Resistance - 80 years attack on Hitler - 20. July in Hessen
When the failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944, occurs for the 80th time this coming Saturday in Hessen, there are also connections to Hesse. A series of participants and supporters lived and acted here at least for a time. Among them are the former General Staff Chief from Wiesbaden, Ludwig Beck, the former Hessian Interior Minister Wilhelm Leuschner, and the later Vice President of the Wiesbaden Landtag, Cuno Raabe. Hitler had survived the assassination attempt at the time. The Second World War continued. Many conspirators were executed in 1944.
Beck was shot. The officer had retired as General Staff Chief of the Army in 1938 and soon became one of the heads of the resistance. Various putsch plans saw him as the new head of state. Hessian Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) honors Beck in front of the German Press Agency as one of "the many brave men who wanted to bring Freedom and Democracy over the Unjust Regime of the National Socialists with the Attempt of July 20, 1944, and gave their lives for it."
Execution after Assassination
Wilhelm Leuschner entered the Hessian Landtag for the SPD in 1924 and became Hessian Interior Minister in 1928. He lost this position in 1933. He coordinated the trade union resistance. After the assassination attempt, he was executed. In the words of Minister President Rhein, Leuschner "had contributed significantly since the 1930s to bringing the opponents of the dictatorship into contact with each other and organizing the resistance."
Cuno Raabe was first Mayor of Hagen and later of his birthplace Fulda. He joined the resistance. Minister President Rhein explains: "Like a miracle, Cuno Raabe managed to escape the death sentence and shape Hessen after the end of the Nazi terror: as co-founder of the CDU Hessen, as Mayor of his birthplace Fulda, and as Vice President of the Hessian Landtag."
- Despite numerous attempts, Adolf Hitler managed to survive the July 20, 1944 attack in Hesse, which was orchestrated by individuals with connections to the region.
- Ludwig Beck, the former General Staff Chief from Wiesbaden, played a significant role in the resistance against National Socialism, serving as one of its heads after his retirement in 1938.
- Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) paid tribute to Beck, highlighting him as one of the "brave men" who sought to bring "Freedom and Democracy" to Germany by challenging the unjust regime of National Socialists through the July 20, 1944 attempt, ultimately giving their lives for the cause.
- Wilhelm Leuschner, a former Hessian Interior Minister for the SPD, entered the Hessian Landtag in 1924 and became a key figure in the trade union resistance. After the attempt on Hitler, he was executed due to his involvement in the plot.
- Cuno Raabe, a prominent figure in Hesse, served as Mayor of Hagen and later his birthplace, Fulda. Raabe joined the resistance and, remarkably, evaded the death sentence. He went on to shape Hesse post-Nazi terror, founding the CDU Hesse and serving as Vice President of the Hessian Landtag.
- The controversial history of the July 20, 1944 attack in Hesse is deeply intertwined with the actions and fates of individuals such as Beck, Leuschner, and Raabe, whose stories are significant in understanding the Second World War and post-war political landscape of Germany, particularly in Hesse and Wiesbaden State Parliament.
