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| Die Stunde der Offiziere | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Hans-Erich Viet |
| Starring | Harald Schrott |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Production | |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Release | 2004 |
Die Stunde der Offiziere (English : The Hour of the Officers) is a German semi-documentary movie of 2003 telling in chronological order about the German resistance attempts to kill Adolf Hitler and seize power in Germany in the 20 July plot of 1944.
Produced by German TV ZDF, it parallels Stauffenberg of Jo Baier produced by German TV ARD in 2004 for the 60th anniversary of the coup. Historian Guido Knopp oversaw the production of Stunde der Offiziere.
On 13 March 1943, Henning von Tresckow puts a bomb on Hitler's plane, but the bomb fails to explode. On 21 March 1943, Rudolf Christoph von Gersdorff intends a suicide bombing attack on Hitler in an exhibition, yet Hitler leaves prematurely. A similar attempt by Axel von dem Bussche fails as the event is canceled due to allied air raid on Berlin.
Last hope is on Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg who, being in charge of Operation Walküre, has access to Hitler for reports. The bomb detonates on 20 July 1944 in Hitler Headquarter Wolfsschanze near Rastenburg. After returning to Berlin, he orchestrates the 20 July plot which fails after rumors, reports and finally confirmation about Hitler's survival become known. Four officers are executed immediately, many more after staged Volksgerichtshof trials.
The "docu drama" integrates re-enacted scenes, eye witness reports, and original footage to illustrate German resistance actions in detail.
It was first shown on 29 June 2004. It is frequently re-run on German documentary TV channel Phoenix.
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Count Claus von Stauffenberg was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
The 20 July plot was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German resistance, mainly composed of Wehrmacht officers. The leader of the conspiracy, Claus von Stauffenberg, tried to kill Hitler by detonating an explosive hidden in a briefcase. However, due to the location of the bomb at the time of detonation, the blast only dealt Hitler minor injuries. The planners' subsequent coup attempt also failed and resulted in a purge of the Wehrmacht.
Berthold Alfred Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German aristocrat and lawyer who was a key conspirator in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler on 20 July 1944, alongside his younger brother, Colonel Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. After the plot failed, Berthold was tried and executed by the Nazi regime.
Werner Karl Otto Theodor von Haeften was an Oberleutnant in the Wehrmacht who took part in the military-based conspiracy against Adolf Hitler known as the 20 July plot.
Operation Valkyrie was a German World War II emergency continuity-of-government operations plan issued to the Territorial Reserve Army of Germany to implement in the event of a general breakdown in national civil order due to Allied bombing of German cities, or an uprising of the millions of foreign forced labourers working in German factories.
The People's Court was a Sondergericht of Nazi Germany, set up outside the operations of the constitutional frame of law. Its headquarters were originally located in the former Prussian House of Lords in Berlin, later moved to the former Königliches Wilhelms-Gymnasium at Bellevuestrasse 15 in Potsdamer Platz.
Hans-Jürgen Graf von Blumenthal was a German aristocrat and Army officer in the Second World War who was executed by the Nazi régime for his role in the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim was a German Army colonel and a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany involved in the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler.
Friedrich Karl Klausing was a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany, and one of the 20 July Plotters.
Ewald-Heinrich Hermann Konrad Oskar Ulrich Wolf Alfred von Kleist-Schmenzin was a German publisher and convenor of the Munich Conference on Security Policy until 1998. A member of the von Kleist family and an officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II, his parents were active in the German resistance against Adolf Hitler. Von Kleist was designated to kill Hitler in a suicide attack and was the last surviving member of the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler.
Friedrich Olbricht was a German general during World War II. He is known for being one of the plotters involved in the 20 July Plot, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944.
Fabian Ludwig Georg Adolf Kurt von Schlabrendorff was a German jurist, soldier, and member of the German resistance against Adolf Hitler. From 1967 to 1975 he was a judge of the German Federal Constitutional Court.
The Bendlerblock is a building complex in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, Germany, located on Stauffenbergstraße. Erected in 1914 as headquarters of several Imperial German Navy offices, it served the Ministry of the Reichswehr after World War I. Significantly enlarged under Nazi rule, it was used by several departments of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) from 1938, especially the Oberkommando des Heeres and the Abwehr intelligence agency.
Hans Bernd von Haeften was a German jurist during the Nazi era. A member of the German Resistance against Adolf Hitler, he was arrested and executed in the aftermath of the failed 20 July plot.
Valkyrie is a 2008 thriller film directed by Bryan Singer, written by Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander, starring Tom Cruise. The film is set in Nazi Germany during World War II and depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country. The film was released by American studio United Artists and stars Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, one of the key plotters. The supporting cast includes Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp, and Tom Wilkinson.
Ernst John von Freyend was a German Oberkommando der Wehrmacht officer who served during World War II as the adjutant to Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel. He is notable for unwittingly helping to place the 20 July plot bomb that was intended to kill Adolf Hitler.
Heinz Brandt was a German officer. During World War II he served as an aide to General Adolf Heusinger, the head of the operations unit of the General Staff. He may have inadvertently saved Adolf Hitler's life, at the cost of his own, by moving the bomb planted by Claus von Stauffenberg during the 20 July plot.
Werner Schrader was a German military officer involved in several plots by the German Resistance including the famous 20 July plot, a coup d'état attempting to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Joachim Meichssner was a German Army officer and member of the Resistance against the Nazi régime.