Operation Valkyrie and the Plot to Kill Hitler
On December 25, 2008, MGM studios will release VALKYRIE, the true story of the plot to kill Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944 by members of the German resistance. The film stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the man who was given the task of planting the bomb intended to take out Hitler. It was filmed on location in Germany at many of the actual locations in which the events took place.
Recently, American Valor Quarterly editor Tim Holbert had the opportunity to speak with Christopher McQuarrie, co-producer and co-writer of the film. Included in this issue is that interview, which focuses on bringing one of the most incredible stories – and great tragedies – of World War II to the big screen.
The resistance secretly retooled that order to enable them to take over the government. They were going to create the impression that there was an attempt to overthrow Hitler from within the German government, as opposed to a civil uprising. At this point, Operation Valkyrie would go into effect, and the German Reserve Army would be used to unwittingly assist them in overthrowing the German government. That was the plan.
As far as the resistance movement was concerned, that is a much more complicated answer. There were many pockets of resistance, with different groups within both the German government and military, as well as civilian groups, that had been actively resisting Hitler and plotting against him from as early as the 1930s.
I saw the film at a recent screening and it struck me as being remarkably accurate. How did you get involved in the project and what interested you in the subject? Also, please tell us about the research that goes into a film like this, based on a largely unrecognized true story.
This plot is always something that has fascinated me. What I did not really know about was the extent to which they had gone to actually overthrow Hitler. The real challenge was not killing Hitler (though that was a significant challenge) the real challenge was overthrowing the government once he was gone. That is what really interested me. Like many, I had always assumed that one who was in the German Army during World War II was a Nazi or a member of the Nazi party. What I discovered was that a great many people within the German Army were not Nazis, but were former aristocrats who actually opposed the Nazis. There was a great deal of conflict within the German Army, and between the German Army – the Wehrmacht – and the SS. There was also conflict among members of the German High Command, between those who supported and those who opposed the Nazis. It was a much more complex picture than what is usually painted of the Germans who were in the military during World War II.