A Deep Dive Into German History – From the 20 July Plot to the Execution Site Plötzensee

A Deep Dive Into German History – From the 20 July Plot to the Execution Site Plötzensee

Why do so many people, and perhaps you too, travel to Berlin? It’s because the city’s history has left behind many traces, especially during the period of Nazi rule from 1933 to 1945. This huge field of stealing at the Holocaust Memorial is impossible to miss. It commemorates the 6 million murdered Jews of Europe. But there are also lesser known memorial sites that you may not have heard of. Did you know there was an attempt to assassinate Hitler that could have changed the course of history? Or that a Berlin entrepreneur saved many Jews from deportation? You can also visit the place where thousands of people opposing the Nazis were executed. We take you to some of these memorial sites of National Socialist resistance in Berlin. And they’re free to enter too. Stauffenbergstrasse in Berlin’s Tiergarten park is where you’ll find the so-called Bendlerblock complex. This is where the German Resistance Memorial Center is located. In this courtyard, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was executed on July 20th, 1944. Four other men were executed alongside him. Who were they? And what had they done? You can find out at the German Resistance Memorial Center. Information is available in 7 languages, via app and audio guide. This is Stauffenberg’s former study. In 1944 he was 37 years old, a highly respected German army officer. After a serious injury at the front, he became chief of staff at the General Army Office, which had its headquarters here in the Bendlerblock. Nobody suspected that Stauffenberg and his comrades were preparing a coup d’etat. The conspirators understood that this would only be possible if Hitler was dead. So on July the 20th 1944, Stauffenberg traveled to the ‘Führer’s headquarters’, the so-called ‘Wolf’s Lair’ in East Prussia. He took part in a briefing with Hitler in a barrack and placed a bag with an explosive device right next to the ‘Führer’. When the explosion took place around 1 p.m, Stauffenberg was already on his way back to Berlin. He and his comrades assumed that Hitler had died. And the Bendlerblock became the center of the coup d’etat. The conspirators called on high-ranking military officers to join the coup. Then they received the devastating news. Hitler had miraculously survived. The uprising had failed. Stauffenberg and his co-conspirators were executed that very night. But their network was much larger. Over the next few months, 100 people were sentenced to death and executed by the Nazis. Wilhelmstraße in Berlin-Mitte. These days, it’s impossible to tell that it was once the headquarters of the Gestapo, the Secret State Police. However, you can’t miss this steel sculpture dedicated to another would-be Hitler assassin: Georg Elser. He tried to kill the ‘Führer’ in 1939 by detonating a bomb during a speech in Munich’s Bürgerbräukeller. His attempt also failed. Elser was harshly interrogated at the Gestapo headquarters in Wilhelmstrasse. After 6 years in solitary confinement he was shot, shortly before the end of the war in 1945. Our next stop is Rosenstrasse, an inconspicuous street opposite the famous TV tower and St. Mary’s Church. This pillar commemorates a courageous protest that took place here in 1943. On February the 28th, around 2,000 Jewish men married to non-Jewish wives in so-called "mixed marriages" were imprisoned here, soon to be deported to concentration camps. But that evening hundreds of the men’s wives gathered and protested for their release. Amazingly, they succeeded. The men were released a week later and were not persecuted afterwards. The demonstration of the women of Rothenstrasse is one of the rare examples of a successful public protest under Hitler. Just 5 minutes away, you’ll find Hackesche Höfe, a series of interconnected courtyards, a relic of old Berlin, found in every travel guide. Most of these courtyards have been renovated, but a few have retained their original charm. Here in this courtyard was a brush factory owned by Otto Weidt. Today, it’s a museum. Berlin entrepreneur Otto Weidt ran his brush factory in these rooms. He mainly employed blind, visually impaired and hearing impaired Jews here in his small factory. By keeping them employed, he tried to save them from deportation for as long as possible. In 1941, Weidt’s brush factory employed 35 people. But over the next few years the workforce shrank as employees were deported to concentration camps. Still, the entrepreneur and his friends tried to save as many people as possible by issuing forged passports, providing food and even illegal accommodation. One of the hiding places was in the workshop. The four-person Horn family slept in this dark room. Things were fine for six months until the Horn family was outed and arrested. They were murdered in Auschwitz. Meanwhile, Otto Weidt got off easy. The exhibition also features biographies of people who survived thanks to Otto Weidt and his friends. Otto Weidt died in 1947. Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, recognized Weidt as "Righteous Among the Nations." And now, the museum commemorates his courageous actions. Our next stop is the famous boulevard Unter den Linden, with the State Opera and Hedwig’s Cathedral on one side, and Humboldt University on the other. During the Nazi dictatorship, many restrictions were placed on education and research. Professors who did not agree with the regime were dismissed and students were expelled. Yet there was resistance here too. If you walk through the university building, you’ll find a simple memorial plaque at the end of the inner courtyard. It commemorates members of the Red Orchestra resistance group who were executed by the Nazis. Mildred Harnack, , Ursula Goetze and Liane Berkowitz were among them. This network of roughly 150 members passed the Soviet Union information vital to the war effort, distributed pamphlets, and helped persecuted people. Liane Berkowitz was caught. Hitler personally rejected her plea for clemency. She was murdered two days before her 20th birthday. Opposite Humboldt University is Headwig’s Cathedral, one of the few churches where the National Socialist’s crimes were openly denounced. Priest Bernhard Lichtenberg publicly prayed for prisoners in concentration camps and for all persecuted Jews. He was arrested in 1942 and died while being deported to Dachau concentration camp. Later, Lichtenberg was honoured as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem and beatified by the Pope. Usually, you can find his tomb in the crypt of St. Hedwig’s Cathedral. However, it’s currently undergoing extensive renovations. In the meantime, head to the neighbourhood of Charlottenburg, to the Maria Regina Martyrum Church. It was built in the 1960s as a memorial for all victims of the Nazis, regardless of faith or worldview. Bernhard Lichtenberg’s grave is currently here until it can be returned to St. Hedwig’s Cathedral. The location for the memorial church was deliberately chosen. Just a few kilometers away is the former Plötzensee execution site, now a memorial center. It has only two rooms, but seeing them is harrowing enough. Around 2,800 people from 19 countries were murdered in this room between 1933 and 1945. They met their death by guillotine or were hanged. 89 men involved in the attempted coup on July the 20th 1944 were also killed here in Plötzensee after being found guilty of high treason. Only a few people had the courage to rebel against Hitler and the Nazis. But they did exist nonetheless.

There were also many people in Germany who resisted the Nazi dictatorship. We’ll show you some of the different memorial sites in Berlin dedicated to them. Who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944? Who hid persecuted people to save them from concentration camps? Many museums and memorials around the German capital are devoted to remembering these resistance fighters and telling their stories.

00:00 Intro
01:02 Bendlerblock and
01:27 German Resistance Memorial Center
03:51 Georg Elser Memorial
04:39 Rosenstrasse Monument
05:40 Museum Otto Weidt’s Workshop for the Blind
08:25 St. Hedwig’s Cathedral
09:39 Maria Regina Martyrum Catholic Memorial Church
11:01 Plötzensee Memorial Center

CREDITS:
Report: Kerstin Schmidt
Camera: Holm Weber
Editing: Klaus Hellmig
Supervising Editor: Elisabeth Yorck

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