1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:16,479 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode, we're looking at 5 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,479 Speaker 1: a little known plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the 6 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 1: early days of the Second World War. The day was 7 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: November eighth, nineteen thirty nine. A German carpenter tried to 8 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: kill Adolf Hitler. His name was Georg Elzer, and his 9 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: plan was to blow up a Munich beer haul where 10 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: Hitler was scheduled to speak. The timed explosion did massive 11 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,959 Speaker 1: damage to the building. It even collapsed the ceiling right 12 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: above the podium, But when the smoke finally cleared, Adolf 13 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: Hitler was not one of the casualties. Elser's plan had 14 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: been a solid one. He knew that every year on 15 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: November eighth, Hitler held a reception at the burger brow 16 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: Keller in Munich. The venue had once been the site 17 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: of the despot's failed coup, the Beer Hall Putch of 18 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty three. Once Hitler rebuilt the Nazi Party and 19 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,039 Speaker 1: rose to power, he began returning to the hall each 20 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,080 Speaker 1: year on the anniversary to deliver a speech to his 21 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: old Guard supporters about just how far they'd come. November eighth, 22 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty nine marked sixteen years since the Pusch, and 23 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,120 Speaker 1: Hitler used the occasion to celebrate Germany's recent invasion of 24 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: Poland and the beginning of World War II. But what 25 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: he and his loyal audience didn't realize was that in 26 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: that very room a bomb had been rigged to explode. 27 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,000 Speaker 1: Elser had timed it to detonate roughly half way through 28 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: Hitler's hour long speech, and the bomb did go off 29 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: right on que. The only problem was that Hitler had 30 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: already left the building by that point. Eager to get 31 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: back to Berlin to continue his military planning, Hitler had 32 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: hurried through his speech faster than expected and then departed 33 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: early in the end. Elser's bomb killed eight people and 34 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: wounded more than sixty others, but it missed Adolf Hitler 35 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: by about thirteen minutes. The following day, a Nazi newspaper 36 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: hailed the event as quote the miraculous salvation of the Furor, 37 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: a phrase that would get plenty of mileage in the 38 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: years ahead. All told, Hitler managed to survive at least 39 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: fifteen attempts on his life during World War II, some 40 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: of which were carried out by the Allied forces and 41 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,880 Speaker 1: some by the people of Germany. Most of the would 42 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,800 Speaker 1: be assassins belonged to a resistance movement, a military unit, 43 00:02:53,919 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: or a political group, but not Georg Gelzer, he acted alone. 44 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: The thirty six year old carpenter had always despised national 45 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: socialism for the restrictions it placed on personal freedom and 46 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: for its hostile treatment of the working class. But in 47 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty eight, after the Nazi annexations of Austria and 48 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:18,000 Speaker 1: part of Czechoslovakia, Elser became convinced that the regime was 49 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:21,160 Speaker 1: even more dangerous than he had thought. It seemed to 50 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: him that war was unavoidable under Adolf Hitler, so the 51 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: best thing for the German people, in his mind, would 52 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: be the removal of its current leadership. As he later 53 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: explained during his interrogation, quote, I thought to myself that 54 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: this is only possible if Hitler, Ghring and Gebels are 55 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: together at a rally. From the daily press, I gathered 56 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: that the next meeting of leaders was happening on the 57 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: eighth and ninth of November nineteen thirty eight in Munich 58 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: in the Burger Browkeller. Elser took the train to Munich 59 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: that fall and attended the beer hall on the day 60 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: of Hitler's anniversary speech. He took note of the layout 61 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: of the venue and how the event was run, eventually 62 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: concluding that his best chance for killing the fearer was 63 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: to hollow out a pillar directly behind the speaker's podium 64 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: and pack it full of explosives. He would have to 65 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: wait until next November eighth to put his plan into action, 66 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: but that gave him plenty of chances to prepare. At 67 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:22,680 Speaker 1: the time, carpentry wasn't paying the bills, so Elser had 68 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: to take a job at an armament's factory in Heidenheim. 69 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: On the plus side, the gig provided him with a 70 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: working knowledge of explosives, as well as access to bomb 71 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: making materials such as detonators, powder and fuses. In the 72 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: summer of nineteen thirty nine, he experimented with explosives at 73 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:44,240 Speaker 1: an orchard near his hometown of Swabia. Then in early 74 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: August he returned to Munich, rented a room from an 75 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:51,160 Speaker 1: unsuspecting couple, and began making nightly visits to the beer 76 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: hall for meals. Over the next several months, Elser hid 77 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: in the hall over night more than thirty times. When 78 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: the coast was clear, he'd emerge and set to work 79 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: hollowing out a chamber in the pillar. By the stage. 80 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: He concealed this growing cavity behind a secret door in 81 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,360 Speaker 1: the pillar's wood paneling, making full use of his carpentry 82 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: and joinery skills. When the hall's doors were unlocked early 83 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: the next morning, he would simply slip out the back 84 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:24,279 Speaker 1: carrying a briefcase full of debris. Elser installed the explosives 85 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: in the pillar over the course of two nights in 86 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: early November. Then on the evening of the seventh, he 87 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: made one final trip to the beer hall to make 88 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: sure the clock mechanism was set correctly. Then he hopped 89 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: a train out of town. The whole thing had been 90 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: meticulously planned and expertly concealed. Elser even muffled the timers 91 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: and cork casings to prevent anyone from hearing them ticking. 92 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: The one thing he couldn't account for, though, was Hitler's 93 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,840 Speaker 1: hasty departure, a twist of fate that wound up saving 94 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: the fearer's life. As for Elser. He was apprehended shortly 95 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: before the bomb went off while trying to cross the 96 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: border into Switzerland. Customs officers had caught him with some 97 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:10,919 Speaker 1: rather incriminating items, including several notes and sketches related to explosives, 98 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: as well as a postcard of the beer hall's interior. 99 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,919 Speaker 1: He was handed over to the Gestapo for interrogation, and 100 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: the transcript from that prolonged encounter, which resurfaced in the 101 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,000 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, is how we know all these details today. 102 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: Georg Elzer was never tried for his bombing, as any 103 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,000 Speaker 1: legal proceeding would have forced the Nazis to admit that 104 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: an ordinary, working class German had come this close to 105 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,919 Speaker 1: killing Hitler, so instead they pinned the whole thing on 106 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: the British Secret Service, a tactic meant to stir up 107 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: more animosity for Germany's enemies. Meanwhile, Elser was locked in 108 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: a basement cell of the Gestapo headquarters in Berlin, where 109 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: he was periodically drugged and tortured for the next year. Then, 110 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 1: in early nineteen forty one, he was moved to the 111 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: Zachsenhausen concentration camp, where he was placed in solitary confinement. 112 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: Four years later, He was transferred to Docow and executed 113 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: by firing squad on April ninth, nineteen forty five, just 114 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: a few weeks before the war ended. Adolph Hitler followed 115 00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: Elser in death just three weeks after that. He had 116 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: escaped assassination numerous times, only to die by his own hand, 117 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: defeated and freed cowering in a bunker. Elser had once 118 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: called Hitler the downfall of Germany, and in the end 119 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: he was the source of his own as well. I'm 120 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 1: Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know a little more 121 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. You can learn 122 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 1: even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 123 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have 124 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, feel free to pass them a 125 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 1: law by writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. 126 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,480 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Maze for producing the show, and thank 127 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 128 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: for another day in History class.