Danny Orbach. The Plots against Hitler. Boston: Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifin Harcourt, 2016. xvi + 406 pp. $28.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-544-71443-4.
Reviewed by Mark Montesclaros
Published on H-War (April, 2019)
Commissioned by Margaret Sankey (Air University)
Academic interest in resistance movements lief that divine providence protected him in his that defed Hitler’s Third Reich seems to continue quest to fulfll his vision for Germany. Thus, Or‐ unabated. In popular culture, cinematic treat‐ bach’s summary is necessarily a melancholy one: ments such as Valkyrie (2008) and 13 Minutes “So ended the story of the German resistance (2015) introduced broader audiences to those that movement; honorably, perhaps, but in utter fail‐ tried to eliminate Hitler, and in particular to the ure” (p. 266). respective assassins portrayed in each flm, Claus The Plots against Hitler is organized logically, von Staufenberg and Georg Elser. Both attempts chronologically as well as thematically. The book fgure prominently in Danny Orbach’s The Plots begins not with a direct attempt to depose Hitler against Hitler, an efective new study on resisters, but with the well-known burning of the Reichstag primarily in the German military organizations, —the German parliament building—by the ill-fat‐ that tried to defy, depose, or assassinate the infa‐ ed Dutch Communist Marinus van der Lubbe in mous leader of the Third Reich. Orbach’s book en‐ February 1933. Orbach explains that Hitler used compasses the period 1938-44 and is a fascinating this attempt as an excuse to eliminate all possible analysis that makes a solid contribution to the competition to the Nazis—especially the Commu‐ current literature on resistance movements with‐ nists and Social Democrats. It thus fell to the in Nazi Germany. Wehrmacht—the German armed forces—and es‐ Using a variety of primary sources, including pecially the army, to form the basis for resistance many in foreign languages, Orbach uses an efec‐ to the Third Reich. While seemingly an unlikely tive structural approach to underpin his analysis. source for opposition to Hitler, the army eventual‐ This aids the reader in placing the resistance ly developed into the organization most capable movements, particularly those within the German of opposing him based on its organization, leader‐ army, in proper context. Additionally, the author ship, and access to arms, intelligence, and the examines the strengths and weaknesses of each of Fuhrer himself. the army confgurations, which helps to explain Most of the author’s work focuses on the evo‐ why some were more successful than others. Of lution of the resistance within the army, begin‐ course, in the end, none achieved the ultimate ning with the formation of the initial group of goal of eliminating the leader of the Third Reich; conspirators in 1938 and culminating in the fa‐ each failed attempt merely reinforced Hitler’s be‐ mous Staufenberg assassination and coup at‐ H-Net Reviews tempt (“Valkyrie II”) in July 1944. Using network tons of rubble caused by the bomb’s detonation at analysis, Orbach categorizes the phases of the 9:20 p.m. Luck and chance favored Hitler, as they army resistance, using terms such as “cliques,” did time and time again. “connected cliques,” and “wheel conspiracy,” ar‐ There are some noteworthy aspects of The guing that over time the movement grew in so‐ Plots against Hitler. First, the author’s narrative phistication and efectiveness. While each phase ability is exceptional; the book reads like a novel had its advantages and disadvantages, Orbach ar‐ and readily holds the reader’s interest. A second is gues that Claus von Staufenberg’s personal its complete lack of hagiography. Orbach never li‐ charisma and leadership as the “hub” of the onizes his subject resisters; in fact, he brings out wheel conspiracy represented the movement’s the humanity in each of them, particularly those most mature stage in 1944 and came closest to with fawed or less than admirable motivations achieving its ultimate goal of eliminating Hitler for getting rid of Hitler. Indeed, some resisters and replacing his with a regime drawn from the were known to have committed mass atrocities or resistance leadership. Staufenberg was able to had connections with the notorious SS, even as energize and mobilize the various elements of the they decided to join movements aimed at depos‐ conspiracy, to include its intellectual circles, its ing Hitler. It is thus difcult for the reader to nerve center within army headquarters in Berlin, place resisters such as the notorious SS general as well as resisters at the proposed killing site— Arthur Nebe into their proper context. Nebe, com‐ Hitler’s operational headquarters in Rastenburg, plicit in heinous crimes on the eastern front as East Prussia. Orbach’s excellent analysis of the commander of one of the murderous Einsatzgrup‐ evolution of the army resistance movement—with pen task forces, nonetheless was a long-time op‐ it multiple personalities, schemes, and coup/assas‐ ponent of Hitler. Finally, as mentioned previously, sination attempts—comprises the core of The Orbach’s use of network analysis is particularly Plots against Hitler. efective in helping the reader make sense of the Ironically, it was a non-army attempt that continually evolving nature of the resistance came closest to killing Hitler, according to the au‐ movement within the army. thor. Georg Elser, a civilian working alone, be‐ The book would beneft from some very mi‐ came radicalized against the Third Reich prior to nor improvements. The frst is a general chronolo‐ the onset of war. Determined that eliminating the gy or tabular listing of all resistance movement leadership was the only way to save Germany events such as planned coups or assassination at‐ from a destructive war, Elser executed a bomb tempts during the period examined by Orbach. In plot without the beneft of any assistance from an this way, the reader could place each event in the outside organization. Skilled in watch-making and context of what was happening more broadly in handy with explosives, Elser planned to assassi‐ the Third Reich during the course of the war. A nate the Nazi leader at a Berlin beer hall in No‐ second recommendation is for the author to com‐ vember 1938 during his appearance at an an‐ ment briefy on how today’s Germany regards the niversary celebration of his own “Beer Hall army’s resistance movement in its historical mem‐ Putsch” of 1923. Elser planned the attempt to per‐ ory; this would complement Orbach’s excellent fection; the bomb went of precisely on time. Un‐ concluding sections on what motivated resisters fortunately, Hitler did not cooperate; he uncharac‐ to action, as well as his personal ruminations on teristically cut his remarks short on the night of the meaning of “heroism.” November 8 and left the venue after less than a It is the tragedy of history that all attempts to ten-minute appearance. Had he been present, end Hitler’s reign, and perhaps end the war in Eu‐ Hitler would have surely been killed by the two
2 H-Net Reviews rope earlier than it did, failed. Still, The Plots against Hitler serves as an excellent primer on re‐ sistance movements that attempted to remove Hitler by force, particularly those rooted in the German army. Orbach’s structural analysis will in‐ terest scholars of the period while the book’s clear prose and riveting narrative will appeal to the general reader as well. All told, Orbach makes an impressive and invaluable contribution to the burgeoning literature on movements that op‐ posed the Third Reich.
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Citation: Mark Montesclaros. Review of Orbach, Danny. The Plots against Hitler. H-War, H-Net Reviews. April, 2019.
URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=52554
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