landmark
Wolf's Lair
Ruined concrete bunker complex in Masurian forest that served as Hitler's eastern headquarters and the site of the 1944 July plot.
0 km · about 5 min drive
Poland · Europe
Gierłoż is worth a stop: 15 minutes from Kętrzyn, right by Wolf's Lair.
Gierłoż is a town located in Poland. With a population of 0, it is an important destination in Europe.
On a road trip, Gierłoż sits in Poland, where you drive on the right. Below you'll find where to stay, things to do nearby, and everything you need to add Gierłoż to your route.
The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie (German: Unternehmen Walküre), was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi government on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German resistance, mainly composed of Wehrmacht officers. TheRead more
principal mastermind of the conspiracy, Claus von Stauffenberg, tried to kill Hitler by detonating an explosive hidden in a briefcase. However, due to the location of the bomb at the time of detonation, the blast only dealt Hitler minor injuries. The planners' subsequent coup attempt also failed and resulted in a purge of the Wehrmacht.
As early as 1938, German military officers had plotted to overthrow Hitler, but indecisive leadership and the pace of global events stymied action. Plotters gained a sense of urgency in 1943 after Germany lost the Battle of Stalingrad and Soviet forces began to push towards Germany. Under the leadership of Stauffenberg, plotters tried to assassinate Hitler at least five times in 1943 and 1944. With the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, closing in on the plotters, a final attempt was organised in July 1944. Stauffenberg personally took a briefcase containing a block of plastic explosive to a conference in the Wolf's Lair. The explosives were armed and placed next to Hitler, but it appears they were moved unwittingly at the last moment behind a table leg by Heinz Brandt, inadvertently saving Hitler's life. When the bomb detonated, it killed Brandt and two others, while the rest of the room's occupants were injured, one of whom, Rudolf Schmundt, later died from his injuries. Hitler's trousers were singed by the blast, and he suffered a perforated eardrum and conjunctivitis, but was otherwise unharmed.
The plotters, unaware of their failure, then attempted a coup d'état. A few hours after the blast, the conspiracy used Wehrmacht units to take control of several cities, including Berlin, immediately after giving them disinformation on the intention of the orders they were given. This part of the coup d'état attempt is referred to by the name "Operation Valkyrie", which has also become associated with the entire event. Within hours, the Nazi regime had reasserted its control of Germany. A few members of the conspiracy, including Stauffenberg, were executed by firing squad the same night. In the months after the coup attempt, the Gestapo arrested more than 7,000 people, 4,980 of whom were executed. Roughly 200 conspirators were executed.
The apparent aim of the coup d'état attempt was to wrest political control of Germany and its armed forces from the Nazi Party (including the Schutzstaffel) and to make peace with the Western Allies as soon as possible. The details of the conspirators' peace initiatives remain unknown.
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Gierłoż is located in Poland, Europe. The coordinates are 54.0813 latitude, 21.4955 longitude.
Gierłoż has a population of approximately 0 people, making it a town in Poland.
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1 notable place within an hour's drive.
landmark
Ruined concrete bunker complex in Masurian forest that served as Hitler's eastern headquarters and the site of the 1944 July plot.
0 km · about 5 min drive
April to October
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