The Plots to Kill Hitler

Millions of people dreamed of killing Adolf Hitler though only a few had the skills, determination, and opportunity to try. During Hitler’s career as messianic leader of the Third Reich, there were more than 30 documented attempts to assassinate him.

Some plotters hoped to confront Hitler close up and gun him down, others to pick him off with a sniper’s rifle. Those who knew his daily routines planned to destroy him with a bomb or poison. Several came close to success, including a chivalrous German aristocrat, a fearless British diplomat, and even a humble carpenter.

The cast of this book includes communist and socialist resisters, religious opponents, old-school members of the German military elite, and even dissident Nazis who had had enough of their leader. It also describes the different levels of security that protected the Führer from his enemies and the savage punishment meted out to failed plotters. Above all, it relates the sheer luck and sometimes farcical good fortune that led Hitler to believe he was indestructible.