The whole world will vilify us now, but I am still totally convinced that we did the right thing.

German Army General Henning von Treskov.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Music of the 20th century. Episode 441, the plot to assassinate Hitler.

I ended the last episode by describing the liberation of Vilnius and the Soviet

internment of fighters in the Polish Home Army. On the day after the liberation of

Vilnius, July 14, 1944,

Adolf Hitler left to the Berghoff and returned to his headquarters at the Wolfslair in East Prussia.

There had been fears of an Allied bombing raid on the Wolf Slare,

so Hitler had left a few months ago, while workers began reinforcing the bunkers

to strengthen them against such an attack. The work was not quite finished, but the situation

on the eastern front was getting worse by the day, and the Vermacht needed its commander-in-chief

closer to the front lines.

Closer is one way of putting it. The wolf's lair was getting closer to the front line all the time.

By this date, July 14th, Red Army units were just a few hundred kilometers away, and Germans were facing the very real prospect of Soviet soldiers actually entering the territory of the Reich,

something that would once have been considered unthinkable.

No one knew it at the time, but Hitler would never return to his vacation home.

Adolf Hitler had feared assassination for many years, beginning even before he became

chancellor. He was always very careful about his personal security. The Nazi party provided

him with bodyguards, and later the SS. He was careful to surround himself with loyalists. Security rules prohibited

any of his visitors from carrying firearms. The preparation of his food was carefully overseen

from the vegetable garden to the dinner plate, and he had food tasters. When he traveled, his itinerary was a closely held

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