The Life And Times Of Cavour (Volume One), Vol. 1 Book

Valkyrie: On the Danger of Simplifying the Past and Creating False Heroes

This book tells the story of how two brothers, Philip and Georg von Boeselager, became members of the failed July 1944 plot to kill Hitler. As many earlier reviewers have noted, the book does not center on the assassination attempt itself. Instead it focuses on the conditions that led the two brothers to join the plot and the conditions under which the plotters carried out the assassination. Thus the vast majority of the book is devoted to the war experiences of the two brothers.

In this memoir, first published in 2008, the author recalls that as a young military recruit in the 1930s, he was largely unaware of the Nazi persecution of Jews and gypsies. He did know about Kristallnacht (The Night of Shattered Glass), when SA members had destroyed Jewish shops and burnt synagogues. But as a young soldier, he assumed that the generals would put an end to this nonsense and the offenders would be brought to justice. In short, at this point he saw Kristallnacht as an isolated incident, rather than part of a systematic state program of persecution. But once transferred to the Eastern front, he realized this was not in fact the case. In 1942, while stationed on the Eastern front, he overheard a general nonchalantly describing how he had ordered the summary execution of thousands of Jews and gypsies. The general identified this "liquidation" as his "mission." According to the author, it was this incident that changed his view of the war and led him to join the resistance that was taking shape within the military.

To his credit, the author does not try to draw a clear line between the actions of the SS and those of the Wehrmacht. He readily admits: "The army was full of informers, swarms of zealous agents loyal to the system.'' In short, he acknowledges that the Wehrmacht took part in war crimes. And yet, his narrative of the war emphasizes German superiority vis-a-vis their Russian adversaries, whom he repeatedly labels as barbarians. It is these disorienting moments in the narrative that I found the most fascinating and informative, as they provide insight both into the attitudes of the German military leadership -- one that went to great pains to distance themselves from Nazi etiquette (refusing to adopt the Hitler salute), and yet obediently carried out Hitler's murderous war on the Eastern front.

Those who joined the conspiracy did so for varied reasons. For a few, such as the two brothers, the German army's engagement in criminal behavior (e.g. the senseless slaughter of civilian populations and ethnic cleansing) provided the motivation. But for most, the motive was to save German lives, rather the lives of their victims. As one general noted, if we do nothing, each day another 16,000 German soldiers will die. In fact, the officers involved in the conspiracy, including the author, saw their primary duty as protecting their troops and ensuring that they made it home alive. Given they were largely stationed on the Eastern Front, their organizational efforts were hampered by the need to fight the war and protect the troops under their charge. They also had limited access to Hitler.

The author spends much energy describing the military campaigns in which he took part. His pride in his unit is apparent, as he recounts the German army's successes despite the numerical superiority of Russian troops. Repeatedly, he gives the death toll for German soldiers, but makes little note of Russian deaths, except to mention that their officers were known to kill their own troops. Nor does the author spend much time on the victims of Nazism.

Thus, it has been surprising to read so many reviews celebrating the conspirators as "heroes", when in fact their story is not so black and white. It is marred by multiple shades of gray, as most real stories of "heroism" are.

Almost all the conspirators shared a conservative, nationalist perspective and an aristocratic background. As such, they were not champions of equality. Moreover, several of the conspirators were later implicated in Nazi war crimes and in crimes against humanity. For example, the Quartermaster of the Army, Eduard Wagner, who supplied the escape aircraft, had coordinated Einsatzgruppen cooperation with the army and created the plans to starve Soviet prisoners of war, resulting in millions of deaths. Arthur Nebe, another member of the plot, had commanded Einsatzgruppe B in the Soviet Union, responsible for the murder of over 45,000 Jews.

These "gray areas" are an important reminder of the dangers of oversimplifying the past and the need to teach critical reading skills.