Dan Snow's History Hit The Top Assassination Attempts on Hitler
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Jan 19, 2026 
Join historian Roger Moorhouse as he dives into the riveting world of assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler. Discover the daring plans of lone-wolf Georg Elser, who crafted a bomb by hand, and the relentless Polish resistance fighting against tyranny. Moorhouse also recounts the dramatic failed attempts by Claus von Stauffenberg and others to eliminate the Führer. Explore the moral complexities behind these plots and the reasons why Allies ultimately hesitated to assassinate Hitler. A fascinating discussion on courage and resistance!
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Lone Craftsman’s Secret Pillar
- Georg Elser secretly hollowed a pillar in the Bürgerbräukeller and built a timed bomb to kill Hitler during the 1939 Beer Hall commemoration.
- The device worked but Hitler left early due to fog and a shortened speech, sparing his life.
Captured At The Border
- Elser was arrested at the Swiss border carrying incriminating items and confessed to the wrong authorities.
- The Gestapo tortured him and kept him isolated until he was executed at Dachau in April 1945.
Diplomatic Refusal In 1939
- British military attaché Noel Mason-Macfarlane offered to shoot Hitler at a 1939 parade and reported back he could do it.
- Whitehall declined, saying assassination wasn't yet part of their diplomacy.
