Everything Claus von Stauffenberg

"It is now time that something was done. But the man who has the courage to do something must do it in the knowledge that he will go down in German history as a traitor. If he does not do it, however, he will be a traitor to his own conscience."

[vonstauffenberg]

Ihr trugt die Schande nicht.

Ihr wehrtet euch.

Ihr gabt das große ewig wache Zeichen der Umkehr,

opfernd Euer heißes Leben für Freiheit, Recht, und Ehre.

////

You did not bear the shame.

You resisted.

You bestowed an eternally vigilant symbol of change

by sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom, justice and honor.

////

20.7.1944 - 20.7.2017

Freiheit, Recht, Ehre and the eternal symbol of moral duty and resistance in the face of unjust, inhuman, criminal government. May we never forget them. 

[vonstauffenberg]

Hi :) Thanks for the documentary “Offiziere gegen Hitler” which you have shared in your last post. I’ve found the other two episodes of this documentary on YouTube. In the second episode (you can find under the link: https://youtu.be/-PLJqp1Y3mg?si=n9x87eeBAIWx1g1E) I saw a snippet in which a man is drawing something on the Lagekarte. I am wondering if this is CvS for I’ve never seen this either in picture or in video before. (around min. 17:07-17:17)

Hello! Thank you for writing. I haven't had the opportunity to watch the documentary from start to finish yet, but I did check out the snippet you mention here. That man does resemble Claus, but (to my eye) the facial structure is not quite the same, and I think the creators of the documentary would have made a big deal about actual verified footage of Claus. (At least I would have.) My assumption is that this clip was drawn from stock footage and is being used as a simple visual to supplement the narrative.

[vonstauffenberg]

We all miss you so so much! I’m looking forward to read your new posts. I hope you’re okay..

I'm still alive! Absent from tumblr for months at the time, yes, but still here and hoping to post more in the coming days leading up to the 80th anniversary of Stauffenberg's attempt.

[vonstauffenberg]

Submission by soyoulovemehuh

I’m pretty sure it was in 2019 when I saw the documentary “Officers against Hitler” on German television, so it must have been the 75th anniversary of Hitler’s assassination attempt. And there was a short scene in which you can see Stauffenberg, because it was on TV I couldn’t grasp what I saw so quickly, I later forgot about it. The documentary is from 2004 (three parts) and it’s very well made and various contemporary witnesses and people who were there at the time in the Bendlerblock have their say. Some time ago I remembered the whole thing and looked for the documentary online, as I had only seen the first part at the time on TV, and it is indeed uploaded on youtube.

Of course I immediately looked for that scene and found it, but it’s not a close-up, he’s standing in the background and the film material is from the 1930s and therefore not of such good quality, so don’t be disappointed, but we’ll never get anything better from him. The narrator says “Stauffenberg here on a previously unknown film shot with his regiment”. You don’t find out exactly when, but it must have been before the war. I’ve watched it a few times now and at first I was sceptical, I briefly thought “that could be anyone!” BUT THEN he smiles/grins and that got me, because it looks just like that smile/grin we know from the photos! And this is, as I said, a reputable, well made documentary, not some trash. I had cut out the scene, but you can’t upload video from your own hard drive here.

Above the video with the time stamp. If that doesn’t work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lWplcz-pDw&t=398s&ab_channel=Dokus (around min. 6:38 to 6:52)

A dream would be an audio of his voice and walk/movement. His granddaughter, who published a book about him in 2019, said in an interview that according to her grandmother Nina, the actor Sebastian Koch (who played him in the German film “Stauffenberg” from 2004) embodied him best, she (Nina) was thrilled by his performance and has said “that’s how my husband moved, that’s how my husband talked Swabian (the dialect you speak in the region around Stuttgart, among others) when he got together with other Swabians”.

[vonstauffenberg]

Submission from justamatteroftimeisuppose

From the inbox.

"I still haven’t found any hints about or traces of a voice recording. Do you recall where you read that description of his voice?" I don't, but I do remember it was an article or something apparently quoting Hans Bernd Gisevius. As I understand it, there was no love lost between Gisevius and Claus, but the wording of the voice description was actually objective. What I mean is, if I personally disliked someone I met during a time when voice recordings weren't common, I might describe that person's voice as more annoying sounding than it actually was, haha. And this description wasn't like that at all. It just essentially said there was a bit of vocal dissonance going on.

Oh, and while I probably can't prove it, it was I who sent you the article behind the paywall. Thank you @fe-vlv for sharing the actual article/pictures!

[eternal-echoes]

“Es ist Zeit, daß jetzt etwas getan wird. Derjenige allerdings, der etwas zu tun wagt, muß sich bewußt sein, daß er wohl als Verräter in die deutsche Geschichte eingehen wird. Unterläßt er jedoch die Tat, dann wäre er ein Verräter vor seinem eigenen Gewissen.”

—

It is time now that something is being done. However, the one who dares to do something must be aware that he will go down as a traitor in German history. But if he leaves the act undone, then he would be a traitor to his own conscience.

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1907 – 1944), German officer and member of the resistance against Adolf Hitler, shortly before his failed attempt to kill Hitler with a bomb on July 20, 1944.

(via thatswhywelovegermany)

[vonstauffenberg]

Ihr trugt die Schande nicht.

Ihr wehrtet euch.

Ihr gabt das große ewig wache Zeichen der Umkehr,

opfernd Euer heißes Leben für Freiheit, Recht, und Ehre.

////

You did not bear the shame.

You resisted.

You bestowed an eternally vigilant symbol of change

by sacrificing your impassioned lives for freedom, justice and honor.

////

20.7.1944 - 20.7.2017

Freiheit, Recht, Ehre and the eternal symbol of moral duty and resistance in the face of unjust, inhuman, criminal government. May we never forget them. 

[vonstauffenberg]

20.7.1944 - 20.7.2022

[vonstauffenberg]

Y'all remember that link to the welt.de article I posted a few months back? This is what was behind the paywall. Three new-to-me, post-Africa photographs of Claus von Stauffenberg. Mit Augenklappe. (With the eyepatch.)

If you needed an excuse to crack open a bottle of champagne, or just to crack a smile despite the stress of current events, well, here it is.

From the source article:

The until-now unknown photos were taken on 14 June 1944 in the Cavalry and Panzer School Krampnitz by Potsdam. There, according to Stauffenberg co-conspirator Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim in a letter to his wife, following "equestrian demonstrations", a "festive dinner followed by a very nice evening" in the Officer's Mess took place. It was the "farewell party for Stauff", who on the first of July transferred from the General Army Office to the the Office of the Commander of the Reserve Army, both located in Berlin-Tiergarten in the Bendlerblock.

Original:

Die bisher unbekannte Fotos entstanden am 14. Juni 1944 in der Kavallerie- und Panzertruppenschule Krampnitz bei Potsdam. Dort fand, so schrieb es der Stauffenberg-Vertraute Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim in einem Brief an seine Frau, nach „reiterlichen Vorführungen“ ein „festliches Abendessen mit einem anschließenden sehr netten Abend“ im Offizierskasino statt. Es war das „Abschiedsfest für Stauff“, so Mertz, denn zum 1. Juli wechselte der erst 36-Jährige vom Allgemeinen Heeresamt zum Befehlshaber des Ersatzheeres, beide in Berlin-Tiergarten im Bendlerblock ansässig.

Any errors in translation are my own.

[Source]

Many, many thanks to @fe-vlv for obtaining, colorizing, and submitting these photos! 🖤💖💛

[vonstauffenberg]

Variations on a (new-to-me!) photograph of Claus and a group of German officers, submitted by @deviatio-22.

Source, date, and location unknown.

Colorization courtesy of @fe-vlv.

[vonstauffenberg]

The whole world will vilify us now, but I am still totally convinced that we did the right thing. Hitler is the archenemy not only of Germany but of the world. When, in few hours’ time, I go before God to account for what I have done and left undone, I know I will be able to justify what I did in the struggle against Hitler. God promised Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom if just ten righteous men could be found in the city, and so I hope that for our sake God will not destroy Germany. No one among us can complain about his death, for whoever joined our ranks put on the shirt of Nessus. A man’s moral worth is established only at the point where he is ready to give up his life in defense of his convictions.

Henning von Tresckow, July 21, 1944 (via vonstauffenberg)

In honor of those putting on their own shirts of Nessus at the present moment.  

[vonstauffenberg]

I know YOU don't lose questions, it's all t umbl r's fault if it happens. I thought there was a possibility you may have come across voice recordings somewhere but that they can't be found online, you are not permitted to post them or whatever.I've read he had a kind of soft, raspy voice, higher pitched than one would expect. Correct me if this is a myth.

I still haven't found any hints about or traces of a voice recording. Do you recall where you read that description of his voice?

[vonstauffenberg]

Submission: Best Fictional Retelling of 20 July Plot

https://www.amazon.com/Two-Days-July-Stig-Dalager/dp/1906791120

"It's exactly how I imagine Stauffenberg to be."

I haven't come across this one before! Less than $5 on the Kindle, it's going on the (Neverending) Reading List.

[vonstauffenberg]

Hello, I was wondering, could I use a few of the pictures in your gallery on a non-profit website? I'll give the link to this website in the description of each picture. It's perfectly fine if you say no.

Hello Anon - if you're still working on this project, please send me a PM so that I can talk to you directly.

[vonstauffenberg]

Submission:

Here's a photo of Berthold von Stauffenberg from his biography "Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1905-1944) Völkerrecht im Widerstand" by Alexander Meyer.

[vonstauffenberg]

Do you have any information on what Stauffenberg's problem with Helmuth James von Moltke was? Not sure if this is a myth, but I remember reading that CvS left a meeting with him abruptly and later complained about him.

The years-overdue answer to this question is that I need to do more reading to answer this question. If any of the readership chimes in with a reply in the meantime, I'll publish their answer forthwith.

[vonstauffenberg]

Do you or does anyone else reading this have access to the full version of this article? welt. de/ kultur/ plus232471719/ Unbekannte-Stauffenberg-Bilder-Der-Mensch-hinter-dem-Attentaeter. html - obviously, don't include the blank spaces when entering the link, I just had to include them because otherwise tumblr would not let me share it with you

Followers, any luck on y'all's part?

[vonstauffenberg]

Werner von Haeften

I don't know if you still update this blog, but I recently found new stuff about Werner von Haeften, by pure luck. It's a dissertation/thesis about Werner and his brother Hans-Bernd, written by Rieke C. Harmsen (who is the granddaughter of Werner's sister Elisabeth, therefore she had easy access to the family archive) It's over 600 p. long, so basically a book. It's in German though, so if anyone is interested here's the link to the pdf file: https://ub-deposit.fernuni-hagen.de/receive/mir_mods_00001713 (it's the homepage of the University of Hagen) It's a wonderful read, tons of new information, really detailed information about his whole life, of course his relationship with Stauffenberg (such a bromance, you have no idea, they became fast friends and were incredibly close).