67-651: Franz Josef Huber (22 January 1902 – 30 January 1975) was an SS functionary who was a police and security service official in both the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany . Huber joined the Nazi Party in 1937 and worked closely with Gestapo chief Heinrich Müller . After the German annexation of Austria in 1938, Huber was posted to Vienna, where he was appointed chief of the Security Police ( SiPo ) and Gestapo for Vienna,
134-453: A Zeitfreiwilliger (timed volunteer), which were reserve units that could be mobilized on short notice by the army. In mid-1922, he entered the Munich police service and by 1923 was a "auxiliary assistant". Huber was promoted to "office assistant" and by 1926 joined the political police department. In January 1928, Huber was made a "police assistant" and later a police inspector. During the years of
201-424: A blue handkerchief, he started by installing a secret door in the timber panelling to a pillar behind the speaker's rostrum. After removing the plaster behind the door, he hollowed out a chamber in the brickwork for his bomb. Normally completing his work around 2:00–3:00 a.m., he dozed in the storeroom off the gallery until the doors were unlocked at about 6:30 a.m. He then left via a rear door, often carrying
268-525: A bomb during his speech inside the Bürgerbräukeller . Elser hollowed out the pillar behind the speaker's rostrum, and placed the bomb inside it. On 8 November 1939, the bomb exploded at 21:20, but Hitler had already left the room thirteen minutes earlier. Elser was arrested when he tried to cross into Switzerland. Elser was transferred to Munich, where he was interrogated by the Gestapo. After his confession to
335-531: A camera with him, a Christmas gift from Maria Schmauder. He had just become unemployed due to an argument with a factory supervisor. In April–May 1939, Elser found a labouring job at the Vollmer quarry in Königsbronn. While there, he collected an arsenal of 105 blasting cartridges and 125 detonators, causing him to admit to his interrogators, "I knew two or three detonators were sufficient for my purposes, but I thought
402-587: A carpenter and cabinet-maker by trade, became a member of the left-leaning Federation of Woodworkers Union. He also joined the Red Front-Fighters' Association , although he told his interrogators in 1939 that he attended a political assembly no more than three times while a member. He also stated that he voted for the Communist Party until 1933, as he considered the KPD the best defender of workers' interests. There
469-524: A civil service pension. Huber died on 30 January 1975 in Munich. SS">SS The requested page title contains unsupported characters : ">". Return to Main Page . Johann Georg Elser Johann Georg Elser ( German: [ˈɡeː.ɔʁk ˈɛl.zɐ]] ; 4 January 1903 – 9 April 1945) was a German worker who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at
536-549: A conservative member of the army's high command and Hitler's Minister of War. Meisinger's investigation revealed that Blomberg's wife, Erna Gruhn had been a prostitute with a police record and once posed for pornographic photos. Blomberg was forced to resign. In 1936, Meisinger uncovered allegations of homosexuality made against the Commander-in-Chief of the Army Colonel General Werner von Fritsch . A file
603-578: A full written confession, though the document did not survive the war. Elser was transferred to Berlin Gestapo Headquarters on Prinz Albrecht Strasse , possibly on 18 November. His parents, siblings and their spouses, together with his former girlfriend Elsa Härlen, were taken by train to Berlin to be held in Moabit prison and then in the grand Hotel Kaiserhof . His mother, sister Maria Hirth, brother-in-law Karl Hirth and Elsa Härlen were interrogated in
670-455: A hiking club where he met Elsa Härlen. He moved to lodge in the Härlens' basement, building kitchen cabinets, kitchen chairs and a doll's house for Elsa. Their love affair in the spring of 1936 led to her separation from her husband in 1937 and divorce in 1938. In 1936, Elser worked with a carpenter named Grupp in Königsbronn, making desks and installing windows, but soon gave up the job, believing
737-490: A letter that Schurr sent to a newspaper in Ulm in 1947 which stated that Elser "was always extremely interested in some act of violence against Hitler and his cronies. He always called Hitler a 'gypsy'—one just had to look at his criminal face." Elser's parents were Protestant, and he attended church with his mother as a child, though his attendance lapsed. His church attendance increased during 1939 – after he had decided to carry out
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#1732927327392804-688: A moderation in the policy objectives will occur through the elimination of these three men ... The idea of eliminating the leadership came to me in the fall of 1938 ... I thought to myself that this is only possible if the leadership is together at a rally. From the daily press I gathered that the next meeting of leaders was happening on 8 and 9 November 1938 in Munich in the Bürgerbräukeller. Five years later in Dachau concentration camp, SS officer Lechner claimed Elser revealed his motive to him: I had to do it because, for his whole life, Hitler has meant
871-465: A small suitcase filled with debris. Security was relatively lax at the Bürgerbräukeller. Christian Weber , a veteran from the Beer Hall Putsch and the Munich city councillor, was responsible. However, from the beginning of September, after the outbreak of war with Poland, Elser was aware of the presence of air raid wardens and two "free-running dogs" in the building. While he worked at night in
938-555: A staff of 900 (80 per cent of whom were recruited from the Austrian police), it was the largest Gestapo office outside of Berlin. An estimated 50,000 people were interrogated or tortured there. Huber was also the formal chief of the Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Vienna , and although the de facto leaders were Adolf Eichmann and later Alois Brunner , was nevertheless responsible for
1005-524: Is evidence that Elser opposed Nazism from the beginning of the regime in 1933; he refused to perform the Hitler salute , did not join others in listening to Hitler's speeches broadcast on the radio, and did not vote in the elections or referendums during the Nazi era. Elser met Josef Schurr, a Communist from Schnaitheim, at a Woodworkers' Union meeting in Königsbronn in 1933. Elser had antifascist views, supported by
1072-582: The Bürgerbräukeller in Munich (known as the Bürgerbräukeller Bombing ). Elser constructed and placed a bomb near the platform from which Hitler was to deliver a speech. It did not kill Hitler, who left earlier than expected, but it did kill 8 people and injured 62 others. Elser was held as a prisoner for more than five years until he was executed at Dachau concentration camp less than a month before
1139-770: The Venlo Incident . However, Huber's investigation found that neither SIS agent was involved. In March 1938, after the annexation of Austria into the German Reich, Huber was appointed head of the State Police. This appointment made him chief of the SiPo, Gestapo and SD for Vienna, the "Lower Danube", and "Upper Danube" regions. He worked out of the Hotel Metropole which was transformed into Gestapo headquarters in Vienna in April 1938. With
1206-729: The Weimar Republic , he worked with Heinrich Müller, then chief of the political department of the Munich police. Huber was involved in the suppression of the Nazi Party, communist, and other political groups. In 1933, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler , became chief of the Munich Police and Reinhard Heydrich was commander of Department IV, the Bavarian Political Police . Heydrich did not dismiss Huber, Müller or Josef Albert Meisinger as he perceived correctly that these men were thorough professionals and Heydrich needed such men in
1273-507: The "Lower Danube" and "Upper Danube" regions. He was responsible for mass deportations of Jews from the area. After the war ended, Huber never served any prison time. He was employed by the West German Federal Intelligence Service from 1955–64. He died in Munich in 1975. Huber was born on 22 January 1902 in Munich. He attended school through "seven classes of gymnasium ". In his last year of school, Huber served as
1340-404: The "infernal machine". In August, after a bout of sickness, he left for Munich. Powder, explosives, a battery and detonators filled the false bottom of his wooden suitcase. Other boxes contained his clothes, clock movements and the tools of his trade. Elser arrived in Munich on 5 August 1939. Using his real name, he rented a room in the apartments of two unsuspecting couples, at first staying with
1407-474: The Baumanns and from 1 September, Alfons and Rosa Lehmann. He soon became a regular at the Bürgerbräukeller restaurant for his evening meal. As before, he was able to enter the adjoining Bürgerbräukeller Hall before the doors were locked at about 10:30 p.m. Over the next two months, Elser stayed all night inside the Bürgerbräukeller 30 to 35 times. Working on the gallery level and using a flashlight dimmed with
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#17329273273921474-414: The Bürgerbräukeller, Elser built his device during the day. He purchased extra parts, including sound insulation, from local hardware stores and became friends with the local master woodworker, Brög, who allowed him use of his workshop. On the nights of 1–2 November, Elser installed the explosives in the pillar. On 4–5 November, which were Saturday and Sunday dance nights, he had to buy a ticket and wait in
1541-510: The Schmauder family in nearby Schnaitheim . At Waldenmaier, Elser worked in the shipping department and had access to many parts of the plant, including the "special department" where fuses and detonators were produced. After his arrest and confession, Elser told the Gestapo: "Before the decision to take my action in the fall of 1938, I had stolen neither parts nor powder from the factory." Elser,
1608-784: The Vollmer Company, and with this he had built a time bomb. He had been induced to do this by foreign agents and had acted on their orders ... Härlen was left in no doubt that Elser was only repeating what his interrogators wanted him to say. Apart from Maria Hirth and her husband, who were considered accomplices and imprisoned for over one year, the family members and Härlen were allowed to return home. While in Berlin, Härlen received special attention, being interviewed by Heinrich Himmler, having an audience with Adolf Hitler, and being quizzed by Martin Bormann . However, she did not help their cause, which
1675-410: The anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch on 8 November 1939 were Joseph Goebbels , Reinhard Heydrich , Rudolf Hess , Robert Ley , Alfred Rosenberg , Julius Streicher , August Frank , Hermann Esser and Heinrich Himmler . Hitler was welcomed to the platform by Christian Weber . Unknown to Elser, Hitler had initially cancelled his speech at the Bürgerbräukeller to devote his attention to planning
1742-519: The apparent result of working at low level during his night work at the Bürgerbräukeller. Dr Albrecht Böhme, head of the Munich Kripo, was witness to a severe and prolonged beating of Elser, in which he said Himmler participated. He later recalled: "But Elser, who was groaning and bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose, made no confession; he would probably not have been physically able to, even if he had wanted to." However, on 15 November, Elser made
1809-616: The assassination attempt – either at a Protestant or Roman Catholic church. He claimed that church attendance and the recitation of the Lord's Prayer calmed him. He told his arresting officers: "I believe in the survival of the soul after death, and I also believed that I would not go to heaven if I had not had an opportunity to prove that I wanted good. I also wanted to prevent by my act even greater bloodshed." During four days of interrogation in Berlin (19–22 November 1939), Elser articulated his motive to his interrogators: I considered how to improve
1876-456: The attempt on his life until later that night on a stop in Nuremberg . When told of the bombing by Goebbels, Hitler responded, "A man has to be lucky." A little later Hitler had a different spin, saying, "Now I am completely at peace! My leaving the Bürgerbräukeller earlier than usual is proof to me that Providence wants me to reach my goal." In Munich on 9 November, the annual guard of honour for
1943-505: The clear evidence of the German make, Himmler released to the press that the metal parts pointed to "foreign origin". Himmler offered a reward of 500,000 marks for information leading to the capture of the culprits, and the Gestapo was soon deluged with hundreds of suspects. When one suspect was reported to have detonator parts in his pockets, Otto Rappold of the counter-espionage arm of the Gestapo sped to Königsbronn and neighbouring towns. Every family member and possible acquaintance of Elser
2010-465: The conditions of the workers and avoid a war. For this I was not encouraged by anyone ... Even from Radio Moscow I never heard that the German government and the regime must be overthrown. I reasoned the situation in Germany could only be modified by a removal of the current leadership, I mean Hitler, Goering and Goebbels ... I did not want to eliminate Nazism ... I was merely of the opinion that
2077-582: The crime, Elser was taken to the Berlin headquarters of the Gestapo, where he was tortured. Himmler wanted an in-depth investigation of the matter as he was unconvinced Elser acted alone. Huber was put in charge of the investigation and reported on it to Müller. Himmler was convinced that two known British SIS agents were involved in the attempt to assassinate Hitler at the Bürgerbräukeller . British SIS agents, Captain Sigismund Payne Best and Major Richard Henry Stevens were captured in what became known as
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2144-568: The day of Hitler's annual speech on the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch . Elser was not able to enter the Bürgerbräukeller until 10:30 p.m., when the crowd had dispersed. He stayed until midnight before going back to his lodging. The next morning, he returned to Königsbronn. On the following day, 10 November, the anti-Jewish violence of the Kristallnacht took place in Munich. "In the following weeks I slowly concocted in my mind that it
2211-475: The downfall of Germany ... don't think that I'm some kind of dyed-in-the-wool Communist — I'm not. I have some sympathy for Ernst Thälmann , but getting rid of Hitler just became an obsession of mine ... But, as you can see — I got caught, and now I have to pay for it. I would have preferred it if they'd executed me right away. In order to find out how best to implement his assassination plan, Elser travelled to Munich by train on 8 November 1938,
2278-555: The failing business. During this period, Elser shared a room with a Communist co-worker who convinced him to join the Red Front-Fighters League . He also joined traditional dress and dance groups ( German : Trachtenvereine ). In 1929, he found work with Schönholzer, a small woodworking company in Bottighofen ; this required Elser to cross the border daily into Switzerland. The work ran out within six months, however, and he
2345-496: The fledgling aircraft-manufacturer Dornier . In August 1925, a work-friend enticed Elser to go with him to Konstanz to work in a clock factory. Due to lack of work, the clock factory closed down, was sold, then reopened as the Schuckmann Clock Factory. Elser was re-employed, but, along with the other employees, he was dismissed when the factory mysteriously burned down after the owner had unsuccessfully tried to sell
2412-520: The gallery until after 1 a.m. before he could install the twin-clock mechanism that would trigger the detonator. To celebrate the completion of his work, Elser recalled later, "I left by the back road and went to the Isartorplatz where at the kiosk I drank two cups of coffee." On 6 November, Elser left Munich for Stuttgart to stay overnight with his sister, Maria Hirth, and her husband. Leaving them his tool boxes and baggage, he returned to Munich
2479-408: The hall at the time. Seven were killed (the cashier Maria Henle, Franz Lutz, Wilhem Kaiser, a radio announcer named Weber, Leonhard Reindl, Emil Kasberger, and Eugen Schachta). Another sixty-three were injured, sixteen seriously, with one dying later. All but one of those killed were members of the Nazi Party, of which all but one had been longtime supporters of the ideology. Hitler did not learn of
2546-417: The imminent war with France, but changed his mind and attended after all. As fog was forecast, possibly preventing him from flying back to Berlin the next morning, Hitler decided to return to Berlin the same night by his private train. With the departure from Munich's main station set for 9:30 p.m., the start time of the reunion was brought forward half an hour to 8 p.m. and Hitler cut his speech from
2613-446: The investigation against Fritsch. At one point Huber and Meisinger interrogated Otto Schmidt, a notorious criminal whose Berlin gang had specialized in blackmail of homosexuals. Schmidt identified Fritsch as a homosexual. Heydrich resubmitted the updated von Fritsch file to Hitler. It was eventually determined that von Fritsch had been confused with a Rittmeister von Frisch. The accusations against Fritsch broke down and Schmidt's record
2680-506: The investigation into the Munich bombing. Himmler did this, but also assigned total control of the investigation to the chief of the Gestapo, Heinrich Müller . Müller immediately ordered the arrest of all Bürgerbräukeller personnel, while Nebe ran the onsite investigation, sifting through the debris. Nebe had early success, finding the remains of brass plates bearing patent numbers of a clock maker in Schwenningen , Baden-Würtemberg. Despite
2747-589: The mass deportations of Jews. In addition, Huber was political adviser to the Gauleiter Baldur von Schirach and his representative as Defense of the Reich Commissioner for the Military District XVII. As a border inspector of the military districts XVII and XVIII, he was responsible for controlling the borders with Slovakia, with Hungary, Yugoslavia, Italy and Switzerland. In late autumn 1944, Huber
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2814-668: The national police service. Heydrich was appointed chief of the Gestapo on 22 April 1934. Immediately thereafter, Heydrich transferred to the Berlin office of the Gestapo, and took with him: Müller, Meisinger and Huber, referred to as the Bajuwaren-Brigade (Bavarian Brigade). Thereafter, in 1937 Huber joined the Nazi Party as member number: 4,583,151 and joined the SS with number 107,099. In early 1938, Adolf Hitler , Hermann Göring and Himmler wanted to dispose of Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg ,
2881-410: The next day for a final check. Arriving at the Bürgerbräukeller at 10 p.m., he waited for an opportunity to open the bomb chamber and satisfy himself the clock mechanism was correctly set. The next morning he departed Munich by train for Friedrichshafen via Ulm . After a shave at a hairdresser, he took the 6:30 p.m. steamer to Konstanz . The high-ranking Nazis who accompanied Adolf Hitler to
2948-536: The odd customer who never ordered more than one drink. Later, on the basis of his Swabian accent, Elser was identified by a storekeeper as the man to whom he had sold a "sound proofing insulation plate" to deaden the sound of ticking clocks. Nebe called in Franz Josef Huber , head of the Gestapo in Vienna , to assist. Huber had the idea of asking Elser to bare his knees. When he did, they were found to be badly bruised,
3015-661: The pay was too low. He began working as a labourer at the Waldenmaier armament factory in Heidenheim, commuting by train or by bike from Königsbronn. While working there, he began a friendship with a fellow employee, Maria Schmauder. In 1938, Elser's parents bought half of a double house together with their son Leonhard and his wife. Elser felt cheated, and was forced to move out of the house, severing ties with his family except for his sister Maria in Stuttgart. In May 1939, he moved in with
3082-440: The planned two hours to a one-hour duration. Hitler ended his address to the 3000-strong audience of the party faithful at 9:07 p.m., 13 minutes before Elser's bomb exploded at 9:20 p.m. By that time, Hitler and his entourage had left the Bürgerbräukeller. The bomb brought down part of the ceiling and roof and caused the gallery and an external wall to collapse, leaving a mountain of rubble. About 120 people were still in
3149-409: The presence of Elser. In 1950, Elsa Härlen recollected: ... His face was swollen and beaten black and blue. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and I was horrified by his appearance ... An officer placed himself behind Elser and, to make him talk, he kept striking him on the back or on the back of his head ... What he said was something like this: He had taken black powder from
3216-616: The sixteen "blood martyrs" of the NSDAP who died in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 was held at the Feldherrnhalle as usual. Two days later, at the same location, an official ceremony for the victims of the Bürgerbräukeller bombing took place. Hitler returned from Berlin to stand before seven flag-draped coffins as Rudolf Hess addressed the SA guard, the onlookers, and listeners to Grossdeutsche Rundfunk ("Greater German Radio"). In his half-hour oration, Hess
3283-660: The small Rothmund clock factory in Meersburg where he made housings for wall and table clocks. At the Kreuzlingen Free Temperance Union he started a friendship with a seamstress, Hilda Lang. Between May and August 1932, after Rothmund closed down, he lived with several families in Meersburg doing odd carpentry jobs. In August 1932, Elser returned to Königsbronn after receiving a call for help from his mother. His alcoholic father, often violent and abusive towards her,
3350-468: The surplus will increase the explosive effect." Living with the Schmauder family in Schnaitheim he made many sketches, telling his hosts he was working on an "invention". In July, in a secluded orchard owned by his parents, Elser tested several prototypes of his bomb. Clock movements given to him in lieu of wages when leaving Rothmund in Meersburg in 1932 and a car indicator "winker" were incorporated into
3417-709: The surrender of Nazi Germany. Georg Elser (the name normally used to refer to him) was born in Hermaringen , Württemberg , to Ludwig Elser and Maria Müller. His parents married one year after his birth, and Maria moved to Königsbronn to live with Ludwig on his smallholding . His father was a timber merchant, while his mother worked on the farm. Georg was often left to care for his five younger siblings: Friederike (born 1904), Maria (born 1906), Ludwig (born 1909), Anna (born 1910) and Leonhard (born 1913). He attended elementary school in Königsbronn from 1910 to 1917 and showed ability in drawing, penmanship and mathematics. His childhood
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#17329273273923484-536: Was apprenticed to master woodworker Robert Sapper in Königsbronn. After topping his class at Heidenheim Trade School, he worked in the furniture factory of Paul Rieder in Aalen . In 1925, he left home to briefly work at the Wachter woodworking company in the small community of Bernried , near Tettnang . Exploring along Lake Constance on foot, he arrived at Friedrichshafen , where he found employment shaping wooden propellers for
3551-401: Was best to pack explosives in the pillar directly behind the speaker's podium," Elser told his interrogators a year later. He continued to work in the Waldenmaier armament factory in Heidenheim and systematically stole explosives, hiding packets of powder in his bedroom. Realising he needed the exact dimensions of the column to build his bomb he returned to Munich, staying 4–12 April 1939. He took
3618-584: Was found to be carrying wire cutters, numerous notes and sketches pertaining to explosive devices, firing pins and a blank colour postcard of the interior of the Bürgerbräukeller. At 11 p.m., during Elser's interrogation by the Gestapo in Konstanz, news of the bombing in Munich arrived by teleprinter . The next day, Elser was transferred by car to Munich Gestapo Headquarters. While still returning to Berlin by train, Hitler ordered Heinrich Himmler to put Arthur Nebe , head of Kripo (Criminal Police), in charge of
3685-503: Was let go. Around this time Elser met a waitress, Mathilde Niedermann. When she became pregnant, he drove her to Geneva in Switzerland. Mathilde was found to be in the fourth month of pregnancy, precluding a legal abortion. The child was born, a boy named Manfred. When Elser left Mathilde, he was left with child-support payments that often surpassed his weekly wage. In 1930, Elser began commuting daily by ferry from Konstanz to work in
3752-453: Was marred by his father's heavy drinking. Elser recalled in his interrogation by the Gestapo in 1939 how his father habitually came home late from work drunk. In 1917, Elser worked for half a year assisting in his father's business. Seeking independence, he started an apprenticeship as a lathe operator at the smelter in Königsbronn, but had to quit for health reasons. Between 1919 and 1922, he
3819-493: Was not short on hyperbole: At this time the German people take their sad leave of the victims of a gruesome crime, a crime almost unparalleled in history ... The perpetrators of this crime have succeeded in teaching the German people to hate ... this enormous crime, this war which was forced upon us, will turn out in favor of the Führer, in favor of Germany—in favor of Germany and the entire world. After " Der gute Kamerad "
3886-454: Was now heavily in debt. Elser assisted his parents in their work and supplemented his income by making furniture in a home workshop until his father was forced to sell the family property in late 1935. Elser escaped the grim family situation with music, playing flute , accordion , bass and the zither . He joined the Zither Club in Königsbronn in early 1933. At around this time, Elser joined
3953-521: Was part of a larger U.S. program that recruited at least a thousand Nazi spies and concealed their Nazi past for decades even, in many cases, from the U.S. Department of Justice . He was employed by the West German Federal Intelligence Service from 1955–64, and attempts by various survivor groups and the Austrian government to have him prosecuted for his wartime activities were blocked by the US occupation and intelligence authorities. He retired in 1967, and received
4020-530: Was played, Hitler placed a wreath of chrysanthemums on each coffin, then stepped back to lift his arm in the Nazi salute . The very slow playing of " Deutschland über alles " ended the solemn ceremony. At 8:45 p.m. on the night of 8 November, Elser was apprehended by two border guards, 25 metres (80 ft) from the Swiss border fence in Konstanz. When taken to the border control post and asked to empty his pockets he
4087-527: Was prepared and Heydrich passed the information on to Hitler. Hitler chose to dismiss the allegations and ordered Heydrich to destroy the file. However, he did not do so. In late January 1938, Göring wanted to dispose of von Fritsch as he did not want Fritsch to become the successor to Blomberg and thus his superior. Heydrich resurrected the old file on Fritsch. Meisinger at the time was in charge of Bekämpfung der Homosexualität und der Abtreibung ("Campaign against Homosexuality and Abortion") Huber and Meisinger led
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#17329273273924154-603: Was promoted by Ernst Kaltenbrunner to be the Commander of the SiPo and SD in the Military District XVII. Huber was a recipient of the War Merit Cross Second Class and First Class with swords. During the war, upwards of 70,000 Austrian Jews were murdered, almost 40% of the pre-war community. By war's end, Huber was arrested. After a trial in 1949, he did not serve any time in prison, and returned to his home town. The US Central Intelligence Agency 's shielding of Huber
4221-449: Was revealed. Hitler, in the end, had Fritsch transferred but there was a fallout from the investigation. Meisinger's career in the Gestapo was almost terminated and Huber was transferred to Vienna in 1938. Huber did remain good friends with Heinrich Müller who was appointed Gestapo chief on 27 September 1939. Johann Georg Elser , a German craftsman from Königsbronn, chose the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch in 1939, to kill Hitler with
4288-558: Was rounded up for interrogation. At the Schmauder residence in Schnaitheim, 16-year-old Maria Schmauder told of her family's recent boarder who was working on an "invention", had a false bottom in his suitcase, and worked at the Vollmer quarry. On 9 November, as only one of many suspects being held at Munich Gestapo Headquarters, Elser did not attract much attention for a few days, but when face-to-face meetings took place with Bürgerbräukeller staff, waitress Maria Strobl identified Elser as
4355-462: Was signed off by Kappler, Schmidt and Seibold for the "Kriminalkommissare". Buried in the German archives in Koblenz until 1964, this report is now considered the most important source of information on Elser. The report did not mention the interrogation of Elser's family members and Elsa Härlen in Berlin, as the report contains only the answers Elser gave to his interrogators. On the vital question that he
4422-408: Was the sole instigator, Elser had this to say: I also had the intention, and considered in detail, to write from Switzerland to the German police to explain that I was the sole culprit in the assassination, no accomplice or accomplices have I had. I would have also sent along an accurate drawing of my apparatus and a description of the execution of the deed, so that one could verify my claim. With such
4489-511: Was to find some fragment of evidence that Elser had not acted alone. While in Berlin, Elser made five full-size drawings of the design of his bomb in order to persuade his interrogators that he was the sole instigator of the assassination attempt. These drawings are referred to in the Gestapo interrogation report, but have not survived. Five days of torture, 19–23 November, produced the Gestapo Protokoll (interrogation report). The document
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