income for the first quarter of 1925, along with a warning of a penalty of ten Reichsmark or one day in prison: “I had no income in I924 or in the first quarter of 1925.“
Hitler with his car Mercedes-Benz 11/40 PS. Image: Loc.gov.
The tax office was not satisfied with Hitler’s response. On July 23, 1925, an official noted that the allegedly income-less taxpayer had purchased a car for 20,000 Reichsmarks. In early September, the announced penalty order was issued, which the NSDAP leader paid because he did not want to go to prison again.
He could not avoid a tax return for the third quarter of 1925 and submitted it, albeit belatedly. The tax officials were likely not pleased. Hitler admitted to a rather substantial quarterly income of 11,231 Reichsmark but also claimed advertising costs of 6,540 Reichsmark and paid credit interest of 2,245 Reichsmark.
Goebbels’ Envy of Hitler’s Money
Back and front cover of a A4 sized decorative telegram folder in colour from Deutsche Reichspost (“German Empire Mail”) 1937. Image: Public Domain. High Resolution: Malevus.
In the following years, he engaged in a minor war with the tax authorities, regularly appealing against assessments and deferring tax debts. The Munich tax office treated the taxpayer Hitler leniently until 1932, but essentially lawfully.
The instruction in 1933 to be able to deduct half of his private income from “Mein Kampf” flatly and without verification as advertising costs was completely illegal. That’s exactly what happened. Of the 1,232,335 Reichsmark that Hitler reported as income from the sale of about a million copies of his book for the calendar year 1933, he deducted exactly 616,167 Reichsmark. Due to the progression, an income tax of 297,005 Reichsmark was due on the same amount to be taxed.
Stamps that made Adolf Hitler money.
Hitler apparently did not pay. In any case, his tax file on October 20, 1934, indicated an outstanding balance of 272,190 Reichsmark in income tax for 1933, as well as an additional 24,383.20 Reichsmark in church tax, 14,315 Reichsmark in marriage assistance, and 23,776.70 Reichsmark in sales tax. The tax office demanded around 70,000 Reichsmark in advance payments for the third quarter of 1934; the Chancellor’s tax debt amounted to exactly 405,494.40 Reichsmark.
The Reich Finance Ministry and the President of the Munich Regional Tax Office arrived at a completely one-sided agreement that favored Hitler after some correspondence: the tax debt was entirely forgiven, the pending criminal proceedings were dropped, and Adolf Hitler disappeared from the view of the German tax administration on March 12, 1935. From then on, he paid no taxes at all. This information was, of course, not made public.
Hitler’s tax evasion was exposed after his death, when the Allies seized his financial records and documents. They estimated that he owed about 8 million Reichsmarks in taxes, plus interest and penalties, to the German treasury. They also discovered that he had stashed away millions of Reichsmarks in secret bank accounts and hidden assets.
Until 1945, it was also strictly kept secret that Hitler received payments from the Reich Post for the use of his image on German stamps—for the use of his personality rights. Over the years, at least high double-digit, possibly even triple-digit, million amounts have accumulated here. Goebbels noted in his diary that this arrangement would bring Hitler “a lot of money.” The envy of the Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, who was certainly not poorly off himself, was unmistakable.
Adolf Hitler is believed to be around 5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) tall.
He appeared shorter in some photographs due to the taller stature of his generals and the Reichsführer-SS.
Hitler’s official records and photographs with Heinrich Himmler support his alleged heightfigure.
The exact height of Adolf Hitler is debated. However, Hitler was 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, according to various sources. Still, eyewitnesses at the 1936 Summer Olympics believe that Hitler was around 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) tall, which was short even for the time. Photos from the 1938 Munich Conference, when four countries discussed Germany’s annexation of Sudetenland in advance of its invasion of Poland, show Hitler’s height around the same level as the other world leaders. However, considering how short Neville Chamberlain appears in the picture, the perspective is deceiving.
The below picture shows Hitler’s height next to other leaders:
1938 Munich Conference. Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini, from left to right. (Image: Derived from public domain)
Why Hitler Appeared Shorter in Pictures
Hitler was not a small individual at the time; he was of average height. So why did he occasionally appear shorter in photographs? Hitler looked dwarfed in images with his generals and the rest of the Reichsführer-SS because they were generally taller people. Even though Hitler was similar in height to Julius Caesar, Caesar’s Roman army usually consisted of individuals of average height, which is why he was never perceived as short as Alexander the Great, Joseph Stalin, or Napoleon Bonaparte.
The below photograph of Hitler with Heinrich Himmler attests to Hitler’s height as another solid piece of evidence. Himmler was the Reichsführer of the SS, and he stood 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m) tall. In the picture, Himmler and Hitler are of comparable stature, but Hitler actually stands a bit taller, which again supports that his height was 5’9″ (175 cm). Taking into account the average height of Austrian soldiers in WWII, which was 5’8″ (1.73 m), Hitler’s height was perfectly normal for the time.
In the below photograph of Adolf Hitler with his Fields Marshals during the German attack on Britain, Hitler appears to be the same height as Hermann Göring, 5’10” (1.78 m), despite standing in front of him. This again supports the claims regarding his height.
Hitler next to Hermann Göring and his other Field Marshals. (Image: Public Domain, colorized)
Records from Landsberg Prison, where Hitler was imprisoned during the Beer Hall Putsch, also indicate this same height figure, with guards and those around him witnessing this measurement. Hitler was significantly shorter in comparison to his bodyguard Rochus Misch who stood at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) tall.
Hitler and his bodyguard Rochus Misch.
In some pictures of Hitler with his partner Eva Braun, who stood at 5 ft 4.2 in (1.63 m), the height difference is less pronounced because she wore shoes with higher heels. But in other pictures, it is easy to see that Hitler was much taller.
Unlike Stalin, Hitler is not known for using platform shoes to appear taller. Stalin even did that during the signing of the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact. Because even though Stalin stood at 5’4″ (1.62 m), he was known to wear platform shoes to appear at least 4 inches (10 cm) taller, just like Vladimir Putin does today.
Standing at a height of 5 ft 9 in, Hitler maintained a healthy weight of 154 pounds (70 kg). He did not smoke, drank alcohol only on rare occasions, and was an ardent vegetarian. Hitler’s blood and urine tests, according to his doctor Theodor Morell, were often clean. Other than some mild colds, he generally had a robust immune system and a strong physicality due to his peasant family background. He also handled the stresses of warfare efficiently.
There are interesting stories about Hitler’s physical appearance; for example, it’s been reported that Hitler only had one testicle. Hitler was diagnosed with “right-side cryptorchidism,” a disorder in which a testicle fails to descend into the scrotum. This medical report originates from the time he was incarcerated after the failed Munich beer hall putsch in 1923.
Mussolini (5 ft 6.5 in) and Hitler (5 ft 9 in), August 1941. (Public Domain)
A Leader’s Height Does Matter
A leader’s physical traits, like height and weight, can shape a nation’s destiny. This is because it’s always hard to tell at first glance how smart or moral a leader is, but it’s usually easier to see how strong and powerful they are.
This is why symbols of authority, such as the crowns of European monarchs or the headdresses of Native American chiefs, not only signify wealth and power but also compensate for any perceived lack of height. An example of this is Louis XIV, who stood at only 5 feet 4 inches (1.62 m) tall but often wore high heels and a fluffy wig to enhance his image.
Mussolini (5 ft 6.5 in; 169 cm) and Hitler (5 ft 9 in; 175 cm), September 1937. (Public Domain)
While physical strength and power may be components of the ideal leader image, the reality is much more complex. Hitler was able to successfully overthrow the much taller Paul von Hindenburg (6’6″; 1.98 m) through his skill and strategy.
But Was He Tall Enough?
According to Hitler’s doctrines, the ideal males were those with tall stature, fair skin, blue eyes, and blond hair—the Aryan race. The irony, however, is that contrary to Hitler’s own image of an Aryan, he did not meet this criterion. He was not tall in stature or superior in physique, nor did he have blonde hair. But he had blue eyes, so he was “half-Aryan” at best.
Not only that, but Hitler was also not eligible to join the SS (Schutzstaffel) organization he created. Their height requirements varied annually. In 1937, SS applicants needed to be at least 6 feet (1.83 m) tall; by 1941, that requirement had been lowered to 5 feet, 9.3 inches (1.76 m).
Hitler, 1933. Image: U.S. Army.
It is ironic that a man cannot satisfy the rules he has set for all other people. But is there a point to this? After all, rule-makers like tyrants rarely obey their own rules, preferring instead to consider themselves above the law they’ve enacted.
Adolf Hitler is one of the most infamous leaders in world history. It’s easy to find all sorts of things to discuss about this man, and he’s the subject of more anecdotes than any other World War II leader. The question of his height has been a popular one, and we tried to answer that in this article.
After the collapse of Nazi Germany, many Germans sought to excuse their actions during the regime by claiming that “not everything was terrible under Hitler.” Despite the atrocities committed and the millions of deaths and sufferings, they did not speak out against the regime for the entire twelve years, instead choosing to focus on the personal benefits they may have gained, such as employment and personal contentment.
Allegedly Positive Aspects
The longstanding loyalty of Nazi Germany’s citizens to their government may be difficult to fathom until you consider the possibility that the dictatorship also had positive aspects. However, the purported benefits of Nazi authority were not made up after the fact.
The Nazi propaganda spent years reinforcing the myth that Adolf Hitler brought law and order to the streets, invented the autobahn, and saved the German economy out of a crisis. The Nazis expertly appropriated the achievements of the Weimar Republic and continued to build on them. Some discoveries were downplayed, while others were ignored entirely.
Nazi Propaganda Has Been Partially Successful to This Day
The Nazi propagandists were so effective that the myths they spread about the positive things that Hitler and his government did for the Germans are still, to some extent, ingrained in people’s minds. A 2007 study by Forsa found that one in four people thought some good could have come from living under Nazi tyranny.
A poll conducted in Austria in March 2013 is even more current and disturbing. 75 years after the “Anschluss” of the Alpine Republic to Hitler’s Germany, about 42% of people still think that the “Third Reich” definitely had some good things about it. Here are six myths the Nazis spread through propaganda and some people still believe today.
1- Hitler Invented the Autobahn
Hitler at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Reichsautobahn from Frankfurt via Darmstadt and Mannheim to Heidelberg.
The statement “The autobahns are a legacy of Hitler’s rule” is often used as an example of the belief that there were some positive aspects of the Nazi regime, also known as the “Third Reich.”
However, while Adolf Hitler’s brilliant theory that a criminal dictatorship can be excused on principle because it constructed roads and bridges is perhaps debatable, it is also demonstrably false. Hitler neither invented nor built the first autobahn, even though Nazi propaganda said otherwise. The notion of the autobahn had already existed during the period of the Weimar Republic. This makes sense, as it would take a long time to organize and launch such a massive undertaking.
On September 23, 1933—over six months after becoming Reich Chancellor—Hitler began construction of the “Reichsautobahn,” connecting Frankfurt and Heidelberg by way of Darmstadt and Mannheim. A lot of propaganda was produced, hailing the “Führer” as the brains behind the first person to construct this groundbreaking technology.
However, the future German chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, was previously the Lord Mayor of Cologne, and the first section of the autobahn, from Cologne to Bonn, was opened to the public on his watch in 1932. This road used to be a highway, but the Nazi regime changed it to a rural road.
2- Hitler Led the Economy Out of the Crisis
Germans burning their worthless money in the economic crisis during the Weimar Republic.
Another Nazi myth that had a lasting impact is related to the construction of the first autobahns. The Nazis claimed that building the autobahns would provide employment for the large number of unemployed people, thereby helping the German people to regain access to income and food during the global economic crisis. However, this was a false claim made by the Nazis.
The global economic crisis started at the end of the 1920s, which was responsible for the loss of employment for large segments of the population. In 1932, there were approximately 12 million working Germans, compared to more than 6 million unemployed. The Nazi regime gained immense power during this time of turmoil. The Nazi Party had a meteoric rise in the polls during the 1930 and 1932 Reichstag elections.
The Economy Began to Recover Even Before the Nazi Regime Took Hold
In fact, after the fall of 1932, there were the first signals of economic recovery. According to current research, the seasonal increase in the unemployment rate was not as severe as it had been in past years, especially in the fall and winter.
Almost immediately, the NSDAP saw a severe drop in support at the November 1932 election. In reality, Hitler’s popularity had been on the decline for some time prior to his recommendation as Reich Chancellor by former Chancellor Franz von Papen, banker Kurt Freiherr von Schröder, and leaders of Rhineland-Palatinate heavy industry to Reich President Paul von Hindenburg. On January 30, 1933, the latter officially swore him into office.
The German economy was already on the mend when the Nazis took control. Afterward, the Nazis claimed all the glory for the country’s booming economy. The Nazis’ favorite device for claiming credit for the economy was really a Weimar-era invention: job-creation schemes. The idea was conceived by Kurt von Schleicher, the last Chancellor of the German Democratic Republic, with the primary goal of combating unemployment.
Without the War, Nazi Germany Would Have Been Bankrupt
Hitler temporarily continued to manage the programs implemented by von Schleicher’s specialists, but he now carried out these tasks in a more public manner. The current research indicates that the highly publicized construction of highways had a minimal impact. At any given time, there were never more than 130,000 people working on highway construction.
Magnus Brechtken, who is Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary History in Munich and Berlin, says that the large-scale rearmament of the Reichswehr was “far more important” for the steady drop in unemployment.
However, the Nazis spent significantly more money on this than the state did. Rearmament was paid for with borrowed funds. “Without the commencement of the war in 1939, Germany would have gone bankrupt shortly after,” the historian explains.
Women Had to Give Up Their Jobs for Men
By discouraging women from seeking employment, the Nazi regime was able to make unemployment appear lower than it actually was. It was a lie, but it helped spread the idea that the Third Reich had a good program for finding jobs.
3- Women Were Highly Valued During the Nazi Era
Certificate of the Cross of Honour of the German Mother during World War II.
“There is no greater nobility for a woman than to be the mother of the sons and daughters of a people.” This Adolf Hitler quote from May 9–15, 1938, is illustrative of the Nazi idealization of women.
The women under the Nazi regime were urged to have as many children as possible so that the “Aryan race” would continue to exist and, if the children were boys, they could fight for the “Führer.” Ultimately, the Nazi government considered women exclusively as childbearing machines. The Nazis established a veritable religion around the “German mother.”
They began celebrating Mother’s Day as a religious holiday in 1934, one year after declaring it a national holiday the previous year (1933). And in 1938, in the run-up to the war, Hitler issued a decree endowing the “Cross of Honor of the German Mother,” to be bestowed on women with at least four children.
During World War II, millions of German women were honored with this medal, which varied in quality from bronze to gold based on the number of children they had.
They Were Thrown Out of the Labor Market
In order to be able to commit themselves entirely to their position as mothers, working women were to exit the labor market, which at the same time opened up employment for jobless males. The Nazi regime intended to attain this result, and they intended to do it in part through propaganda. In addition, the Nazi regime passed laws that made it nearly impossible for most women to ever work.
However, the Nazi dictatorship could not sustain its ideology in the long run. Because military rearmament required an increasing number of people in the later years. Until October 1937, a woman’s ability to work outside the home was considered when deciding whether or not to grant a newlywed couple a loan for household expenses.
The Nazis Considered Emancipation to Be an Invention of the “Jewish Mind”
Under National Socialism, there was no way that women were regarded with respect. The fact that they only made up a tiny fraction of the NSDAP ranks was another evidence of their lesser significance for the Nazis.
95% of the Nazi Party members in 1933, for instance, were men. However, women were not meant to vote since the Nazi regime saw liberation as the product of the “Jewish mind.” Instead, the women were expected to put the needs of the “national society” (Volksgemeinschaft) ahead of their own and devote themselves fully to motherhood.
4- Hitler Was Particularly Fond of Children
Hitler Youth members give the Nazi salute at a rally at the Lustgarten in Berlin, 1933.
Children were the future of the German Reich, destined to either increase the “Volksgemeinschaft” by procreating in large numbers to ensure the Reich’s survival or spread the German language and culture over the world as soldiers. Children were heavily featured in Nazi propaganda. In fact, the Nazi government specifically went after children to turn them into extremists.
The following generation was taught that National Socialism represented the zenith of Germany’s development. In geography classes, the German government used maps to show that foreign territories were part of the German national territory. This was done so that even the youngest students would understand that Germany had a right to these areas. Topics in the classroom changed to include “theories of racial heredity” and the rising expense of healthcare for the elderly and the crippled.
Future NSDAP leaders could attend prestigious schools like the National Political Institutes of Education (“Napolas”) or Adolf Hitler Schools (AHS). Indoctrination was strengthened in these schools. The 2009 film “Herrenkinder” (“Children of the Master Race”) serves as a vivid example of how the experiences in these educational institutions continued to impact many pupils even after 1945.
The Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls
National Socialism’s influence over adolescents and teenagers extended well beyond the classroom. All boys and girls turning ten in Germany after 1939 were forced to join the “Jungvolk” or “Jungmädelbund,” and those turning fourteen were required to join the “Hitler Youth” or “League of German Girls.”
They were intended to intentionally remove children from the influence of their parents in order for them to be trained in the spirit of the racial Nazism philosophy. This often led to big fights within the family, especially if one or both parents were Christians.
Hitler reiterated this point in his address at Reichenberg on December 2, 1938, saying:
These boys and girls enter our organizations [at] ten years of age, and often for the first time get a little fresh air; after four years of the Young Folk, they go on to the Hitler Youth, where we have them for another four years… And even if they are still not complete National Socialists, they go to the Labor Service and are smoothed out there for another six to seven months. And whatever class consciousness or social status might still be left… the Wehrmacht [German armed forces] will take care of that.
The final statement expresses an especially pessimistic outlook on the war’s final year. Children born in the second half of the 1920s were particularly vulnerable, as they began their formal education immersed in Nazi propaganda.
Children and teens who the Nazi dictatorship thought were “not worth living,” like Jews, Sinti, Roma, and people with mental or physical disabilities, had been killed by the Nazis for a long time.
In the name of “euthanasia,” at least 5,000 children have been killed. The concept that the Nazi leadership cared about children in any way is one of the biggest lies told about National Socialism.
5- Hitler Eliminated Crime
An undated photograph of Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgarden.
Another argument that is often used to defend the “Third Reich” is that Hitler was able to keep some kind of order and discipline, and that crime was almost nonexistent during the Nazi dictatorship. As with all Nazi propaganda that tries to sound real, there is some truth in this claim.
The National Socialists turned Nazi Germany into a totalitarian police state that spied on its population. The people of the country were not only subject to the police and the Gestapo, but also to the Blockleiter (Block Warden).
Under the Nazis, Violence Came Mainly from the Police and Gestapo
People under the Nazi regime exercised strict self-control “since everyone had to worry about being accused,” historian Magnus Brechtken argues. A system of monitoring and intimidation existed. Many Germans, therefore, would not have broken the law or done other things they would have done in a freer society.
The Nazi regime made up data to give the impression that everything was safe and in order when, in reality, it wasn’t. However, under the Nazi administration, many Germans were subjected to more widespread brutality than they had ever seen before. This time, however, the threat came from the state itself.
The War Made German Society More Brutal
Nazi propaganda publicly lauded the March 1933 establishment of the Dachau concentration camp. The goal of the facility was to rehabilitate those labeled “vermin of the people” (Volksschädling) into “good people’s comrades.” If they made it out of the concentration camp alive, the captives had to remain quiet about their experiences there. In doing so, they would have discredited the propaganda.
When war broke out, every remaining sense of safety or order vanished along with it. From 1939 on, there was a dramatic surge in violent crime. The conflict led to a gradual and energizing disintegration of the bounds of violence. Fanatical Nazis did horrible things in the last months of the Third Reich, not just to POWs and survivors of concentration camps but also to “regular” Germans who worked with the enemy or refused to fight until the “ultimate victory.”
6- The Nazi Regime Treated Workers in a Compassionate Manner
Travelers aboard a Kraft durch Freude (Strength Through Joy) cruise enjoying an orchestra performance. Source: Wilhelm Walther.
The Nazi regime placed a premium on the support of the working class. Nothing could be rearmed or gained in the battle without them. Although the bulk of workers have historically been more loyal to the Social Democrats and the Communists, therefore, the Nazi administration needed to court their support. This is why the Nazis put so much stock in portraying themselves as the vanguard of the fight against joblessness; in contrast to the other parties, who, according to their propaganda, had failed to achieve this goal.
The Nazis Turned May Day Into a Propaganda Show
To pacify the working class, the Nazi leadership declared May 1 a public holiday as early as the first week of April 1933. This holiday did not require any cost to the employee and appeared to fill a long-standing chasm in the labor movement. However, the Nazi regime reinterpreted the meaning of May 1, using it to hold marches and rallies celebrating the “Volksgemeinschaft” (the national community), and excluding groups such as Jews, homosexuals, and individuals with mental illness.
Trade Unions Were Destroyed, and Officials Were Imprisoned
On May 2, 1933, the Nazi dictatorship finally demonstrated its true feelings for a free workforce. The homes of the Free Trade Unions were invaded by SA and Nazi trade unionists, their assets were stolen, and their top officials were imprisoned and abused. By the summer, the Nazis had broken up every other union and put its members into the German Labor Front.
The Myth of Kraft durch Freude (Strength Through Joy)
The “Strength Through Joy” organization contributed considerably to the perception that the powerful cared about their workers by giving low-cost vacations and other sorts of amusement. The deed, however, was not performed out of compassion or to do something kind for others.
It was more about keeping the so-called “Aryan race” healthy and increasing labor efficiency, notably in the arms industry. No one whom the Nazis deemed to be an outsider was eligible for any of the benefits. Also, during the war years, all people who were called “Volksschädling” (“human pests”) could have been persecuted, sent away, or even killed.
What is the origin of the Nazi salute “Sieg Heil”? Harvard University is said to have played a central role in the history of the Sieg Heil salute. Ernst Hanfstaengl (1887-1975), an early supporter of Adolf Hitler who later turned against the Nazis, claimed that the Nazi battle cry “Sieg Heil” was actually stolen from Harvard. What evidence did Hanfstaengl use to make his case, and how convincing is his assertion?
Hitler’s Pianist as the Source of Sieg Heil
Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl.
In Munich in January 1923, Adolf Hitler met a pianist named Ernst Hanfstaengl. This specific Hanfstaengl attended and graduated from the prestigious Harvard University in the United States. He wrote a couple songs for the Harvard football team while he was a student there. After World War I, the Hanfstaengl family moved back to Germany, where the musician eventually crossed paths with Adolf Hitler in early 1923. Hanfstaengl was introduced to Hitler and quickly became a fan of the Führer’s magnetic personality.
Hanfstaengl played some outstanding marches during his meetings with Hitler, which he had previously performed at Harvard. Tradition has it that as Hanfstaengl recited the football chant “Fight fiercely, Harvard! Fight, fight, fight!“—a slogan the cheerleaders always roared—Hitler yelled:
That’s it, Hanfstaengl! Excellent, just what our movement needs.
Adolf Hitler
According to historians, Hanfstaengl had replaced the droning “Fight fiercely, Harvard! Fight, fight, fight!” with the German “Sieg Heil” long before that. Hitler appropriated Hanfstaengl’s “Sieg Heil,” and as a result, the Nazis developed their terrifying catchphrase. At least, that’s what Hanfstaengl told the precursor to the CIA, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), in 1942.
Adolf Hitler with Hermann Göring and Ernst Hanfstaengl in Berlin 1932.
Hanfstaengl’s memoir Hitler: The Memoir of the Nazi Insider Who Turned Against the Fuhrer, published in 1970, detailed his American experiences. He said that the concept for the Hitler salute, with one arm raised in a diagonal motion, came from the United States. He said that the Nazi salute of outstretched arms was inspired not by Benito Mussolini and fascism but by the Harvard crowd and cheerleaders at a soccer game.
Different Opinions on The Origin of Sieg Heil
It’s reasonable to question Hanfstaengl’s assertion about the “Sieg Heil” motto. Historians Philip Gooden and Peter Lewis wrote convincingly in their book The Word at War: World War Two in 100 Phrases that Hanfstaengl’s assertions may have also been a form of retribution against Harvard University. The “Sieg Heil” claim was made eight years after Harvard awarded him an honorary degree and a ,000 payment, in 1942.
In fact, Hanfstaengl went back to Harvard for a 25-year reunion in 1934. Around 1,500 New Yorkers staged a demonstration against his appearance there after learning of his friendship with Hitler. The university ultimately decided against giving Hanfstaengl an honorary degree due to student protests.
There have been numerous uses of the phrases “sieg” and “heil” in the past. For instance, we know that at least as early as 1906, according to Samuel Koehne, the motto “Heil and Sieg!” was widely used in the Thule Society (Thule-Gesellschaft) association.
It is believed that Adolf Hitler adapted the “Hitler salute” from Benito Mussolini’s fascists.
Mussolini had already established himself as Italy’s dictator by late 1922, and according to historians Philip Gooden and Peter Lewis, Hitler copied Mussolini’s raised arm position.
How Did It Go with Hanfstaengl?
In November of 1923, Ernst Hanfstaengl took part in the Beer Hall Putsch (also known as the Munich Putsch), which ultimately failed. He then escaped to Austria. Actually, Adolf Hitler took refuge at the home of Hanfstaengl and his wife, who famously stopped Hitler from killing himself. Following this, Hanfstaengl gathered the necessary funding to have Mein Kampf published by Hitler.
As the 1930s progressed, Hanfstaengl became less and less popular with Hitler and Goebbels. He had a falling out with Joseph Goebbels and eventually escaped to Britain in 1937. In 1942, at Franklin D. Roosevelt’s request, Hanfstaengl made the journey across the Atlantic to the United States. As one of Roosevelt’s political advisors, he was able to supply the Allies with extensive information about the Nazi leadership.
As the year 1943 progressed, the military situation for the Germans in World War II became more dire. The Allies were getting ready to conquer Italy when the Soviets scored a major victory at Stalingrad on the Eastern Front. The German army was starting to lose ground. The Nazi dictatorship stiffened in 1944 following the Normandy invasion and the Soviet onslaught. The German general staff decided to take action as defeat seemed more and more certain.
In preparation for peace talks with the Allies, they plotted Operation Valkyrie, Adolf Hitler‘s death, and the collapse of the Third Reich. German resistance members made their last effort to overthrow Hitler in a conspiracy on July 20, 1944. Hitler was unharmed by the explosion, and the coup’s plotters were promptly arrested and put to death. Then, Heinrich Himmler and the Gestapo led a wave of brutal repression against any and all opponents.
Why Was Operation Valkyrie Planned?
The Nazi Party was established in February 1920, a time of political and economic unrest, and came to power on January 30, 1933. Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of the Reich in a Germany devastated by the Great Depression. When President Hindenburg passed away on August 2, 1934, he took over as head of state. This selection as the new German leader under the title of “Führer” ultimately led to the demise of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Third Reich.
Eventually, the Nazi Party was recognized as the only legitimate political organization in Germany. After Hitler’s invasion of Poland and Stalin’s subsequent signing of the German-Soviet Pact, World War II officially began that year. Starting in 1943, Germany saw a string of military defeats that ultimately undermined the Führer’s position. Hitler had been the victim of multiple failed assassination attempts dating back to 1938.
The assassination and putsch attempt known as “Operation Valkyrie” failed to kill Adolf Hitler. The conspirators wanted to remove the Nazi system so that law and order could be restored, the Führer’s dictatorship could be ended, the war could be turned back against Germany, and peace could be speedily negotiated with the Allies.
Who Were Operation Valkyrie’s Organizers?
Claus von Stauffenberg.
Officers in the German Wehrmacht and some of their country’s leading thinkers conceptualized and planned Operation Valkyrie. Some of the general staff disapproved of Führer’s choices after Stalingrad. The Third Reich’s downfall seemed imminent, yet they still tried to rescue everything they could. They quickly became a part of the Kreisau Circle, a group of 1938-formed intellectuals who discussed life in a post-Nazi Germany.
Generals Olbricht and Fromm were among the several high-ranking commanders involved in the plot. Included in this group were Henning von Tresckow, Rudolf-Christoph von Gersdorff, Werner von Haeften, and Claus von Stauffenberg. They were essential to Operation Valkyrie since they were responsible for Hitler’s assassination. Furthermore, former chief of staff Ludwig Beck and former mayor of Leipzig Carl Goerdeler were also engaged.
The scheme also included assistance from other members of the internal resistance against the Nazis. Among them were Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, Eugen Gerstenmaier, and Helmuth James von Moltke.
What Were the Preparations for Operation Valkyrie?
Operation Valkyrie Telex declaring Hitler’s death. Image: German Bundesarchiv.
People generally agree that there were two major phases to the failed putsch on July 20, 1944. The first was the assassination of Adolf Hitler; the second was the seizure of power and the establishment of a new regime. It was in the summer of 1943 that General von Tresckow and Count von Stauffenberg agreed to resurrect an emergency plan from 1940 called Operation Valkyrie. The idea was to employ General Fromm’s reserve force to seize control of the key cities.
With his promotion to Chief of Staff on July 1, 1944, Claus von Stauffenberg gained access to Hitler and his inner circle. Attending meetings in the Führer’s primary residences of Berghof and Wolfsschanze on July 6, 11, and 15. Three times he had explosives with him but chose not to detonate them, mostly because Himmler was not around. Before Hitler was killed, the conspirators hatched a plan for a transitional administration to take power when the Nazis were toppled. Key posts were held by Ludwig Beck, the Reich President, and Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, the Chancellor of the Reich. As the coup approached on July 19, General Olbricht sent a warning to the key conspirators.
How Did the Assassination Attempt of July 20, 1944 Unfold?
Adolf Hitler’s pants after the assassination attempt.
Colonel von Stauffenberg and Oberleutnant von Haeften traveled to the Wolfsschanze in Rastenburg, East Prussia, on July 20, 1944. Upon entering the “Wolf’s Lair,” they were informed that their scheduled meeting with Hitler had been moved forward in anticipation of Mussolini’s arrival. When only one of the two explosives intended for the assault could be detonated in time, Stauffenberg gave the other, still unprimed, to Haeften. Once inside, he positioned the bomb beneath the table at the Führer’s feet. On the other hand, an officer pushed the briefcase too far, and it slid under the table and became stuck behind a sturdy leg.
The colonel vanished suddenly, and the bomb went off at 12:42. Four individuals were killed, although nobody was really targeted. Lucky for him, Adolf Hitler escaped with just minor wounds, including scrapes and minor burns. Even after seeing the magnitude of the destruction, Stauffenberg and Haeften left the Wolfsschanze certain that their assault had been successful. At 1:15 p.m., they boarded a plane to Berlin in preparation for the start of Operation Valkyrie, with the assumption that Hitler had already been assassinated.
How Did the Attempted Coup d’état of July 20, 1944 Take Place?
Although several conspirators were holding a meeting in Berlin, the situation was unclear for a while in the afternoon. If the assault had happened, and if Hitler had survived, the details were murky. Friedrich Olbricht went against General Fellgiebel’s recommendation and postponed the measure. In the afternoon, at about 4:30, they were joined by Stauffenberg and Haeften, who confirmed the Führer’s death. At long last, Operation Valkyrie got underway.
The coup plotters seized government buildings and detained SS members from Paris to Prague. Yet again, the operation was a failure since not all cops were given their instructions. The Bendlerblock, where the Wehrmacht was commanded, was the meeting place for the chief conspirators. However, Hitler was informed of the scheme, and word of his survival reached Berlin very soon. In Prague, Vienna, and Paris, supporters of the military putsch halted activities due to widespread chaos. The Bendlerblock was encircled by Führer forces at about 11 p.m. There had been no success in the coup.
What Were the Results of Operation Valkyrie?
After finding that Hitler was still alive, General Fromm, who was in charge of the reserve army, turned against the conspirators. Just before midnight, he ordered his soldiers inside the Bendlerblock and arrested everyone there. He had his erstwhile associates, including Olbricht, Haeften, Stauffenberg, and Beck, killed quickly to keep them from betraying him. The Führer made a radio address the following day, promising the total destruction of the traitors. Due to the defeat of Operation Valkyrie, the German resistance was put through brutal repression.
Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS and Gestapo, orchestrated this. Nearly 5,000 alleged regime opponents were imprisoned, tortured, and prosecuted by the Nazis in the weeks that followed. Following their trials, several of them were executed by hanging in Reich prisons. Most of the conspirators were given death sentences and put to death by Judge Roland Freisler. A few of them, like Henning von Tresckow and Günther von Kluge, took their own lives instead. Their families were sent to extermination camps, where most of the conspirators perished. It was the height of Nazi horror.
What Were the Reactions to Operation Valkyrie?
The failure of Operation Valkyrie further strengthened Adolf Hitler’s standing in the eyes of the people, and the conspirators’ goal of bringing down the Third Reich only made it more authoritarian. Fearful of the impending arrival of the Red Army, the population and the military united behind their Führer. The Wehrmacht was subjugated, and the traditional military salute was substituted with the Nazi salute. Support for Hitler became strong in Germany as political indoctrination and Nazi propaganda reached unprecedented heights.
Nonetheless, the action was seen from afar by the Allies and Russia. Ten years later, in 1952, at the conclusion of the Remer trial, those responsible for the attempt on Hitler were hailed as heroes. Angela Merkel paid tribute to them and opened a permanent exhibit at the German Resistance Memorial on June 28th, 2014. Their deaths had shown the world that German officers opposed the Nazis.
The Battle of Kursk, fought in western Russia from July 5 to July 13, 1943, was a defining moment of World War II. As the largest tank battle in history, it involved over 2 million men and over 3,000 Russian and German tanks. More than 100,000 Nazi soldiers died in the final large-scale offensive attempt on the Eastern Front, and Adolf Hitler suffered irreparable losses to his armored divisions, which had been unbeatable up until that point. The Soviet Union’s victory demonstrated to the world that the German Panzerwaffe was vulnerable to attack. Peaceful conditions improved to the point where the great liberating offensives of 1944 could be launched.
The Context of the Battle of Kursk
German Panzer IV and Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251).
Since most German units were located in the east, it was only logical that the West German government would intervene against the Soviets. It’s crucial, first and foremost, to put to rest the horrors of Stalingrad (the Battle of Stalingrad), but it’s also important to bring back Germany’s struggling allies (be it Italy, Hungary, or Romania). In addition to protecting “Fortress Europe” (Festung Europa), Hitler planned to bleed to death a Soviet Union that he believed had been weakened by two years of war with a new successful offensive in the east.
The real start-up of the war economy (the famous Totaler Krieg of Goebbels’ speech of February 1943) organized by Speer was likely to reinforce Berlin’s optimism. This allowed the Germans to reassemble their best offensive weapon: tanks. The latter was fortified and reorganized under the leadership of General Guderian (who became Inspector General of Armor), who drew inspiration from his experiences fighting Soviet armored formations (and their famous T-34). Hitler had high hopes for new equipment like the Tiger tank and the Panther tank, which could take on the most powerful Soviet armored vehicles.
In 1943, the Allies decided to launch an offensive somewhere in the eastern hemisphere. If you look at a map of the front from that period, you’ll see that the answer is obvious: Kursk. The winter Soviet offensives did create a salient, roughly 180 km (north to south) by 140 km (east to west). Kursk, a major railroad hub in the middle, provided the Red Army with a strong foothold from which to launch attacks south (Kharkov) or north (Moscow) (Orel).
The German high command hoped that by attacking Kursk preemptively, they could shorten Stalin’s front by about 280 kilometers and thus deprive him of his best troops (the Central Front and the Voronezh Front), an economy of about twenty divisions. Due to the salient’s shape, Operation Citadel will resemble a traditional pincer movement. In the south, Field Marshal von Manstein’s army group was in charge of a “pincer” maneuver.
Hitler had faith in Manstein because of his ability to turn around hopeless situations, and he did so by arranging impressive formations on paper. Hermann Hoth’s Fourth Armored Army, on the left, consists of 10 divisions, 200,000 men, and around 1100 armored vehicles (including the elite of the armored and mechanized formations, such as the SS Armored Corps of Hausser). This is a detachment of the Kempf army, on the right, with three mechanized brigades. General Model’s 9th Army was in charge of the northern end of the pincer. Model, a defense expert who was popular with his troops but particularly harsh, fielded 21 divisions, 335 thousand men, and nearly 900 armored vehicles.
It became immediately clear that Manstein’s units would be responsible for the bulk of the offensive effort due to the temperament of the two concerned leaders and the disparity of their forces (and the air support that could be offered by a Luftwaffe already reduced by the lack of fuel). The victor of Sevastopol, in contrast to Model, was confident that his tanks could breach the Soviet defensive system’s fortifications and depth. Weak German intelligence was the cause of an overconfident outlook.
The Citadel of Stalin
Zhukov with Ivan Konev, commander of the Steppe Front, during the Battle of Kursk. CC BY 4.0.
The German military intelligence consistently underestimates the strength of the Red Army throughout the German-Soviet war. However, the partisans and an advanced eavesdropping system meant that the Soviets, despite their reputation as disinformation experts, were in the dark about German intentions. That allowed them to construct a strong defense. Beginning in March of 1943, more than 300,000 troops and civilians in the Kursk region set up eight defense lines, each one 300 kilometers in depth.
The German attack formations were supposed to be channeled by the trenches, minefields, and fortified points, and then destroyed by the armored reserves. The entire operation was kept secret using tried and true maskirovka methods, which was why the Germans had no idea of the full extent of the resistance mounted against them. Without a doubt, Model would have hesitated to launch the attack with his 9th army if he had known that he would have to face 80,000 mines, 2800 artillery pieces, and 537 multiple rocket launchers.
Stalin, who had recently granted Soviet generals greater autonomy, had obviously devoted a large amount of resources to protecting the Kursk salient. So that he can develop his own offensives (primarily Operation Kutusov towards Orel) in peace, the master of the USSR plans to make this salient a fixation point for the best German units. Central Front was led by General Rokossovski (Polish-born and a victim of the purges of 1937), who was stationed in the north to face Model. In order to complete his mission, the brilliant officer had access to multiple armies, or a total of 700,000 men and 1,800 armored vehicles (Soviet armies and divisions were smaller than their German counterparts). Rokossoskvi had time on his side and the option to use the reserves Stalin prudently amassed on his back if Model needs to break through in two days.
Young general Vatutin’s (42 years old) Voronezh Front is aligned with Manstein. Vatutin, a local who was familiar with his opponent, had a total of six armies at his disposal (two of which would not be attacked and would serve as reserves). There were a total of 1700 tanks and 625,000 men represented here. Not enough to stop Manstein’s offensive, but sufficient to set up a devastating counterattack. In fact, Vatutin, like Rokossovski, was aware that, in the long run, he can count on the assistance of two reserve groups he had amassed (including the Steppe Front) in order to counter the salient. The STAVKA (Soviet High Command) will send their two best officers, the brutal Zhukov and the level-headed Vassilievsky, to Kursk to coordinate their actions. A dynamic duo whose skillsets perfectly complement one another, able to hold their own against their Germanic rivals.
Two Weeks to Change the Course of the War
Battle of Kursk (map).
Operation Citadel’s official launch date was finally settled on July 4th, 1943, after several delays caused in part by Hitler’s desire to supply his armored formations with the latest equipment (Panthers tanks, among others). With four months of planning and practice under their belts, the Luftwaffe Stukas will fly into action at 4 o’clock. The objective was to set up for the on-the-ground charge of Hoth’s 4th armored army.
Vatutin was unfazed by the brutality of the mechanized attack and maintains his composure. Russian defenses were strong because they were positioned on higher ground. The Soviet Union’s counterbattery fire and minefields were both highly effective. When the Luftwaffe took to the skies, the red-star planes severely hampered their ability to fight. But Hoth’s woes were compounded by the fact that the 200 Panthers making up its front line have been plagued by persistent mechanical issues. While in 1941 it would have been several dozen kilometers, on the evening of July 6 it was only a few kilometers.
Model had an even more trying time of it than everyone else. The 9th Army commander wisely followed the Soviet playbook and went in with infantry, later exploiting the situation with tanks (while Hoth rushes with its armor in the lead … to the Germans). Nonetheless, the implementation of these units was hampered by the activity of an admirably informed Soviet artillery late on the night of the 4th/5th (by deserters, among others). The Red Army’s resistance was strong, and the minefields significantly slowed the German advance, just as they had in the south. The 9th Army, at a cost of nearly 10% of its potential, broke through a 20 km wide and 7 km deep corner on the evening of July 5. The 6th Rokossovski had already begun their counterattack, so it would be a waste of money and a poor use of their time. Even though the Soviets suffer heavy casualties due to the poorly coordinated attack, the 9th army only loses a day. Sufficient time for Rokossovski to reflect on his setback and rethink his approach.
The Last German Great Eastern Offensive at Kursk
Soviet troops of the Voronezh Front counterattacking behind T-34 tanks at Prokhorovka, 12 July 1943.
By July 6, the Germans learn some encouraging news from the south. The 2nd SS armored corps (Hausser) was given the opportunity to attack in a poorly guarded area and made its way through toward Prokhorovka. The other Hoth army corps joined the breakthrough on the 7th, and the entire 2nd Soviet defense line was broken. As a result of the crisis, Stalin sent a large number of reserve formations, including the 5th Tank Army of Romistrov’s Guard, and Vatutin’s general staff was forced to respond (from Voronezh). Stalin had reason to be optimistic about continuing the operations despite Vatutin’s concerns. Even though the Hoth armored army had great success, the Kempf army detachment almost stalled in the north.
The 9th Army’s formations were showing signs of wear and tear due to constant bombing by Soviet aircraft. The strongest sectors of Rokossovski’s system were surrendered on July 9 by a Model that was unable to maneuver and was stuck in a logic of frontal assault. Model, a defense expert, realized right away that he was at a loss. On July 12, his superior, Marshal Von Kluge (Army Group Center), worried about his northern flank, ordered him to begin withdrawing. Half of the Battle of Kursk had been won by the Soviets at that point.
Therefore, the onus fell upon von Manstein to turn the tide. To be sure, he was upbeat because he had no idea how significant the Soviet Union’s upcoming reserves were. Hoth, frustrated by the positioning of Soviet forces, spends September 9th through 12th making his way to Prokhorovka, where the Schutzstaffel (SS) Panzers appear to have cleared the road. Killing Vatutin’s armored reserve would clear the way to Kursk, which was why he plans to do it. Nonetheless, the onslaught of Romistrov’s Guards tanks caught him and Hausser’s SS by surprise.
On July 12, the finest Soviet and German armored weapons will face off along a front of 8 km on both sides of the local railroad. Most recent studies agree that Prokhorovka was not the “swan song of the Panzerwaffe,” despite the fact that the battle was made out to be much more difficult than it actually was by Soviet propaganda. Although the SS armor was victorious on the defensive to some extent, they were unable to take the Prokhorovka railway junction due to heavy casualties and a lack of reinforcements.
Hitler called Manstein and Kluge to his headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia on the 13th. Though he was troubled by Hausser’s demise, he was even more so by some other information. The Western Allies had landed in Sicily and taken Syracuse three days prior. The Italian defense had been so ineffective that the island may as well be abandoned for the time being.
Thus, Hitler was compelled to organize a reserve army to protect the southern flank of Fortress Europe. This force could only count on the political stability of Hausser’s SS. The planet of Hoth cannot make significant progress without its spearhead. As a result, on the 17th, work on the Citadel was permanently halted. The gamble didn’t pay off, and the Führer had lost the upper hand on the Eastern Front. As a result, the German armies had no choice but to withdraw.
A Critical Moment in World War II
A major setback for the Hitler Reich was the inability of the Germans to take Kursk and completely destroy the Central and Voronezh Fronts. Although the Eastern Front did not shrink, the Red Army’s operational situation improved thanks to the creation of a strategic reserve. Worse, the Soviets still went ahead with Operation Kutusov on July 12 after Operation Citadel cost them 250,000 men against 60,000 Germans.
The myth of German invincibility was put to rest at Kursk. In the summer of 1943, the Red Army begins its campaign with a renewed vigor and the assurance that comes from knowing it can hold its own in mechanized combat. It had run out of chances to win.
Bibliography:
Healy, Mark (1992). Kursk 1943: Tide Turns in the East. London: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-85532-211-0.
Jentz, Thomas (1995). Germany’s Panther Tank. Atglen: Schiffer Pub. ISBN 0-88740-812-5.
Jacobsen, Hans Adolf; Rohwer, Jürgen (1965). Decisive battles of World War II; the German view. New York, NY: Putnam. OCLC 1171523193.
Following France’s defeat at the hands of Germany in World War II, the Third Republic was replaced by Vichy France on July 10, 1940. Marshal Pétain was granted absolute power and promptly established the “French State,” relocating his government to the free zone city of Vichy. The marshal then took center stage as World War I‘s heroic “providential man,” the man who would help France recover from its devastating loss to Germany, which had occupied the country’s northern and western regions.
With daily interactions with the Germans, the Marshal used all the power at his disposal to introduce new principles; this was collaboration. The Germans evacuated France upon the arrival of the Allies on August 20, 1944, and General de Gaulle assumed the presidency of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, bringing an end to the Vichy regime.
How Did the Vichy Regime Collaborate With Germany?
Personal flag of Philippe Pétain, Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l’État Français).
The “French State,” or Vichy France, was nominally independent after the German occupier handed over administration of France to them. Towards the end of October 1940, Philippe Pétain gave a speech in which he openly supported collaboration. There was a meeting between Hitler and the Marshal in Montoire-sur-le-Loir on October 24th, 1940. Immediately following the German invasion of the free zone on November 11, 1942, collaboration intensified. Compulsory Work Service (Service du travail obligatoire, STO), increased repression of opponents, establishment of the SOL (Legionary Order Service) and then the French Militia, economic measures favoring Germany, etc. all served German ideology under the Vichy regime. Moreover, anti-Semitic laws (such as the mandatory wearing of the yellow star and the confiscation of property) were enacted, as well as the establishment of a General Commissariat for Jewish Questions (CGQJ) and Jewish roundups like the Vel’ d’Hiv’.
Was the Vichy France an Anti-republican Regime?
The anti-republican Vichy regime had Marshal Pétain exercising legislative and executive powers and had abolished Parliament. It was a dictatorship, in which one man made all the decisions without consulting the people. The regime’s anti-republican tenor was bolstered in 1943 when a militia was formed to combat resistance fighters and apprehend Jews. After a short period of time, references to the “French Republic” were removed from all government publications.
What Was the Composition of the Vichy Government?
Secretary of State members served alongside French President Philippe Pétain. François Darlan succeeded Pierre-Étienne Flandin as Vice President of the Council after Pierre Laval stepped down. In April 1942, Pierre Laval became the Head of Government of Vichy France, a position he combined with his duties as Minister of the Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Information. Financial Minister Yves Bouthillier was succeeded by Pierre Cathala. Pierre Pucheu (Minister of the Interior) and Paul Baudouin (Minister of Foreign Affairs and then Minister of Information) were just two examples of the many different people who have held high offices in France. There were then separate ministers of state in charge of the air force, the navy, and the war.
What Were the Symbols of the Vichy France?
Propaganda image with the motto and Philippe Pétain above a scene of rural and industrial France.
The motto “Travail, Famille, Patrie” (Work, Family, Homeland) replaced the French Republic’s former motto of “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity) as the defining symbol of the Vichy regime, its ideology of “national revolution,” and its new moral order.
Official emblem of Marshal Pétain and de facto coat of arms of the Vichy regime.
The francisque, the national symbol, comes next. It’s a battle axe with both sides decorated in the blue, white, and red of France, and it’s been kept in mint condition. It was used on all government publications, advertisements, and trophies. The song “Maréchal, nous voilà!” was taught to every schoolchild in Vichy France and quickly became the unofficial anthem of the regime.
KEY DATES IN VICHY FRANCE
April 5, 1939 – Albert Lebrun was re-elected President of the Republic
The newly re-elected French President Albert Lebrun fought against signing an armistice with Adolf Hitler’s Germany. Eventually, he had to cede power to Marshal Pétain, who was elected president of the Council. In the end, authorities in the Austrian Tyrol captured and imprisoned Albert Lebrun.
Pétain was elected Council President on June 16, 1940
Pétain served as President of the Council of the Third Republic prior to becoming head of state of France (Vichy regime). On the same day he took office, he was replaced by a government formed after Paul Reynaud’s resignation. As required by the Constitution, this change had taken place.
When Pétain was in charge, his administration went by that name. The Marshal was already 84 years old. After signing the armistice on June 22, 1940, Philippe Pétain immediately established a new government in Vichy.
France and Germany sign an armistice on June 22, 1940
France’s Council President Philippe Pétain officially ends hostilities with Germany. The country of France was effectively divided in half, with the northern and western regions under German control and the southern region remaining independent. There was a line drawn in the sand that divided the two halves. The Marshal set up his new government in the southern city of Vichy.
July 2, 1940 – The Pétain government settled in Vichy
Pétain’s government established its headquarters in the free zone city of Vichy. Considering its proximity to the demarcation line with the occupied zone and its convenient train connections to Paris, this was a calculated move. The hotel’s facilities also made it simple to house the government officials. Since the government settled here, its rule was known as the Vichy regime.
French State was founded by Pétain on July 10, 1940
On this day, the “French State” officially began. The Third Republic ended when Marshal Pétain was given absolute power by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Assembly business was settled at the Grand Casino in Vichy. There were 569 in favor of Marshal Pétain and 80 opposed; 19 people didn’t vote. To legitimize the establishment of the “French State,” now known as the Vichy France, a new constitution was enacted. “Work, Family, Country” became the new national motto of France.
July 12, 1940 – Pierre Laval vice-president of the Council
Phillipe Pétain named Pierre Laval vice president of the Council and his successor on July 12. After the Allies won the war in Europe in August 1944, the “French State” was no more.
Churchill officially recognized de Gaulle as the legitimate leader of France on August 7th, 1940
Churchill’s official endorsement gave General de Gaulle the confidence he needed to take decisive action. Britain officially recognized the independence of the Free French Forces (FFL) after he signed agreements with Churchill on that day. Agreements like these provided the FFL with the funds it needed to take action and ensured that French possessions would be returned upon the country’s liberation.
Léon Blum was taken into custody on September 15, 1940
Léon Blum, the founder of major social laws and the Popular Front’s president in 1936, voted against giving Marshal Pétain full powers on July 10, 1940. As both a Jew and a socialist, he was targeted for arrest by the Vichy regime on September 15 and sent to Chazeron prison, where he attempted to coordinate resistance efforts from behind bars. After being tried in Riom and found guilty of leading France to defeat, he was turned over to the Germans and sent to Buchenwald.
Position of Jews in the Neutral Zone as of October 3, 1940
The Vichy government issued a new law regarding the status of Jews without any influence from the Nazi regime. According to Article 1, a person was considered Jewish if they have at least three Jewish grandparents or two non-Jewish grandparents whose spouse was Jewish. This was the first of a series of measures that will progressively worsen over time. Jews were restricted from working in many fields. Marshal Pétain’s collaboration led to the deportation of 75,721, including 6,012 children.
Pétain and Hitler shake hands on October 24, 1940
This handshake took place at the Montoire meeting and was captured on film forever. This was a visual representation of the Nazi regime’s cooperation with the Vichy government. After their interview at the train station, Hitler and Pétain continued their discussion in Hitler’s private carriage. On October 30, Pétain addressed the French people and urged them to “collaborate,” explaining that he had sought to improve France’s situation with the war’s victor.
December 13, 1940: Pierre Laval was dismissed
After being accused of having too close of ties to Germany, Philippe Pétain removed Pierre Laval as vice president of the Council and put him under house arrest. Adolf Hitler did not agree with the new Vichy government leader, so he had Laval released. In April of 1942, Pierre Laval regained prominence when he was appointed prime minister, foreign minister, interior minister, and minister of information all at the same time.
French strike ban on October 4, 1941
The law of October 4, 1941, known as the “Labor Charter”, was passed by the Vichy regime. It prohibited strikes and established the principle of single, compulsory unions.
The Riom trial began on February 19, 1942
On February 19, 1942, the Vichy regime initiated the Riom trial in an effort to establish the guilt of Third Republic politicians for the defeat of 1940. The likes of Léon Blum and Édouard Daladier, among others, were among those who stood accused. However, the defense presented compelling evidence that the loss was a result of military failure rather than political missteps. The trial was put on hold because it did not result in an indictment. With his newfound authority, Marshal Pétain decided to hand down a conviction himself.
22 February 1942 – Creation of the Service d’Ordre Légionnaire (SOL)
Joseph Darnand established the “Service d’Ordre Légionnaire” (Legionary Order Service) on February 22, 1942. They were a Vichy regime military group. They took an oath to “fight against democracy and the Jewish leprosy” and pledged their allegiance to the Nazi regime in exchange for membership in this openly collaborator army. After initially supporting the Vichy regime, the Service d’ordre légionnaire eventually broke away and aligned itself with less extreme collaborationist regimes. Joseph Darnand continued to lead the SOL after it morphed into the French Militia in 1943.
Vel’ d’Hiv’ raid, 17 July, 1942
A total of over 13,000 Jews, including around 4,100 children, were arrested in the Paris area overnight. René Bousquet, the French police’s General Secretary, was the one to carry out the order from the Vichy government. The Vel’ d’Hiv’ round-up got its name from the days the prisoners were stacked up at the Velodrome d’Hiver. Their next stop was Drancy, before they were shipped off to Auschwitz.
German forces invade the free zone on November 11, 1942
To counter the Allied invasion of North Africa, Adolf Hitler launched “Operation Attila” against France on November 8. The Germans invaded the southern part of the country, which had been a “free zone,” despite the name. Germany exerted full control and influence over the Vichy government.
February 16, 1943 – Institution of the STO
Vichy France passed a law instituting the Obligatory Labor Service because the “relief” and volunteer systems weren’t enough to meet German demand for labor. Every single man between the ages of 21 and 23 was shipped off to Germany to work for a total of four years. Some of the young men, however, defied the authority. People who didn’t want to sign the STO formed the maquis.
April 26, 1945 – Pétain took himself prisoner
Philippe Pétain, facing charges of “intelligence with the enemy” and “high treason,” decided to surrender as a prisoner in Switzerland. A few months later, there was no question about the verdict: he was sentenced to death. The sentence was changed from death to life in prison by General de Gaulle.
July 23, 1945 – Philippe Pétain’s trial opens
Marshal Pétain, a hero of World War I, went on trial in the High Court of Justice on July 23, 1945. In his trial, where he remained silent, questions were raised about his possible collaboration and his reasons for sparing France. It took a long time, but he was ultimately found guilty and given the death penalty. He was given a life sentence instead of death because General de Gaulle intervened on his behalf.
October 4, 1945: Pierre Laval’s trial opens
Pierre Laval, who had no idea how unpopular he was, learned the hard way during his trial, when he was subjected to jeers and insults from the crowd. The trial was hastily wrapped up, and the defendant was found guilty of high treason and conspiracy against the internal security of the State. For this reason, Pierre Laval was given the death penalty.
