The Führer´s promises of peace and prosperity have fallen by the wayside, leaving in their wake a path of carnage and destruction. My duty as an officer is no longer to save my nation, but to save humanity. In order to accomplish this, I, Coronel Claus von Stauffenberg, have rewritten and polished Operation Valkyrie; a plan formerly designed by Adolf Hitler. Eliminating the Wolf, ending the war and establishing an improved government are they key steps to unshackle Germany from the binding chains of the Third Reich. The thought of defeating the Reichskanzler through a plan idealized by himself may seem foolish, perhaps even reckless. I call it ironic. In order to assure the success of Operation Valkyrie, it´s author must be assassinated. Though bombs have proved inefficient in the past, no other weaponry has been deemed as …show more content…
The world’s fate will be balanced between our hands. Based upon the election of our new leader and the success of Operation Valkyrie, we can end this fatal chapter in humanity’s history. We can end the war. By surrendering our weapons, and coercing the Imperial Japanese Army and our other allies to follow, violence will seize. The murder of thousands of innocent civilians will halt. Through a guided dialogue, peace will be achieved. Our duty as soldiers and officers will be done, gentlemen. We would have saved humanity. Despite our devoted service to men, not everyone will consider us heroes. Theories, conspiracies are rising. Those who support the Third Reich and have heard about possible revolutions all assure one thing: We are hungry for power. Those who support the Fuhrer claim we are no better than him. We’ll prove them wrong, gentlemen. We could and would have been Adolf Hitler’s innermost circle. Instead, we refused. People, whether they wish to admit it or not, know we put our principles above personal gain. We risk our lives for the free Germany. We sacrifice ourselves for the free
On Hitler’s Mountain is a memoir of a child named Irmgard Hunt and her experiences growing up in Nazi Germany. She herself has had many experiences of living during that dark time, she actually met Hitler, had a grandfather who hated Hitler's rule, and had no thoughts or feelings about the Nazi rule until the end of WWII. Her memoir is a reminder of what can happen when an ordinary society chooses a cult of personality over rational thought. What has happened to the German people since then, what are they doing about it today and how do they feel about their past? Several decades later, with most Nazis now dead or in hiding, and despite how much Germany has done to prevent another Nazi rule, everyone is still ashamed of their ancestors’ pasts.
The Russo-Japanese War has many lessons to offer and this essay has discussed the three most enduring lessons about war termination in a conflict for limited aims. History has and will likely continue to show us the inherent difficulties of successful and durable war termination. The leadership foresight needed to pre-plan war termination that achieves the political goal is often beyond the capabilities of countries and their leadership. The Japanese provide us with a rare scenario where their pre-war plan was nearly identical to the post war results. As a result, the Russo-Japanese War can offer current planners and leaders several valuable lessons on war strategy, planning and termination that are still relevant to today’s conflicts.
Maier, Wendy A. "Adolf Hitler." In World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2005. Accessed February 4, 2014. http://worldatwar.abc-clio.com/.
Operation Valkyrie was an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. After many aborted attempts of the assassination, Claus von Stauffenburg carried a briefcase with a ticking bomb inside into a conference room with Hitler and about twenty others. Stauffenburg and the other plotters planned to kill Hitler and take over the German government to assume control of the government, end eventually end the war. Even though Germany was already committed to World War II, Operation Valkyrie would have altered the course of the war, had it been successful.
General Blaskowitz, Commander of German Army Group G had an extremely challenging task of balancing operational factors to achieve his organization’s assigned objectives. The German leader, Adolf Hitler, and his German armed forces high command OKW had a desired end state of German dominance of Europe. In order to achieve this desired end state the theater strategic objective for OB West, the German theater command was the defense of France, both from the ongoing Allied invasion in Normandy and an anticipated Allied amphibious assault in Southern France. General Blaskowitz’s operational objective, as directed from Hitler and the German high command, was to defend Southern France, with the mission of “holding the coast at all costs.” (pg. 16)
The benefits that the bomb had on our society have been invaluable. Permitting the use of the atomic bomb was an atrocious mistake.In John Hersey's book, Hiroshima, he interviews a German priest serving in Japan. This priest, Father Kleinsorge, provides a first hand account of the immorality, justification, and consequences thereof; “The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable even when it s...
Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: a History of Nazi Germany. New York:
Even though half of a century separates us from the unforgettable event, it left horrible memories especially in those who saw, felt and experienced World War II which was waged on land, on sea, and in the air all over the earth for approximately six years. Whether it’s a battle, hospital, or holocaust, there are so many stories from the survivors, who can teach us not only about the profession of arms, but also about military preparations, global strategies and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism.
Living in the crumbled remains of Germany, or the Weimar Republic, in the 1920’s was a dismal existence. Hyperinflation was rampant and the national debt skyrocketed as a result of the punishing features of the Treaty of Versailles. During the depression, however, a mysterious Austrian emerged from the depths of the German penal system and gave the desperate German people a glimpse of hope in very dark times. He called for a return to “Fatherland” principles where greater Germany was seen as the center of their universe with zealous pride. Under Hitler’s leadership, Nazi Germany rapidly grew and expanded, continually approaching the goal of world domination and the “Thousand-Year Reich” that Hitler promised the German people. Only a few years later, Nazi Wehrmacht soldiers could be seen marching the streets from Paris to Leningrad (St. Petersburg, Russia). The German Empire, however, like all other expansive empires, had its limits and integral components such as resources, manpower, and industrial capacity began to fall in short supply further crippling the Nazi war machine. Basically, by 1944, “Nazi Germany’s fundamental problem was that she has conquered more territory than she could defend” (Ambrose, 27). Hitler conquered a vast area and vowed to defend every single inch of his empire with every last drop of blood at his disposal. As Frederick the Great warned, “He who defends everything, defends nothing” (Ambrose, 33). It is interesting to study any empire’s rise and fall because similarities are always present, even with some nations today promising to fight the evil, when it reality, it might be becoming what it vows to fight.
Mckale,Donald M.. Hitler’s Shadow War, the Holocaust and World War 2. New York: Cooper Square.2002.Print.
...ings by then, whose memories, fears, and enthusiasms should not be remembered." Thus, unlike the title suggests, this remarkable war memoir is not about one soldier. Instead it refers to the entire German army who were defeated by the Allies. Although the German cause was very controversial, these gentlemen bravely fought for their country. Many men died, many were mutilated, and many more had to forever live with the atrocities they encountered. At war's end, however, they were merely "forgotten" for their failure of success. And although The Forgotten Soldier is an astonishing account of the horrors of infantry warfare, it serves a much greater purpose. It allows the historian to glance into the German experience and realize they too were young men fighting because their nation called upon them, and they deserve to be remembered for such a courageous act.
Life and Death in the Third Reich. 1st Ed. -. ed. a. a. a. a. a. a. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, Harvard UP, 2008.
Shmoop Editorial Team.” Adolf Hitler in World War 2.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Feb. 2014
“Among these dictators was Adolf Hitler, who called on the German masses to restore the national glory that had been damaged by defeat in 1918. He urged German scorn democratic rights and roo...
Although many people across Germany were threatened into believing such hateful Nazi ideas at the time, there were still individuals who took a stand against the mistreatment. Not everyone had the courage to stand up for their beliefs, but those who did are still remembered today for their heroic actions. Whether it’s the Catholic Church that stood up for the disabled, or the Danes that helped to save over 8,000 Jews, it is clear that there are people who are willing to do what they can to stop such cruel behavior. Often times, Hitler’s cruel actions are the only moments that people seem to remember, but it is also uplifting to remember those that were brave enough to stand up against the mistreatment, even though fear was holding them back.