This is how the picture of resistance is engraved on me thanks to my western german biography. An attack of upright militaries, closely associated to the name of general staff officer Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg.
But of course not all putsch members had been militaries. And of course all putsch members heavily plead for anticommunistic goals, so that of course they did not cooperate with a major part of oppositional powers. And of course the planned military dictatorship had nothing in common with democracy. And of course the attack did not have any serious effect on the survival of dictatorship. And isn't this strange?
At the date of attack military defeat of Germany was quite obvious. Allied soldiers had being landed successfully in Normandie. Stalingrad was reconquered for one and a half year. Sovjet soldiers advanced irresistable to the west. England was clearly superior in aerial warfare. Main parts of infrastructure and arms industry was destroyed. From other European fascists no military help was to expect. National debt was a catastrophy.
Revolutions should be on daily agenda in such situations. But they did not. The nonpersecuted part of german and germanized population in common now as before trusted very much in the dictator. Attacks on nazis regularly resulted in a rise of sympathie to the nazis. So even more important than overthrowing the tyrann seemed to be to inform population and to mobilize against Nazis; criminal Hitler then would have been prosecuted automatically. So the strategy of many groups had been to organize a broad social basis agains the Nazis via decentral alliances. In this way resistance took place en detail and historically quite anonymous. And it did not work.
But what about Georg Elser? Like Stauffenberg he placed a bomb that nearly killed Hitler. The bomb detonated at 8th of November 1939, thus two month after start of attack against Poland and more than two years before Hitler ordered to consequently murder all people counted to jewish belief. But in contrast to Stauffenberg Elser was no military. And in contrast to Stauffenberg he still is unknown. This, although there are published a film from and with Klaus Maria Brandauer, some books belonging to different genres and several smaller contributions. I wanted to support the discussion about Elser, for that when talking about resistance not only military is meant, that after all also carried the regime's atrocities.
Following now some few information on Georg Elser and an attack that killed eight persons and resulted in a big rise of sympathy to Hitler.
(from: Lexikon des Widerstandes 1933 - 1945, hrsg. von Peter Steinbach und Johannes Tuchel, München: Beck, 1994. Translated by myself.)
When I had put in order my clothing, arranged my tools, as far as I already took them with me for use at first time, I went probably at the 3rd or 4th night after my arrival in München on work in the hall. At the days when at night I worked in Bürgerbräukeller, I always went at 8pm to 10pm into parlor of Bürgerbräukeller to eat my evening meal. I regularly sat down and have been served by waitress B. I ate a la card and always drank a glass of beer. ... About 10pm I always paid. Then I left the parlor, betook myself through the wardrobe room into the unlocked hall, went from there over the rear staircase to the gallery, went along there to the rearmost front and hided there in a broom-room, that is placed beside the backward entry to the gallery and is covered only by a spanish wall. In this room empty cardboard boxes have been. Similar cardboard boxes I have seen in the shooting gallery of Bürgerbräukeller, when I have been there in October sometimes sundays on dancing parties.
If entering of the hall once had been seen I cannot say. In the beginning emergency lights was on, later, after begin of war, there was no more illumination switched on. At this time there had been only light coming from kitchen and wardrobe room. In the mentioned hiding-place I stayed until the hall was being locked. This had been always in the time between 10.30pm to 11.30pm. Before the hall was locked, Ms. M. - this is the woman I'm aquainted with, selling cigars in Bürgerbräukeller - fed the there dwelling cats. She did not enter the gallery while this. After this it was locked three times, as far I heard from the noise, only the locking of main entry took place. If the emergency exit to the garden was locked, I do not know.
After the hall had been locked I went from my hiding-place directly to the pillar, where I undertook installation of my apparatus. I have been staying just here and there for a short time in the hiding-place, to make sure factual of nobody being in the hall.
I always stayed in the hall for the whole night. The hall was opened again at the time between 7am and 8am. From a person I never saw the halls entry and the emergency exit to the garden was opened from wardrobe room, that is beside the tavern. My works I always finished between 2am and 3am, subsequently I stayed until leaving the hall in the already mentioned hiding-place, where also a chair has been. There I dozed until leaving the hiding-place. In August 1939 after unlocking the hall I sometimes left it through the emergency exit to the garden. With begin of war a civil air guard had been placed to Bürgerbräukeller, that was accommodated in Alt-Münchener hall and that in the morning at about 6.30am to 7.30am cooked coffee in the little kitchen, that is near the stage in the hall. How many men was compositing this guard, I cannot specify. From when the civil air guard was moving in into Bürgerbräukeller, the mentioned emergency exit was opened already at 6am from a person not known to me. From then on I left the Bürgerbräukeller already at 6.30am. If in August I have been seen by somebody when leaving the hall I don't know. I did see, that at this time in garden of Bürgerbräukeller an old man was staying, who kept in order the garden, but if this one was watching me, I don't know. Certain I know, that from September on when leaving the emergency exit I have been seen by men of the civil air guard. But I have been never stopped by them. I don't know these men, also I am not able, to give a description of these men. When leaving the hall I did not take any special care, to not somehow behave suspicious. I entered and left the hall only in the specified way, I never climbed into the building. ...
I wore at that time throughout a dark blue worsted suit with long trousers, black halfshoes and a coffeebrown pullover. ..."
(Georg Elser, testimony before secret statespolice (GeStaPo) 1939. Zitiert nach: Widerstand in Deutschland 1933 - 1945: ein historisches Lesebuch / hrsg. von Peter Steinbach und Johannes Tuchel, München: Beck, 1994. Translated by myself.)
(Source: s.b.)
"At on of the next terror attacks against München resp. against the surrounding of Dachau pretendedly 'Eller' had an deadly accident. I ask, to liquidate for this purpose 'Eller' in an absolute unobtrusive way when such a situation is given... The execution report about this to me would be then: 'At ... on the occasion of the terror attack on ... among others custody prisoner 'Eller' was injured deadly.""
(aus: Widerstand - Staatsstreich - Attentat / Der Kampf der Opposition gegen Hitler, Piper Verlag, München, p 305f. Translated by myself.)
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