Axel von dem Bussche
| Axel von dem Bussche | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
24 April 1919 Brunswick, Weimar Germany |
| Died | 26 January 1993 (aged 73) Bonn, Germany |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1937–1945 |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Relations | Anders Lassen (cousin) |
| Other work | Diplomat, scholar |
Axel von dem Bussche (24 April 1919 – 26 January 1993) was a German officer during World War II who was a member of the German Resistance. He planned to assassinate Adolf Hitler in coordination with Claus von Stauffenberg in November 1943 at the Wolfsschanze.
Born in Brunswick, to his German father and to his Danish mother Jenny Lassen, he joined the German Army in 1937 at the age of 18 as a professional officer and was posted as a junior officer of the elite Infantry Regiment 9 Potsdam (IR 9) to the eastern front in Poland. In 1942 Bussche witnessed by chance an SS-organised of more than 3,000 Jewish civilians carried out by the SD at the old Dubno airport. This experience traumatized him all his life and was enough to turn him decidedly against Hitler. He joined an ad hoc resistance group within Army Group Centre later (Sept.1943) to be led by Count Stauffenberg. After this experience he declared that there were only three ways left to preserve his honor as an officer: to die in battle, to desert, or to rebel against the government that had ordered this and all other massacres. He chose the last option, justifying his intention to kill Hitler by his legal right to defend others against unlawful, ongoing, criminal attacks.
In November 1943, Bussche, personally encouraged by Count Claus Stauffenberg, undertook to carry out a suicide bombing to kill Hitler. Hitler was due to inspect new Army winter uniforms at his Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze, near Rastenburg in Eastern Prussia (today in Poland). Bussche, over two meters tall, blond and blue eyed, exemplified the looks of Hitler's "Nordic" racial ideal, and was an ideal model for the uniforms. Bussche equipped a landmine with a fast reacting hand grenade detonator, which he intended to hide in the deeper pockets of his uniform trousers. He planned to detonate this bomb while embracing Hitler, thus killing both Hitler and himself.
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