Valkyrie

The meme of "Resistance" in World War 2 continues with Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie", which is a dramatization of the 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944. Tom Cruise portrays Claus Von Stauffenberg, whose role in the attempt still rankles deeply within the heart of Germany.

Resistance itself in Nazi Germany was apparent and in existence for the duration of the conflict, but like the rest of Occupied Europe, the penalties for it were brutally plain to see. Death on a unprecedented scale would be carried out, with those adjudged to be involved almost certainly executed, and the web of killing usually extended to family members and the like as a particularly effective form of warning. There was no concerted movement of any size at any one time, and the success of the 1940 campaign in Western Europe and the almost invulnerable nature of the German Forces up to late 1941 put a huge dent in opposition spreading to the civilian public until the Gestapo began to notice a downturn in 1943, almost certainly brought on by the consistent bombing by the USAAF and RAF of major cities such as Hamburg.

Whilst the White Rose and Edelweiss Pirate movements were small and almost molecular in size, the most obvious source of any sort of resistance that could effect any sort of change then was through the Army itsef, elements of which had harboured a growing dislike of Hitler since his appointment as Reichskanzler in 1933. The dislike was mutual; as the source of the infamous Dolchstoßlegende that had produced the Versailles treaty and the source of all Germany's inter-war woes, Hitler harboured a great resentment to the aristocratic high-minded echelons of the German military until his death. Those concerted in opposition were riven by problems - most agreed that Hitler was the sole problem, but by 1936 it was difficult to see his removal other than by assassination, and many of those involved were devout Christians and against such a proposal. Furthermore, there was no one path for a future without Hitler - many Aristocratic Officers had originally supported his policies and did not forsee a return to the Parliamentary democracy of the Weimar Republic, which for them was the source of his rise.

At all stages during this period Hitler was always one step ahead; displaying a machiavellian vision that would eventually bind Germany into a unavoidable descent to the abyss. His Reichwehrsreid of 1934 bound the Reichswehr to a pledge of loyalty, and the manufactured Blomberg-Fritsch affair of 1938 removed from office his two foremost and powerful critics. This precipitated a major shake-up in the organisation of the Army, and lay the seeds for the 20 July plot, with one of those generals involved, Ludwig Beck, becoming more and more isolated in his opinion of how any future European war might be waged. After a showdown with Hitler over the proposed invasion of Czechoslovakia, he resigned, producing a memo on 29 July 1938 stating that "the German Army had the duty to prepare for possible wars with foreign enemies and "for an internal conflict which need only take place in Berlin".

By the end of 1942, the outlook for the German Army was weak. Defeats in North Africa, the first inklings of the Allied assault on the "underbelly of the Reich" and the disaster at Stalingrad meant that a concerted withdrawal on the Eastern front was inevitable. Hitler's strategic view of the conflict was from this point on fundamentally flawed - as a military strategist his outlook was in total victory, and for the first time his commanders knew that a more realistic battle had to be fought on the Eastern front in order to maintain stretched supply lines and the morale of a battered Army that had suffered an ignoble defeat of harrowing proportions. Yet those who talked of dissent still found it almost impossible to garner support for the removal of the Fuhrer - some of his most brilliant generals, such as Von Manstein and Rommel knew that the war was lost, but could not bring themselves to mutiny.

It was down to Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg to become the central energizing force in a movement to assassinate Hitler and enable Operation Valkyrie, a pre-planned military doctrine put in place in case of civil unrest by mobilizing the reserve Army. Stauffenberg himself seems to have been a perfect example of German aristocracy in the War - a highly decorated soldier who to Hitler himself would have been the perfect embodiment of the professional warrior - who agreed on the invasion of Poland and its annexation for resources for a Greater Reich, but one who having taking part, also disagreed fundamentally with the invasion of Prague a year earlier. It is documented that he also tried to soften the Occupation policy whilst at the Eastern Front, and was fully aware of the mass executions being carried out by both the SS and the Einsatzgruppen. Wounded severely whilst in North Africa, Stauffenberg lost his right hand and an eye. Whilst recovering, Stauffenberg was introduced to Henning Von Tresckow, a major opponent of Hitler, and soon placed in the higher echelons of the Ersatzheer (replacement Army). One of his superiors was General Olbricht, who was in league with Von Tresckow. This eased the path for Stauffenberg's access to Hitler, which came with his delivery of 2 bombs with adjutant Lt Werner Von Haeften placed inside a suitcase at the Wolfsschanze in Poland.

Stauffenberg was able to prime one of the bombs, which went off as he left, and having bluffed his way past checkpoints with Von Haeften, believed that Hitler was now dead, and returned to Berlin and to the Bendlerblock, the nerve-centre of the coup. But Olbricht had yet to receive confirmation that the Fuhrer had been killed due to a communications blackout at the Wolfsschanze, and Operation Valkyrie, which would use the Ersatzheer to gain command of Berlin and put the Nazi high command and senior SS officers under arrest, was delayed for 3 hours. That evening, both Goebbels and Hitler himself announced on radio that he had survived the blast, and later in the night, with troops loyal to the regime having regained command of the small area of Berlin that had revolted, the inner circle of conspirators including Stauffenberg and Olbricht were summarily court-martialled by General Frohm and executed. Frohm, who was aware of the plot, did not survive and was executed in 1945 as the Nazi regime flickered and died.

Being somewhat dismissive of American cinematic portrayals of events in World War 2, I was surprised that Valkyrie is remarkable for its attention to detail in the events of July 20, and as such director Bryan Singer deserves enormous credit. Much of the casting is excellent, with Bill Nighy in particular giving Olbricht a sense of forlorn dignity, but the central fault of the film is in the lead, played by Cruise.

Singer gained finance from United Artists and Cruise himself for the film, so it was inevitable that he would gain the role, but the fact remains that Stauffenberg was an ambiguous and complex character, and I personally feel that the original choice of the scriptwriters, Thomas Kretschmann (who is in the film but as a Major in the Ersaztheer), would have given the role a gravitas that a Non-German could never hope to achieve. For his part, Cruise acts well, but he lacks the sort of emotional complexity that suited the role, and as such gives either black or white, and never a shade of grey.

The other criticism I would apply is that the subject matter itself is far more labyrinthian than the July 20 plot, and for more serious historians the film does not address these issues. Von Stauffenberg's efforts remain the most well-known attempt on Hitler's life, but we do not know what might have happened had he died. I won't attempt to enter conjecture in detail, but the likelihood is that a face-off between the Wehrmacht and Himmler's SS may have occurred, with many plotters and factions attempting to fill the void, and Von Stauffenberg's original plan may have dissolved in the middle of such chaos. It is unlikely that the Wehrmacht could have saved the Eastern Front as the Russians had launched the great forgotten offensive Operation Bagration, but as the Allied effort in Normandy was still in its infancy, it is likely that the Germans may have attempted to open negotiations, or at least Generals in the Wehrmacht may have do so.

Valkyrie then is a worthy film, and although I'll fully admit that a non-German playing the role, not least Cruise, rankled with me, especially given the intensity of Der Untergang, but given the limitations of a Hollywood time limit, it skilfully manages to portray the historical events with a taut script and is helped by attention to detail in casting.