- The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross !
- Original signature: Philipp Freiherr (Baron) von Boeselager (1917-2008)
The Last Resistance Fighter
On 4th April 2008 I received a personal letter and a signed photo from the German aristocrat and resistance fighter Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager. On 1st May 2008 he died at the age of 90 years. For many years I am collecting rare autographs.
Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager (6 September 1917 – 1 May 2008) was the last surviving member of the July 20 Plot, a conspiracy among high-ranking Wehrmacht officers to assassinate German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944.
Boeselager was born at Burg Heimerzheim near Bonn.
When Boeselager was a 25-year-old field lieutenant, he was part of Operation Walküre, which was a plan developed to re-take control of Germany once Hitler had been assassinated. Boeselager's role in the plan was to order his troops (who were unaware of the plot) to leave the front lines in Eastern Europe and ride on commandeered horses all the way back to Berlin to seize crucial parts of the city in a full-scale coup d'état after Hitler was dead.
Boeselager's opinion turned against the Nazi government in June 1942, after he received news that five Roma people had been shot in cold blood, solely because of their ethnicity. Together with his commanding officer Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, he joined a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. The first attempt was in March 1943, when both Hitler and Heinrich Himmler were coming to the front to participate in a strategy meeting with Kluge's troops.
Boeselager was given a Walther PP, with which he was to shoot both Hitler and Himmler at a dinner table in the officers' casino. However, nothing ever became of this plan, because at the last minute, Himmler left Hitler's company, and the risk of leaving him alive to succeed Hitler was too great.
The second assassination attempt was in summer 1944. No longer caring about Himmler, the conspiracy planned to kill Hitler with a bomb when he was attending another strategy meeting in a wooden barracks. When the assassin's bomb failed to kill the Führer, Boeselager was informed in time to turn his unexplained cavalry retreat around and return to the front before suspicions were unduly raised. Because of Boeselager's fortuitous timing, his involvement in the operation went undetected and he was not executed along with the majority of the other conspirators. Philipp's brother Georg was also a participant in the plot, and likewise remained undetected; however, he was subsequently killed-in-action on the Eastern Front.
After the war, Boeselager's part in the failed attempt became known and he was regarded as a hero by Germany and France, receiving the highest military medals both countries could provide. He studied economics and became a forestry expert. Even in his old age, Boeselager still had nightmares about the conspiracy and the friends he lost in the war, and urged young people to become more involved in politics, as he felt apathy and the political inexperience of the German masses were two of the key reasons Hitler was able to come to power. The entrance to his residence in Kreuzberg bears the Latin motto "Et si omnes ego non — even if all, not I."
Boeselager was a member of K.D.St.V. Ripuaria Bonn, a Catholic student fraternity that belong to the Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen. Up until his death on 1 May 2008, he still had the Walther PP pistol he was supposed to shoot Hitler with.
On April 18, 2008, just two weeks before his death, Philipp von Boeselager gave his last videotaped interview. It was conducted by Zora Wolter for the feature documentary, The Valkyrie Legacy. It will be televised on History (a.k.a. The History Channel) in Spring 2009 to coincide with the release of Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Bryan Singer. The documentary was produced by Singer and directed by Kevin Burns.
I am so proud to have a letter from the last living member of the July 20 1944 Plot. God bless his soul !
Comments and faves
Salome's View (50 months ago | reply)
What an incredible story. Thank you for sharing.
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Shiela, you are so welcome ! Many thanks ! It is always a pleasure to share my memories and stories with all of you ! Sometimes I think it is a duty for me ! A wonderful duty !
thorvald (50 months ago | reply)
Fantastic person & story, thanks.
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Peter, thank you so much. It is always nice to hear from you.
memory in time( Patti ) (50 months ago | reply)
What a wonderful photo my friend!! This is a great story; what a brave man he must have been!! "Evil exists, when good men do nothing", he must have known and believed this. thank-you for sharing Jorg, I enjoy this wonderful glimpse you provide into the lives of such interesting people. God bless him.(and you also, my friend)
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Awww ! Cordial thanks for your wonderful feedback, my dear Patti ! You are such a sweet and dear friend. God bless you as well, my friend.
LUIZ: São Paulo's Eyes (50 months ago | reply)
The world needs to know a little bit more about these heroes..It's a miracle he survived after this dangerous plan !
I remeber about Claus von Stauffenberg..
Well, Today I was watching a german movie in my DVD about the Edelweiss Piraten (Director:Niko von Glasow)..It's a very tense story...
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Undoubtedly, Luiz ! It is a miracle !!! Thank you so much, my friend.
G.MAI added this photo to his favorites. (50 months ago)
G.MAI (50 months ago | reply)
Wow, what a great story and history lesson. Thank you my friend.Geo
clickr100 (50 months ago | reply)
very good
clickr100 added this photo to his favorites. (50 months ago)
topcat_angel (50 months ago | reply)
what a very interesting story and how fortunate you were to receive the letter and signed photo from Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager so close to the end of his life
bill barber (50 months ago | reply)
An amazing memento to be sure, Jörg. You have a superb collection
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
George, my friend, many thanks for your kind words !
Clickr100, thank you very much !
Iain, thank you so much for your wonderful comment ! It really means a lot to me.
Bill, cordial thanks for your nice words !
Greta ~adores~ Pink~~~~ (50 months ago | reply)
What a precious letter and photograph you have in your possesion, now...............and let me tell you, YOU deserve to have it. Treassure it as I am sure you do with all your belongings and as i can see you do with your Flickr friends.......You are a treassure!!!
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Awww ! Thank you so much, my dear Greta !!!! You are so sweet !!!!!!! I am really proud to have you now in my life !
Luberon (sbonnefond) (50 months ago | reply)
How interesting and nice of you Jorg to inform us about this story
I hope we'll have this film on Arte, our common channel !!
this man is a great hero
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Many many thanks for your wonderful feedback, Suzanne ! That means everything to me. Undoubtedly, Baron Boeselager was a hero and a gentleman !
Vermont Ferret (50 months ago | reply)
Great story, indeed. By the way my dad had in his possession when he died both a German luger and a Walther PP that were surrendered to him by German soldiers during WW 2; my mom sold them both a few months after his death.
habsburg06 (50 months ago | reply)
Vermont Ferret, thank you so much !!!!!!
Texas to Mexico (49 months ago | reply)
Wonderful history you have recorded here. Very good story behind the photo.
habsburg06 (49 months ago | reply)
Dee, many thanks for your kind words !
W.L.M.II added this photo to his favorites. (49 months ago)
phoppernowlin (49 months ago | reply)
Wonderful historical information.
Wonderful photograph.
Thanks for sharing!
habsburg06 (49 months ago | reply)
Patricia, thank you so much.
mins3rdkid (48 months ago | reply)
Amazing historical photo and info!
habsburg06 (48 months ago | reply)
Thank you, Jackie !
ddsiple added this photo to his favorites. (47 months ago)
B Zorrino (43 months ago | reply)
hello Habsburger;
thank you for editing and sharing all this;
the proud photo catched my eye in the set of tributes.
It is very important that we Europeans and Germans especially keep on conversing and thinking about the world war past.
It is good for me as a Belgian (with a German father) to hear that some officers saw the madness side in A. Hitler and tried to defend values and people in an agression on him.
B Zorrino added this photo to his favorites. (43 months ago)
habsburg06 (43 months ago | reply)
Stefaan, cordial thanks for your wonderful feedback and your kind words. It really means a lot to me. I am so proud of this photo. Baron Boeselager was a remarkable personality. May he rest in peace.
SSuniform added this photo to their favorites. (30 months ago)
AnnAbulf - blog (23 months ago | reply)
Um diesen Brief beneide ich Dich sehr, geb ich ehrlich zu.
Eigentlich war er wahrscheinlich der vorletzte Zeuge, der allerletzte soll Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin sein. Ich hab auch versucht, an ihn zu erinnern:
AnnAbulf - blog added this photo to her favorites. (23 months ago)
habsburg06 (23 months ago | reply)
Hallo Anna, ich danke Dir ganz herzlich ! Ich habe auch mit Herrn von Kleist bereits zweimal korrespondiert und auch schon mit ihm telefoniert. Ein bemerkenswerter alter Herr !
thumpnut - added this photo to his favorites. (17 months ago)