Germany has paid tribute to Claus von Stauffenberg and others who sought to assassinate Adolf Hitler 75 years ago, a plot that was recognised only belatedly but which a resurgent far-right is now seeking to expropriate.

In the attempt on 20 July 1944, Stauffenberg and other high-ranking conspirators within the Nazi regime sought to kill Hitler at his Wolf's Lair headquarters.


At a ceremony in Berlin today, where new German Bundeswehr soldiers were sworn in, Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined the importance of remembering this anniversary at a time when far-right forces are once again gaining ground with their nationalist line.

It was important to "keep the conspirators' memories alive", as well as those of all Germans who resisted the Nazis, because their acts could be seen as a "warning" for today's society, she said.

"They remind us that we have to be vigilant. They remind us that we must resolutely fight far-right extremism, anti-Semitism and racism in all their different forms.

"There are moments when disobedience can be a duty," Ms Merkel said.

The right to resist is explicitly enshrined in Germany's post-war constitution, which would not exist in its current form without people such as Stauffenberg, the chancellor said.

"Even today, there is still a lot of incomprehension and ill-ease" about the assassination attempt, Ms Merkel said, not least because Stauffenberg was himself an army officer.

The prison where Hitler's attackers were executed



In the aftermath of World War II, some in then West Germany - where former Nazis had assumed key positions in the new democratic country - also viewed him as a traitor.

Kurt Salterberg, a soldier at Wolf's Lair when the attempt took place, recalled that "the troops' condemnation of Stauffenberg was unanimous" then.

"We thought he was a coward who didn't use a pistol but a bomb so that he could get out unscathed," Salterberg told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.

Portraits of members of the World War II German resistance, including Claus von Stauffenberg


With the lingering ambiguity on Stauffenberg's legacy, far-right forces, including the AfD party whose leader has downplayed the Nazi era as a "speck of birdpoo", have claimed to be the inheritors of the heroic act.

The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany, which is now the biggest opposition party in parliament, has repeatedly used the word "resistance" to characterise its battle against mainstream parties today.

"The calculation of the new right, the AfD and the (far-right movement) Identitarians is clear: to portray themselves as victims of the "chancellor-dictator", to see a 'dictatorship' in a free country, and to gain legitimacy for their own political activities by making the reference to political activities," said Mr Tuchel.

That is "historically wrong and inappropriate. Resistance against Nazism stands for freedom, rule of law and tolerance," he added.

Stauffenberg's granddaughter, Sophie von Bechtolsheim, has also said it was "indecent" for a party to claim to be the rightful heirs of his legacy.


"The youth of today must not be led astray by political demagogues, and must show civil courage. That's why remembrance of the conspirators is important.
