Philipp von Boeselager The only living participant in the failed assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944 Date of Birth: 06.09.1917 Country: Germany

1. The Biography of Philipp von Boeselager
2. The Failed Assassination Attempt
3. Philipp von Boeselager's Role
4. Boeselager's Contribution and Escape
5. Post-War Life

The Biography of Philipp von Boeselager

Philipp von Boeselager is the only surviving participant of the failed assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944. His story has recently become a sensation after he revealed his true role in the operation, codenamed "Valkyrie," to the public during an event in Paris where he received the Legion of Honour.

The Failed Assassination Attempt

On the morning of July 20, 1944, a meeting was held in Hitler's headquarters, the Wolf's Lair, in Rastenburg, East Prussia. The meeting took place in a small wooden house with open windows due to the heat. At 12:42 pm, a powerful explosion occurred, collapsing the ceiling. Three officers and a stenographer were killed, and Hitler himself suffered only minor injuries. The bomb with a timer was planted by Colonel Count Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, a staff officer. He was the only conspirator with access to the Wolf's Lair, a massive underground complex surrounded by barbed wire, mines, and thousands of explosives. Stauffenberg, who had lost his right eye, hand, and two fingers in North Africa, was not the ideal candidate for the mission, but there were no other options, according to Philipp von Boeselager.

Philipp von Boeselager's Role

Stauffenberg entered the room where the meeting was being held, greeted Hitler, and placed the briefcase with the bomb under the table, just two meters away from him. A few minutes later, he excused himself to make a phone call. Colonel Heinz Brandt, who was sitting next to Hitler, moved the briefcase aside with his foot, not realizing its deadly contents. He was killed in the blast, but Hitler survived. Later that evening, Stauffenberg and three of his associates were captured and executed in Berlin. The Gestapo then launched a massacre, torturing and executing around 200 people, including former ambassador Friedrich Werner von der Schulenburg and intelligence chief Wilhelm Canaris, who were not aware of the assassination plot.

Boeselager's Contribution and Escape

Philipp von Boeselager played a significant role in the Valkyrie operation. As a 25-year-old lieutenant colonel and commander of a cavalry regiment in the "Center" army group, he had access to any military equipment and managed to procure several English-made bombs for the conspirators. However, none of the bombs were used in the assassination attempt. Boeselager narrowly escaped suspicion and detection, and none of his tortured comrades revealed his involvement. He was supposed to lead a unit of a thousand soldiers from the Eastern Front to Berlin, initially on horses and then on transport planes. Their mission was to take control of the bodies of the executed leaders of the Third Reich. However, upon receiving a message from his brother Georg, also involved in the plot, that the plan had failed, Boeselager ordered his men to retreat. He kept a vial of cyanide on him for the remainder of the war. While Boeselager survived, his brother was killed in battle.

Post-War Life

After the war, Philipp von Boeselager pursued an education in economics and became an expert in forestry. On the front door of his home in Kroitzberg, near Bonn, is written in Latin: "Si etiam omnes, ego non" ("Even if everyone, not I"). Boeselager reflects on his motivations for participating in the conspiracy, stating that they wanted to end the war and stop the atrocities committed under Hitler's regime. He witnessed the concentration camps and the suffering of Jews, Poles, and Russians and knew that he was living in a criminal state.