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› Visit Amazon's Freiherr von Philipp Leopold Antonius Hubertus Boeselager Page
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'a remarkable and honest testament to the courage of the small band of resisters who dared to try and stop Hitler and his lunacy' (NEWS LETTER )
Product Description
'It was not the question of an isolated assassination, but rather of beginning a complete overthrow of the regime' July 20 1944. A fearless group of German officers attempted to act against the horrors of Nazism and put an end to the war by killing Adolf Hitler. But Operation Valkyrie failed, and one by one the plotters were found out, tortured and executed. Philipp von Boeselager - who supplied the explosives that would rip through the Fuhrer's bunker - miraculously escaped death. In this unique memoir Philipp tells his extraordinary life story and the part he played in this, and three other dramatic attempts on Hitler's life. He recounts how a small band of resisters dared to stop evil and prevent profound loss of lives. Ultimately they failed but the legacy of their courage endures.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The clue is in the blurb: Philipp von Boeselager was the last person alive who happened to have something to do with the conspiracy.
Unfortunately, it becomes readily clear that his role was very much an external one, so he doesn't have much to say that is of general interest.
There's no breakdown of the conspiracy, little by way of historical context for the readers. All we get is that the conspiracy was underway, he led some troops back from the frontline ready to take over a German city, found out that something had gone wrong, and turned them back.
That's it, as far as the conspiracy goes. And that's where the book fails. It's not sold as being the story of a child playing with his brother in the woods. The selling-point is that, from the horse's mouth, you're going to read about the plot to kill Hitler. It's barely mentioned, and that makes for a disappointing book indeed.
Unfortunately, it becomes readily clear that his role was very much an external one, so he doesn't have much to say that is of general interest.
There's no breakdown of the conspiracy, little by way of historical context for the readers. All we get is that the conspiracy was underway, he led some troops back from the frontline ready to take over a German city, found out that something had gone wrong, and turned them back.
That's it, as far as the conspiracy goes. And that's where the book fails. It's not sold as being the story of a child playing with his brother in the woods. The selling-point is that, from the horse's mouth, you're going to read about the plot to kill Hitler. It's barely mentioned, and that makes for a disappointing book indeed.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Although titled Valkyrie The plot to kill Hitler, the author skirts round the plot and instead gives a history relating to himself and his brother and their service on the Eastern Front. If you have seen the film then give this miss.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a memoir of Philipp von Boeselager, traditional German aristocrat, cavalry officer and last surviving member of the 1944 Bomb Plot to assassinate Hitler. In many ways this would seem to be of limited value to a historian: it is as said, a personal memoir, and would seem to be ghost written at that. Much of it is devoted to uncritical praise of an elder brother, also involved in the Plot and the amount of the (slim) work on the actual Plot is minimal.
Nonetheless, this is a significant piece of history, but not so much on what it says about 1944, rather, it gives an interesting insight into the mentality of the Junker officer class during the Third Reich. Implicitly, the content and presentation of the narrative in the memoir makes clear that the aristocracy saw the Fuhrer as an upstart, but did not intervene to obstruct his accession to power seeing this more as "the will of the people" with which they should not deign to interfere. They also appeared to have exercised considerable informal local authority, but without too much accountability, or desire to use this considerable local and historic influence to resist or reduce the impact of national socialist policies (although a incident of the family assisting fleeing Jews early on is described).
Von Boeselager and his brother join the cavalry and there is little questioning of German war aims/strategy until the war turns against the Germans, especially in the east, although the memoir states it was a growing awareness of SS atrocities in the east rather than growing Soviet pressure that brought about plans to assassinate Hitler and stage a coup. We read of how the July 1944 plotters gradually came together and instigated several attempts to kill Hitler in preparation of seeking an anti-Soviet alliance with the western allies, but ultimately failing and most facing arrest, torture and execution. Several take their own lives. The von Boeselager brothers are not betrayed by fellow plotters and survive (although Phillips brother is killed later fighting the Red Army), with Philipp himself living until 2008.
These officers of the Junker class were undoubtedly brave and fought determinedly and with a strong sense of historic duty to defend Germany and ensure the well being of their men (Von Boeselager distinguished himself in combat on the Eastern Front, was wounded several times in combat and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves for bravery in combat). It is clear that they were principled and honourable with a genuine sense of chivalry. The plotters themselves became the conscience of postwar (western initially) Germany. Unfortunately, these memoirs do little to remove the notion that the principles and sense of duty were misdirected. They had the political awareness, skills and inherited authority to prevent or restrain national socialism at its birth but chose to wait too long to act and when they did von Boeselager's account still makes it is difficult to remove the impression that they did so at a time when their historic interests and privileged lifestyle were most under threat - by the advance of Soviet communism.
PS I suspect the English title is the product of publishers keen to cash in on the (dubious) Tom Cruise movie. The original was written in French as Nous voulions tuer Hitler: le dernier survivant du complot du 20 juillet 1944 (We wanted to kill Hitler: the last survivor of the plot of July 20, 1944), much more appropriate
Nonetheless, this is a significant piece of history, but not so much on what it says about 1944, rather, it gives an interesting insight into the mentality of the Junker officer class during the Third Reich. Implicitly, the content and presentation of the narrative in the memoir makes clear that the aristocracy saw the Fuhrer as an upstart, but did not intervene to obstruct his accession to power seeing this more as "the will of the people" with which they should not deign to interfere. They also appeared to have exercised considerable informal local authority, but without too much accountability, or desire to use this considerable local and historic influence to resist or reduce the impact of national socialist policies (although a incident of the family assisting fleeing Jews early on is described).
Von Boeselager and his brother join the cavalry and there is little questioning of German war aims/strategy until the war turns against the Germans, especially in the east, although the memoir states it was a growing awareness of SS atrocities in the east rather than growing Soviet pressure that brought about plans to assassinate Hitler and stage a coup. We read of how the July 1944 plotters gradually came together and instigated several attempts to kill Hitler in preparation of seeking an anti-Soviet alliance with the western allies, but ultimately failing and most facing arrest, torture and execution. Several take their own lives. The von Boeselager brothers are not betrayed by fellow plotters and survive (although Phillips brother is killed later fighting the Red Army), with Philipp himself living until 2008.
These officers of the Junker class were undoubtedly brave and fought determinedly and with a strong sense of historic duty to defend Germany and ensure the well being of their men (Von Boeselager distinguished himself in combat on the Eastern Front, was wounded several times in combat and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves for bravery in combat). It is clear that they were principled and honourable with a genuine sense of chivalry. The plotters themselves became the conscience of postwar (western initially) Germany. Unfortunately, these memoirs do little to remove the notion that the principles and sense of duty were misdirected. They had the political awareness, skills and inherited authority to prevent or restrain national socialism at its birth but chose to wait too long to act and when they did von Boeselager's account still makes it is difficult to remove the impression that they did so at a time when their historic interests and privileged lifestyle were most under threat - by the advance of Soviet communism.
PS I suspect the English title is the product of publishers keen to cash in on the (dubious) Tom Cruise movie. The original was written in French as Nous voulions tuer Hitler: le dernier survivant du complot du 20 juillet 1944 (We wanted to kill Hitler: the last survivor of the plot of July 20, 1944), much more appropriate
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Assassinatiion of Hitler
Bought as a Christmas present for my 16 year old son who loved it and couldn't put it down! Am waiting for his comments on the film as also bought this for him for Christmas...
Published 17 months ago by Bamburghbabe
A little gem of a book
Others have been critical that this book is not specifically about the famous plot to kill Hitler. They are right, the Tom Cruise film does a pretty good job at that. Read more
Published 21 months ago by N. Brett
an interesting read
a good read - but you do need a map in front of you just to get some idea of where he was travelling from or too; or a good knowledge of the eastern front.
Published on 25 Aug 2009 by Mr. R. S. Meacher
A testimony of suffering and tension
Do not expect much more than just a relatively simple, but moving, memoir illuminating a faction of the German Wehrmacht and one influential militaristic family. Read more
Published on 10 May 2009 by Singapore Relic
Excellent account of the Valkyrie plot to kill Hitler
First of all the events in this book bear absolutely no relation to those portrayed in the film. I'd point out the many differences but that would spoil the plot for both so I... Read more
Published on 28 April 2009 by Lunababymoonchild
Valkyrie
Having just seen the film of the same name it was even more interesting to read Philipp Von Boeselager's account of his part in the plots to kill Hitler. Read more
Published on 11 Mar 2009 by M. Kirton
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