ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
The Death of Kissing - DAY BEFORE:
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Hollywood's Iconic Landmark - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
The Sun Sets on 'Eldorado'
ON THIS DAY
Let's Assassinate Hitler
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a suitcase bomb on 20th July, 1944. He failed. The plan — bold, desperate, and nearly successful — was part of Operation Valkyrie, a broader scheme to take control of Germany after Hitler’s death and steer the country away from what many military officers feared was total destruction.
The near-success hinged on a moment of unfortunate timing and misplaced luggage. Stauffenberg, who had lost an eye, a hand, and fingers in earlier combat, struggled to arm both bombs due to his injuries. He managed just one, planted it near Hitler, and scarpered. But then Lt. Colonel Heinz Brandt, unaware of what lay inside the suitcase, moved it to the far side of a thick oak table leg — shielding Hitler from the worst of the blast. The explosion still left the Führer bruised and temporarily deaf, but alive. And so the plan unraveled.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how news of the plot triggered simultaneous action across Europe; track Hitler’s swift and horrific vengeance against those involved in the putsch; and consider THE great armchair philosophical quandary: would you go back in time and kill Hitler…?
Content Warning: includes graphic description of executions.
Further Reading:
• ‘Claus Von Stauffenberg & Operation Valkyrie | The Plot To Kill Hitler’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/should-we-be-glad-the-plot-to-kill-hitler-failed/
• ‘Why Operation Valkyrie—the July Plot to Kill Hitler—Failed’ (TIME, 2019): https://time.com/5629999/operation-valkyrie-july-plot/
• ‘The Wolf’s Lair: Hitler’s Hidden Hideout | WWII: Secrets From Above’ (National Geographic UK, 2024):
ON THIS DAY
Let's Assassinate Hitler
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a suitcase bomb on 20th July, 1944. He failed. The plan — bold, desperate, and nearly successful — was part of Operation Valkyrie, a broader scheme to take control of Germany after Hitler’s death and steer the country away from what many military officers feared was total destruction.
The near-success hinged on a moment of unfortunate timing and misplaced luggage. Stauffenberg, who had lost an eye, a hand, and fingers in earlier combat, struggled to arm both bombs due to his injuries. He managed just one, planted it near Hitler, and scarpered. But then Lt. Colonel Heinz Brandt, unaware of what lay inside the suitcase, moved it to the far side of a thick oak table leg — shielding Hitler from the worst of the blast. The explosion still left the Führer bruised and temporarily deaf, but alive. And so the plan unraveled.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how news of the plot triggered simultaneous action across Europe; track Hitler’s swift and horrific vengeance against those involved in the putsch; and consider THE great armchair philosophical quandary: would you go back in time and kill Hitler…?
Content Warning: includes graphic description of executions.
Further Reading:
• ‘Claus Von Stauffenberg & Operation Valkyrie | The Plot To Kill Hitler’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/should-we-be-glad-the-plot-to-kill-hitler-failed/
• ‘Why Operation Valkyrie—the July Plot to Kill Hitler—Failed’ (TIME, 2019): https://time.com/5629999/operation-valkyrie-july-plot/
• ‘The Wolf’s Lair: Hitler’s Hidden Hideout | WWII: Secrets From Above’ (National Geographic UK, 2024):
ON PREVIOUS DAYS:
- YESTERDAY:
The Death of Kissing - DAY BEFORE:
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! - DAY BEFORE THAT:
Hollywood's Iconic Landmark - DAY BEFORE BEFORE THAT:
The Sun Sets on 'Eldorado'
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OLLY MANN
Olly Mann made his name with another trivia-wielding podcast, Answer Me This! with Helen Zaltzman – and now presents The Modern Mann, The Week Unwrapped, and Four Thought for BBC Radio Four. He also has an A-Level in History, so Dan Snow beware.
REBECCA MESSINA
Rebecca got a passion for podcasting working at The Week magazine and a passion for trivia appearing on University Challenge in 2011, making The Retrospectors her natural home.
ARION MCNICOLL
Arion started out in satirical news in Australia, then moved to the UK to work for ostensibly serious publications including The Times, CNN, and The Week… before realising that since around 2016 the news has all been satire really.
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