Philipp von Boeselager
| Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager | |
|---|---|
Boeselager receives the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany from Parliament Secretary Wolfgang von Geldern in 1989
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| Born |
6 September 1917 Burg Heimerzheim, German Empire |
| Died | 1 May 2008 (aged 90) Burg Kreuzberg, Altenahr, Germany |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Rank |
Major der Kavallerie (Wehrmacht) Oberstleutnant der Reserve (Bundeswehr) |
| Unit | 3. Kavalleriebrigade |
| Commands held | 31st Cavalry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | Eastern Front (World War II) |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
| Relations | Georg von Boeselager, his brother |
| Other work | economist, forester |
Major der Kavallerie (Wehrmacht)
Philipp von Boeselager (6 September 1917 – 1 May 2008) was the second-to-last surviving member of the 20 July Plot, a conspiracy among Wehrmacht officers to assassinate German dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944.
Philipp von Boeselager was born at Burg Heimerzheim near Bonn. He was the fifth, and second surviving son, of the nine children of Albert Dominikus Hyacinthus Antonius Johannes Hubertus Vitus Joseph Maria Freiherr von Boeselager (Bonn 15.6.1883-Heimerzheim, Kr. Euskirchen 20.5.1956), by his wife (they married, Kassel, 22.9.1910) Maria-Theresia Ferdinandine Antonie Alonsia Freiin von Salis-Soglio (1890–1968), daughter of Anton Joseph Alonsius Nepomuk Stanislaus Maria Freiherr v. Salis-Soglio (1860–1939), of and Mandel, Kreuznach, by Maria Adelheid Theresia Gräfin von Bissingen und Nippenburg (daughter of Ernst Maria Ferdinand Adam Johann Nepomuk Joseph Graf von Bissingen-Nippenburg). He attended Aloisius Jesuit secondary school Aloisiuskolleg in Godesberg.
When Boeselager was a 25-year-old field lieutenant, he was part of Operation Walküre, which was a plan developed to re-take control of Germany once Hitler had been assassinated. Boeselager's role in the plan was to order his troops (who were unaware of the plot) to leave the front lines in Eastern Europe and ride west in order to be air-lifted to Berlin to seize crucial parts of the city in a full-scale coup d'état after Hitler was dead.
Boeselager's opinion turned against the Nazi government in June 1942, after he received news that five Roma people had been shot in cold blood, solely because of their ethnicity. Together with his commanding officer Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, he joined a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. The first attempt was in March 1943, when both Hitler and Heinrich Himmler were coming to the front to participate in a strategy meeting with Kluge's troops.
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