20 July plot

1944-07-20

The 20 July plot, sometimes called Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler and overthrow the Nazi government on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German resistance, mainly composed of Wehrmacht officers, with Claus von Stauffenberg as the principal mastermind. Stauffenberg detonated an explosive hidden in a briefcase, but the blast only dealt Hitler minor injuries, and the subsequent coup attempt failed, resulting in a purge of the Wehrmacht.