Stauffenberg: A Noble and Hero
Values and Sense of Elitism
"Nothing was perhaps more central to Stauffenberg's outlook on life than his concept nurtured since birth of the German aristocracy's duty to society as protector of the nation, keeper of its laws, and guardian against injustice and despotism. Where he differed from those senior officers of the Wehrmacht like Brauchitsch and Manstein who were content to bury their head in the sand under Hitler's tyranny was in his impassioned belief that the army should aspire not only to defend the state against enemy attack but that it had a sacred duty to protect Germany against tyranny, foreign or domestic.
"Much of that inspiration came from two maternal ancestors, Field Marshal Count Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, and Field Marshal Count von Gneisenau who had both fought in the Napoleonic Wars to liberate Prussia from Napoleon's tyranny. Stauffenberg admired the manner in which military leaders like Yorck von Wartenburg and von Gneisenau could see far beyond the strictly military sphere and become "politically engaged"
"Not only had they acted as instruments of the popular will. They had also tempered, contained, curbed and channelled the potentially anarchic energy that will had unleashed. As always with Stauffenberg, the sense of aristocratic responsibility functioned as a governing principle, a moral imperative. It went hand in hand with a respect for the people, but a mistrust of the mob. As he stated on another occasion: 'Popular guidance is an inescapable and important part of politics, and is not something to be left to any Tom, Dick, or Harry without disastrous consequences.'" (Baigent and Leigh, 138).
"But in Stauffenberg's mind, any effective uprising against tyranny had to come from a responsible and above all capable elite, or as he himself put it: 'Any revolt against the state and its leaders is no business of the irresponsible mass of the people and should not therefore even be discussed in too wide a circle. If the use of force against one's own state is unavoidable, it must be confined to men conscious of their responsiblities and, even more important, capable of meeting them.'" (Baigent, 151).
Repulsion for Nazism's Excesses
"Like Tresckow and a number of other conspirators, Stauffenberg initially favored Hitler's National Socialist program in terms of its promise to restore German strength and prosperity and to free Germany from the humiliating terms of the Versailles Treaty and make her once again a great world power. But the increasing violence of the Nazi revolution horrified him.
"He rapidly came to see Nazi rhetoric for the crude racist guttersnipe jargon it was when mouthed by men like Ernst Roehm and the rabid anti-semitic pornographer Julius Streicher. Never one to hide his contempt for the Nazi credo, Stauffenberg made a point of illustrating his feelings early on in the Nazi era.
"On September 16, 1934, he was required to represent his regiment at an official Party Day lecture given by Julius Streicher in Bamberg. As Streicher launched into his usual savage tirade against Jews, Stauffenberg became so insensed that he stood up in full public view amid the seated spectators and defiantly walked out of the hall down the main aisle. Two SS officers intercepted him. After a brief verbal exchange, he elbowed his way past them." (Baigent and Leigh, 144).
"He despised above all the Nazi Party's paramilitary SA legions for their violent bully-tactics. These savages who loved to parade in what Stauffenberg called "shit-brown uniforms" embodied in his opinion the vilest traits of the German national character. But his sense of humor and initiative never failing, Stauffenberg had his own way of keeping the SA in check:
"Stauffenberg accordingly agreed to direct night exercizes by the SA. By forcing the SA to expend energy on night exercizes, he hoped if only on the local level to keep them off the streets and divert them from their customary routine of rioting, drinking, bullying, rowdy carousing, destroying property, and beating up and even murdering political opponents. Reducing fat swaggering and ill-disciplined louts to haggard and panting wrecks by forced marches and rigorous drills was just the sort of thing to appeal to Stauffenberg's sense of humor." (Baigent and Leigh, 138).
About Hitler and Motives For Coup
"It was clear, he said, that 'the fool is bent on war' and was 'prepared to squander the flower of Germany's manhood twice in the same generation.'" (Baigent and Leigh, 158-159).
"Hitler's determination to wage a war of annihilation against the Russians proved to be the watershed in Stauffenberg's change of attitude from one of intense dislike for the Nazi regime to one of an officer burning with resolve to destroy Hitler and his system. Hitler's war of genocide was inevitably turning entire populations into sworn enemies of Germany now attacking the Wehrmacht from behind.
"A general sense of outrage pervaded among many staff officers of the army groups. A December 1941 report from Army Group Center stated that "the officer corps, almost to a man, is against the shooting of Jews, Slavs, prisoners, and commissars" while it characterized the SS-Einsatzgruppen massacres as "a stain on the honor of the German army." (Baigent and Leigh, 172-173).
"All the protests in the world however could have no effect when senior army officers like Army Group Center Commander-in- Chief Field Marshal Feodor von Bock meekly declined to convey such protests in person to Hitler. Perhaps they knew all too well that not even their protests could dissuade Hitler from seeing through his war of annilihation against the Jews and the Slavs. It was clear that this policy could only be reversed with Hitler's physical elimination.
"Throughout 1942 there are numerous instances of Stauffenberg being repeatedly outspoken in wanting to see Hitler killed and vowing to do it himself. On one occasion in August during a morning ride with a fellow officer, Stauffenberg again raged about Hitler's war of genocide exclaiming: "Is there no officer over there in the Fuehrer's headquarters capable of shooting that beast?" (Baigent and Leigh, 173).
"Just how deadly serious Stauffenberg really was in affirming that statement was clear on July 6, 1944 when he had gone to see Colonel Helmuth Stieff at Kleissheim Castle near Salzburg. On that occasion Hitler finally attended the uniform demonstration that he had earlier eluded in December and February when Bussche and Kleist had volunteered to kill him. On July 6, Stauffenberg brought with him the deadly contents within his briefcase that he expected Stieff to use now that they finally had their chance. When Stieff refused, Stauffenberg returned to Berlin exasperated. According to one co-conspirator: "He talked with noticeable emotion and fiery impatience about the situation at Berchtesgaden and declared that now he would have to take care of that as well," exclaiming angrily, "I'll do it myself with my three fingers!" (Baigent and Leigh, 41).
Academic Performance and Personality
"A confidential report filed by his squadron leader in October 1933 described Stauffenberg with forsesight as:
"'A reliable independent character, capable of making up his own mind and taking his own decisions. Highly intelligent and of above average ability, both tactically and technically....Unexceptional in his relationships with others. Shows great interest in social, historical, and religious matters.... He is well aware of his ability and intellectual superiority and is therefore apt at times to adopt a somewhat overbearing attitude towards his fellow officers frequently evidenced by sarcasm which however never leaves hurt feelings.'" (Baigent and Leigh, 122).
"His divisional commander wrote:
"'He was an expert at settling differences, acting as go-between and smoothing out quarrels. He looked for and found the good side to everybody and had an extraordinary knack of making the best out of everything.'" (Baigent and Leigh, 121).
"Already as a young cadet his social graces as well as his deep intellectual curiosity were strikingly apparent to one fellow cadet officer:
"'Summing Stauffenberg up, I would say that he had an extraordinary gift for making others feel naturally and completely at ease. This was all the more remarkable seeing that he was generally recognized as being well above average intellectually. He would raise the intellecual level of any conversation in which he took part; he particularly liked a stimulating discussion, and with his lively extrovert temperament, the more heated it became the better. Everything he took up he studied scientifically. He was not merely satisfied with acquiring information but would go to the root of the matter.'" (Kramarz, 39).
"In September 1936, Stauffenberg was accepted into the General Staff College from which he graduated two years later in the summer of 1938. It is worth noting that the college accepted only 15% of its applicants and of that number only 1 in 3 graduated to the General Staff. Stauffenberg was to do both before the age of 36, becoming in effect one of Hitler's youngest General Staff officers.
"In addition to excelling in his studies, Stauffenberg read voraciously and became a passionate reader of books on military history, general history, political thought, philosophy, psychology, economics, and literary classics. During that time, he also became fluent in English and Russian and learned to speak French with ease." (Baigent and Leigh, 127).
A Brilliant and Tireless Worker With Fair Judgment
"During World War II, the glowing reports from his superiors of Stauffenberg's boundless capacity for work and innovative talent became common knowledge. Before long, his professional aptitude was in demand everywhere. According to General Freiherr von Thuengen, a reserve officer posted to the General Staff in 1942:
"'I never opened Claus's door without finding him on the telephone, mountains of paper in front of him, the receiver in his left hand, turning over the files with his right, a pencil between his fingers. He always looked happy...he could be laughing...or cursing (that happened too), or giving an order, or laying down the law....Claus was one of those men who could do several things at once, all with the same level of concentration.
"'He had an astounding capacity for working through files, in other words, reading them and sifting the important from the unimportant at a glance. Equally astounding and equally striking were his capacity to concentrate, his clarity of expression, and his sudden asides, which invariably hit the nail on the head and frequently took his listeners aback.
"'When I used to visit him he was generally at the end of a twelve, fourteen, or even sixteen-hour work day filled with telephoning, conferences, visits, dictation, working on files, notes on conferences, etc. He worked at an incredible pace, with unyielding concentration, and yet he appeared just as fresh late at night as he did in the morning." (Kramarz, 78-79).
"The extraordinary zeal with which Stauffenberg took on his assignments often led him to take on additional responsibilities which were often beyond his station. As Kramarz relates: "Matters came piling in on him which were not really his responsibility. The fact that he was thereby contravening an order from Hitler did not bother him in the least. He busied himself with anything that interested him, even if outside his official competence." (Kramarz, 79).
"This sense of daring coupled with what Kramarz characterized as "his immense charm and infectious appealing sense of humor" enabled him to confront his superiors in a manner that "they would never have accepted from anyone else." Accordingly, "he never failed to give his opinion, even though doing so might require considerable courage. He was capable of expressing a flatly opposing view in such a way that the impression was neither offensive nor presumptuous." (Kramarz, 79-80).
"Mueller-Hillebrand, Stauffenberg's immediate senior ranking officer from April to October 1942 testified to the high reputation that Stauffenberg earned for himself by his boldness for speaking his mind coupled with his boundless energy:
"His judgement was sound; he appeared sure of himself, and he had a capacity for carrying on sensible negotiations with all sorts of differing authorities. As a result he became far more widely known than would be expected for one of his age, rank, and position. From the first day to the last, Stauffenberg put into his job all his accustomed concentration and energy. Even when the realization began to grow that the war was threatening to end in immeasurable catastrophe for Germany, he continued to work with the same intensity. (Kramarz, 78).
"Not only did Stauffenberg busy himself with matters normally beyond his call of duty, but in addition he somehow managed to always set aside time to help those around him with their own work. According to his divisional commander General von Loeper, after speedily and efficiently completing his own assignments, Stauffenberg always volunteered himself for more tasks: "He never seemed to be able to do enough work," wrote Loeper. (Kramarz, 65). Yet at the same time, Stauffenberg would spend many evenings helping one junior officer prepare for his military district examinations. Over Christmas 1939, he waived his own leave of absence so that a fellow officer could go home for the holidays. (Baigent and Leigh, 162).
Stauffenberg's tasks were many. At the front his duties included monitoring the batte worthiness of front line units, overseeing the state of their equipment and logistical support and evaluating morale. In the rear, his tasks focused on enhancing training programs for the Reserve Army, allocating replacements and tackling the increasingly precarious problem of keeping the army properly supplied as the war destroyed Germany's infrastructure and drained its manpower. Through it all, Stauffenberg's outstanding professionalism in tackling any problem no matter how complex carried his name far and wide throughout the army. According to one witness:
"He was capable of seeing several moves ahead in the chess game and taking account of all the various alternatives. He was quick to grasp a situation, to sort out the important from the unimportant, and could spot the decisive factor with unerring intuition. He was capable of logical abstract thought and possessed a lively imagination which however never led him to overstep the bounds of practicability; both in the operational and organizational fields. (Kramarz, 60).
"Stauffenberg's method of work and how he related to others on the job was perhaps best illustrated by his famous "Q conferences." Erwin Topf, a fellow officer during the May-June 1940 offensive against France described one such conference hosted by Stauffenberg:
"I first came to know Stauffenberg during the French campaign when he was SO (logistics) of the 6th Panzer Division advancing through the Ardennes. The "Q" conferences he held were unforgettable....Stauffenberg, tall, slim, lively, and a man of extraordinary personal charm, would welcome us all with genuine infectious geniality. He would make sure that everyone had something to drink, a cigar or a pipe. He would give us the latest information, ask questions, and take interest in apparently trivial matters, tell the latest stories covering the whole divisional area from the reconnaissance detachment back to the field bakery, jump from one subject to another, listen to or ask questions of the latest arrivals....
Then quite casually and conversationally would come the words, "Well then, I think we'll do it this way." And then in all its detail would come the "Q" order, Stauffenberg with his left hand in his trouser pocket, a glass in his right hand, wandering thoughtfully about the room, stopping at one moment here, at another moment there, and then going back to the map.
He did not issue a formal order as one would have expected from a General Staff officer. He was in no sense hidebound. He did not find it easy to formulate his orders, and what he said was anything but a fluent order ready for typing; but it was the result of hard thinking, and all the necessary dispositions were there. The essentials were all worked out and complete." (Kramarz, 60).
Humanitarian and Fair to Czechs, Poles, Russians, and other Nords
"Stauffenberg's talents as a master organizer and innovator in his duties as a General Staff officer are well known. But far less so are his humanitarian achievements for the welfare and rights of Czechs, Poles, Russians, and Allied prisoners of war. This officer aristocrat who believed to the depths of his soul that it was the aristocracy's sacred task to foster the progress of Man and serve the community carried those core principles with him into the Second World War.
"Stauffenberg's first opportunity to act in that respect came with Hitler's occupation of the Sudetenland. Although the majority of the region's population was ethnically German, and in general jubilantly greeted the conquering Wehrmacht, the Czechs of the town of Nurschan were noticeably hostile when the Light Division, in which Stauffenberg served, entered the city. The region was poverty-stricken and its farmers stood by helpessly as all of their horses and vehicles were requisitioned. How Stauffenberg came to the rescue of this beleagured community deserves to be quoted in its entirety:
"'As commander of the Light Division's logistics section, Stauffenberg embarked on a program characteristic less of an invasion than of a relief effort. At the Mies town hall, he called a meeting of divisional officers and local authorities, and forced them to co-operate with each other. There being no yeast available for bread-making, he instructed the division to buy yeast in Germany and deliver it to the local people. He placed a platoon at the disposal of an estate manager to help him bring in the potato harvest and store the wheat harvest - a rather humbling experience for swaggering German soldiers intoxicated by dreams of martial glory.
"He commandeered two trucks from Germany to help breweries in the region distribute beer. For transport vital to the vicinity's economy and population, petrol was supplied at cost price. Stauffenberg also elicited the support of district authorities in taking measures against an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease. When a shortage of brown coal threatened a glass factory with a work stoppage and the loss of four hundred jobs, he dispatched the factory manager to obtain coal from Army Group Headquarters in Karlsbad; and he again made the division's resources available for moving it.
"In the meantime, butter and mil from the area, destined for Pilsen, were in danger of going bad, and inhabitants of Pilsen were unable to obtain the essentials they required. Here too Stauffenberg took measures to alleviate the situation. He distributed safe-conduct passes for working people, thus effectively and single-handedly opening the frontier for supplies, and he arranged one again for his own troops to distribute supplies to needy areas." (Baigent and Leigh, 154-155).
"Stauffenberg was if anything just as swift to punish injustice wherever he saw it and was in a position to do something about it. When it came to his notice that soldiers and officers within the division had exploited the plight of Czech civilians to force them to sell off their goods for topence, he became outraged and "obtained an order forbidding all large-scale purchases. Commodities already purchased, even by officers of superior rank to himself, had to be returned." (Baigent and Leight, 155).
Stauffenberg again meted out his retribution during the Fall 1939 Polish campaign when a fellow officer and close friend had captured two women for allegedly "signalling to the enemy with flashlights" from the ground floor of their house. The incident had occurred during the capture of the Polish town of Wielun by Stauffenberg's Light Division. It turned out that these women had been crawling about on the floor with their flash lights searching frantically for cover during the barrage of artillery fire. But the officer in question had given one hasty look and snapped at his sargeant-major the words "get rid of them!". The women were then taken away and shot. Outraged, Stauffenberg had the officer in question (who happened to be an old friend) court-martialed. (Baigent and Leigh, 160).
Conclusion
"It is the story of a unique, distinctive, and extraordinary man who mirrored in himself Germany's collective identity crisis, and effected his own reconciliation between the martial nationalism of his ancestor, Gneisenau, and Goethe's ideal of dedication to culture and the spirit. It is the story of a figure who bridges the great modern gulf between 'the man of thought' and 'the man of action.'....A man whose capacity for action is equalled, yet not inhibited, by his capacity for thought. (Baigent and Leigh, 288, 297).
"It is the story, in short, of a heroic figure - and even more, of a specifically 20th century heroic figure. To that extent, his story transcends the historical context of the Third Reich. It applies equally to Germany, and to all of us, today....
He exemplifies what the German people can be at their best - and not just the German people, but all of us, and our civilization as a whole." (ibid.).
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Re: Stauffenberg: A Noble and Hero
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