Germany remembers heroes in Hitler assassination bid

Germany paid tribute Saturday to Claus von Stauffenberg and others who sought to assassinate Adolf Hitler 75 years ago, a plot that was recognised only belatedly but which a resurgent far-right is now seeking to expropriate. In the attempt on July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg and other high-ranking conspirators within the Nazi regime sought to kill Hitler at his Wolf's Lair headquarters.
The plot was to seize control of the regime and make peace with Western allies to end World War II. But Hitler survived the bombing and Stauffenberg and other key figures in Operation Valkyrie were executed the same night.
At a ceremony in Berlin on Saturday where new German Bundeswehr soldiers were sworn in, Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined the importance of remembering this anniversary at a time when far-right forces are once again gaining ground with their nationalist line. It was important to "keep the conspirators' memories alive", as well as those of all Germans who resisted the Nazis, because their acts could be seen as a "warning" for today's society, she said. "They remind us that we have to be vigilant. They remind us that we must resolutely fight far-right extremism, anti-Semitism and racism in all their different forms.
"There are moments when disobedience can be a duty," Merkel said. The right to resist is explicitly enshrined in Germany's post-war constitution, which would not exist in its current form without people such as Stauffenberg, the chancellor said. "Even today, there is still a lot of incomprehension and ill-ease" about the assassination attempt, Merkel said, not least because Stauffenberg was himself an army officer.
Stauffenberg and his Operation Valkyrie was brought to the big screen in 2008 when Tom Cruise played the former count as a hero who led an act of resistance against Hitler and his deadly regime.
But at home, the verdict on Stauffenberg is more mixed, with some critics branding him a committed Nazi who only changed sides when it was clear that Hitler was going to lose the war.
In the aftermath of World War II, some in then West Germany - where former Nazis had assumed key positions in the new democratic country - also viewed him as a traitor.