2023-07-20 13:27:38
On July 20, 1944, Germans attempted to overthrow dictator Adolf Hitler, end the war, and restore the rule of law. The coup failed, within a short time a large number of the 200 or so resisters were arrested and many were executed, including one of the leading figures in the coup d’état, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. He had tried to kill Hitler with a bomb in his “Wolfsschanze” war quarters.
The dictator survived the attack, the regime held out. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians died in the months that followed until the German surrender in May 1945. Despite its failure, the military and civilian resistance was formative for post-war Germany and gave the Bundeswehr a tradition. In the courtyard of the Bendlerblock at today’s Ministry of Defense, politicians, family members and guests recalled what happened 79 years ago. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) spoke alongside the Chairman of the July 20, 1944 Foundation, Robert von Steinau-Steinrück, and the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegener.
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The resistance fighters knew how slim the chances of success were and they wrestled with themselves. “The action was not pointless, they set a sign for the country and history that there was another Germany. They are still a role model for us today and they will remain so,” said Pistorius. “This commemoration is not an end in itself, it is a promise that the sacrifice of the resistance fighters was not in vain,” said Pistorius, who turned against those who abused the resulting right of resistance in the Basic Law for their illegal, anti-democratic actions.
The rule of law is now under pressure from both inside and outside. According to Pistorius, autocrats and anti-democrats are gaining strength everywhere. “Hate, hate speech and violence are taking on proportions that endanger democracy. These are wake-up calls, alarm signals. We must defend ourselves against this with all means of the democratic constitutional state”. But answers must also be found “to the question of why people are losing faith in democracy,” said the SPD politician.
Pistorius paid tribute to Ukraine’s struggle for freedom and pledged continued support. The armed forces are committed to resistance against the tyrant and not to the Wehrmacht, whose generals and officers overwhelmingly remained loyal to the “Führer” until the end. The day began in the morning with a mass and commemoration at the execution site in Plötzensee, and in the late afternoon around 400 recruits from the armed forces were to take the oath on the Basic Law on the parade ground in front of the Ministry of Defense.
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