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642:. Huerter states that many of the officers of that group of conspirators in particular, believed that these crimes against humanity still in the initial stages would appear "less horrific when weighed against the chance to strike at the heart of the Soviet Union and only when it became apparent that the military risk had not paid off and the mass murders took on genocidal dimension did ethical second thoughts come to play a role for the young staff officers of the Army Group Center". The memoirs were influential in shaping the post-war discourse on the German military resistance and included many of the "myth-building statements" that fed much later works on the subject.
486:—were present as well. As an expert, Gersdorff was to guide Hitler on a tour of the exhibition. Moments after Hitler entered the museum, Gersdorff set off two ten-minute delayed fuses on explosive devices hidden in his coat pockets. His plan was to throw himself around Hitler in a death embrace that would blow them both up. A detailed plan for a coup d'état had been worked out and was ready to go; but, contrary to expectations, Hitler raced through the museum in less than ten minutes. After he had left the building, Gersdorff was able to defuse the devices in a public bathroom "at the last second." After the attempt, he was immediately transferred back to the
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630:. Huerter also found that "Tresckow and his circle were by no means fundamentally opposed to Hitler's decision to attack the Soviet Union, and that they were well informed of and collaborative in the earliest mass murders of Jewish civilians", as many officers in the Army Group Center were aligned with
505:
was to use in his attempt to kill Hitler. Thanks to the silence of his imprisoned and tortured co-conspirators, Gersdorff was able to escape arrest and certain execution. As a result, he was one of the few German military resistors to survive the war (others included
328:). In 1934, Gersdorff married Renata Kracker von Schwartzenfeldt (1913–1942), co-heiress to the rich Silesian industrialist family von Kramsta, with whom he had one daughter, Eleonore. Gersdorff later married Eva-Maria von Waldenburg, who was a direct descendant of
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394:(German military intelligence). Tresckow, Gersdorff and their circle of conspirators within the Army Group Center were well informed about the war crimes against Soviet POWs and the mass murder of Jews by
1109:
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332:, although through an illegitimate line. She was previously married to Kurt von Wallenberg-Pachaly. His third and final marriage was to Irmgard Löwe. Rudolf joined the Reichswehr as an
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441:. After Tresckow's elaborate plan to assassinate Hitler on 13 March 1943 failed, Gersdorff declared himself ready to give his life for Germany's sake in an assassination attempt.
592:, and by various former Wehrmacht officers in the Bundeswehr who did not want a "traitor" in their midst. He thus was prevented from resuming his military career.
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B, and provided required military cooperation. As an intelligence staff officer (Ic), Gersdorff was responsible for contact with the
Einsatzgruppe staff.
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on 21 March 1943; the plan failed when Hitler left early, but
Gersdorff was undetected. That same month, soldiers from his unit discovered the
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stating that
Gersdorff gave up the chairmanship of Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe after serving for eleven years, on the organization’s website.
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In April 1943, while still an Army Group Center intelligence staff officer, Gersdorff supervised the excavation of the
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and other "criminal orders". This was shown not to have reflected reality by the historian
Joannes Huerter, of the
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and then as employees. In the late 1940s, Gersdorff authored an operational study on the
Wehrmacht response to the
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577:. Despite his distinguished record and decorations, his attempts were, according to Gersdorff, opposed by
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public holiday: on which the Nazis propagandized hero worship of the military dead. Originally it was
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After becoming close friends with leading Army Group Center conspirator
Colonel (later Major General)
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949:"Still Fighting for the Myth: German Wehrmacht Officers' Reports for the U.S. Historical Division"
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stating that
Gersdorff was awarded the Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz, on the organization’s website.
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The Secret War
Against Hitler (Der Widerstand: Dissent and Resistance in the Third Reich)
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for the last twelve years of his life, during which he wrote and published his memoirs,
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Kaltenbrunner-Berichte an
Bormann und Hitler ĂĽber das Attentat vom 20. Juli 1944
687:
Fighting the
Breakout: The German Army in Normandy from COBRA to the Falaise Gap
578:
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Fighting the Breakout: The German Army in Normandy from COBRA to the Falaise Gap
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497:, Gersdorff had also hidden the explosives and fuses that another conspirator,
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Historia pewnej mistyfikacji: zbrodnia katyńska przed Trybunałem Norymberskim
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Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
284:(27 March 1905 – 27 January 1980) was an officer in the German Army. As a
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409:, which contained the remains of over 4,000 Polish officers shot by the
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665:("Soldier During the Downfall") (1982). Ullstein Taschenbuchverlag.
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for his staff work in preparation for the German breakout from the
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Rudolf Christoph von Gersdorff was born into a military family of
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603:, which he chaired from 1952 to 1963. In 1979 he was awarded the
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in Berlin. In 1939, Gersdorff's unit was deployed in the German
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Ernst von Gersdorff and his spouse Christine (née Countess zu
29:
27:
German general and failed assassin of Adolf Hitler (1905–1980)
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Following the war, Gersdorff participated in the work of the
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In his memoirs, Gersdorff claimed to have opposed the OKW's
932:(Reflections of a Conspiracy). Busse-Seewald Verlag, 1983.
689:(contributor) (2004). Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.
456:, to inspect captured Soviet weapons. This was as part of
928:
and Hitler on 20 July 1944 Attempted Assassination) in
888:
Plotting Hitler’s Death: The Story of German Resistance
336:
in 1923. He received his initial military education in
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Von Schlabrendorff, Fabian. Simon, Hilda, translator.
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Gersdorff later dedicated his life to charity in the
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413:in 1940. In 1944, Gersdorff was transferred to the
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1110:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
775:. Wydawn. Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. p. 37.
607:, one of the eight classes of West Germany's only
458:Heldengedenktag ("Day of Commemoration of Heroes")
437:, Gersdorff agreed to join the conspiracy to kill
288:intelligence officer, he attempted to assassinate
818:| Nazi Day of the Dead - Berlin 1943 |Mark Felton
1105:Military personnel from the Province of Silesia
546:. (The study, together with contributions from
569:In the mid-1950s, Gersdorff tried to join the
1080:Major generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht)
8:
605:GroĂźes Verdienstkreuz (Grand Cross of Merit)
417:. Later that year he was decorated with the
259:GroĂźes Verdienstkreuz (Great Cross of Merit)
816:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1gISC92E2E
356:. The following day he graduated from the
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628:Munich Institute for Contemporary History
508:Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche-Streithorst
80:Learn how and when to remove this message
43:This article includes a list of general
1029:
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282:Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
98:Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
18:Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff
756:
712:Assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler
599:. He was a founding president of the
490:where he managed to evade suspicion.
444:On 21 March 1943, Hitler visited the
7:
1090:Protestants in the German Resistance
1120:Burials at the Ostfriedhof (Munich)
348:In 1926, Gersdorff was promoted to
320:nobility. He was the second son of
905:. Westview Press, September 1994.
526:, in which, under the guidance of
503:Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
364:, and he subsequently served as a
49:it lacks sufficient corresponding
25:
740:Memorial to the German Resistance
619:("Soldier During the Downfall").
1075:Failed assassins of Adolf Hitler
1032:
1004:
736:Short biography of von Gersdorff
429:Conspiracy to assassinate Hitler
419:Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
255:Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
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169:
34:
966:. Jonathan Cape, London: 2006.
1019:Rudolf-Christoph von Gersdorff
985:Rudolf-Christoph von Gersdorff
930:Spiegelbild einer Verschwörung
583:head of the German Chancellery
573:, the armed forces of postwar
552:Heinrich Freiherr von LĂĽttwitz
499:Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven
1:
653:, in 1980, at the age of 74.
524:U.S. Army Historical Division
354:Rittmeister (cavalry captain)
1115:Katyn massacre investigators
534:operational studies for the
1095:Members of the 20 July plot
951:. H-net.com. Archived from
916:Jacobsen, Hans-Adolf, ed. “
562:, was published in 2004 as
1136:
330:Prince Augustus of Prussia
358:Prussian Military Academy
103:
544:Allied Normandy breakout
530:, German generals wrote
512:Eberhard von Breitenbuch
379:, he was transferred to
989:German National Library
601:Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
273:Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe
64:more precise citations.
947:Kienle, Polly (2005).
846:18 August 2007 at the
738:on the website of the
1021:at Knowledge (XXG)'s
865:18 April 2007 at the
383:, where he served as
211:Years of service
435:Henning von Tresckow
377:Operation Barbarossa
158:Ostfriedhof (Munich)
955:on 31 January 2016.
831:(2006), pp.192-193.
787:(Also available at
769:Adam Basak (1993).
663:Soldat im Untergang
617:Soldat im Untergang
556:Wilhelm Fahrmbacher
645:Gersdorff died in
634:Ideology with its
632:National Socialist
362:invasion of Poland
275:(1952–63 chairman)
1070:People from Lubin
972:978-0-224-07121-5
938:978-3-512-00657-9
796:on 19 August 2011
782:978-83-229-0885-3
707:German Resistance
695:978-1-85367-584-3
679:978-3-548-34008-1
597:Order of St. John
585:and confidant of
560:Heinrich Eberbach
381:Army Group Center
352:, and in 1934 to
350:second lieutenant
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269:Order of St. John
237:Army Group Center
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877:Bibliography
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798:. Retrieved
794:the original
790:"Adam Basak"
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575:West Germany
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548:Paul Hausser
532:World War II
528:Franz Halder
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495:20 July plot
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439:Adolf Hitler
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385:intelligence
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290:Adolf Hitler
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243:Battles/wars
223:Generalmajor
189:Nazi Germany
147:West Germany
138:(1980-01-27)
91:
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67:
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1065:1980 deaths
1060:1905 births
942:(in German)
757:Kienle 2005
682:(in German)
579:Hans Globke
538:, first as
518:Later years
484:Karl Dönitz
403:mass graves
312:Early years
298:mass graves
62:introducing
1054:Categories
718:References
613:paraplegic
587:Chancellor
571:Bundeswehr
448:, the old
201:Reichswehr
165:Allegiance
70:March 2015
45:references
1011:Biography
991:catalogue
723:Citations
673:(ISBN ),
536:U.S. Army
390:with the
286:Wehrmacht
205:Wehrmacht
863:Archived
844:Archived
701:See also
318:Silesian
195:Service/
987:in the
926:Bormann
651:Bavaria
405:of the
388:liaison
338:Breslau
300:of the
214:1923–45
123:Silesia
58:improve
997:Portal
970:
936:
909:
894:
779:
693:
677:
669:
647:Munich
479:, and
450:armory
392:Abwehr
302:Soviet
251:Awards
233:Abwehr
197:branch
186:
174:
153:Buried
143:Munich
47:, but
1041:Media
800:7 May
657:Works
322:Baron
119:LĂĽben
968:ISBN
934:ISBN
907:ISBN
892:ISBN
802:2011
777:ISBN
691:ISBN
675:ISBN
667:ISBN
638:and
558:and
540:POWs
510:and
411:NKVD
229:Unit
219:Rank
133:Died
113:Born
920:” (
566:.)
514:).
452:on
292:by
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747:^
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