Helmuth Stieff
Encyclopedia
Helmuth Stieff was a German
general
and a member of the OKH
(German Army General Staff) during World War II
. He took part in attempts by the German resistance
to assassinate Hitler, on July 7 and on July 20, 1944
.
Stieff was born in Deutsch Eylau (Iława) in West Prussia
. He graduated at Infanterieschule München in 1922 and was commissioned as Leutnant. As soon as 1927 he served for the General Staff
of the Reichswehr
. Stieff joined the General Staff in 1938.
Recognized for his excellent organizational skills he was appointed Chief of Organization at OKH headquarters in October 1942 in spite of Hitler's personal dislike for him, calling the young, diminutive Stieff a "poisonous little dwarf."
During the war, e.g. when in Warsaw
in November 1939, Stieff wrote many letters to his wife illustrating his disgust and despair over Hitler's conduct of the war and the atrocities committed in occupied Poland. He wrote that he had become the "tool of a despotic will to destroy without regard for humanity and simple decency".
Asked by Henning von Tresckow
, he joined the Widerstand. Taking advantage of being in charge of "Organisationsabteilung", he was able to acquire ("organisieren") and keep all sorts of explosives, including foreign ones.
As one of the officers who had occasional access to Hitler, he volunteered to kill Hitler in a suicide attack, but later backed away despite repeated requests from Tresckow and Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg to carry out the assassination. On 7 July 1944, during a demonstration of new uniforms to Hitler at Schloss Klessheim
, a palace near Salzburg
, Stieff felt himself undisposed to trigger the bomb. Stauffenberg
therefore decided to personally kill Hitler.
Stieff on July 20 had been flying with Stauffenberg in a He 111 plane provided by Wagner from Berlin to Rastenburg. He was arrested on July 21, 1944 at the Wolf's Lair and brutally interrogated under torture
. He held out for several days against all attempts to extract the names of fellow conspirators. Tried by the Volksgerichtshof (People's Court), he was sentenced to death August 8, 1944 and executed the same day in Plötzensee prison
in Berlin
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and a member of the OKH
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
(German Army General Staff) during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He took part in attempts by the German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
to assassinate Hitler, on July 7 and on July 20, 1944
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
.
Stieff was born in Deutsch Eylau (Iława) in West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
. He graduated at Infanterieschule München in 1922 and was commissioned as Leutnant. As soon as 1927 he served for the General Staff
General Staff
A military staff, often referred to as General Staff, Army Staff, Navy Staff or Air Staff within the individual services, is a group of officers and enlisted personnel that provides a bi-directional flow of information between a commanding officer and subordinate military units...
of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
. Stieff joined the General Staff in 1938.
Recognized for his excellent organizational skills he was appointed Chief of Organization at OKH headquarters in October 1942 in spite of Hitler's personal dislike for him, calling the young, diminutive Stieff a "poisonous little dwarf."
During the war, e.g. when in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in November 1939, Stieff wrote many letters to his wife illustrating his disgust and despair over Hitler's conduct of the war and the atrocities committed in occupied Poland. He wrote that he had become the "tool of a despotic will to destroy without regard for humanity and simple decency".
Asked by Henning von Tresckow
Henning von Tresckow
Generalmajor Herrmann Karl Robert "Henning" von Tresckow was a Major General in the German Wehrmacht who organized German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassinate Hitler in March 1943 and drafted the Valkyrie plan for a coup against the German government...
, he joined the Widerstand. Taking advantage of being in charge of "Organisationsabteilung", he was able to acquire ("organisieren") and keep all sorts of explosives, including foreign ones.
As one of the officers who had occasional access to Hitler, he volunteered to kill Hitler in a suicide attack, but later backed away despite repeated requests from Tresckow and Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg to carry out the assassination. On 7 July 1944, during a demonstration of new uniforms to Hitler at Schloss Klessheim
Schloss Klessheim
Schloss Klessheim is a Baroque palace situated west of Salzburg in the Austrian commune of Wals-Siezenheim. A former summer residence of the Archbishops of Salzburg, it is now used by Salzburg Casino.-History:...
, a palace near Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Stieff felt himself undisposed to trigger the bomb. Stauffenberg
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg commonly referred to as Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer and Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from...
therefore decided to personally kill Hitler.
Stieff on July 20 had been flying with Stauffenberg in a He 111 plane provided by Wagner from Berlin to Rastenburg. He was arrested on July 21, 1944 at the Wolf's Lair and brutally interrogated under torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
. He held out for several days against all attempts to extract the names of fellow conspirators. Tried by the Volksgerichtshof (People's Court), he was sentenced to death August 8, 1944 and executed the same day in Plötzensee prison
Plötzensee Prison
Plötzensee Prison was a Prussian institution built in Berlin between 1869 and 1879 near the lake Plötzensee, but in the neighbouring borough of Charlottenburg, on Hüttigpfad off Saatwinkler Damm. During Adolf Hitler's time in power from 1933 to 1945, more than 2,500 people were executed at...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.