Editing 20 July plot (section)

=== Motivation and goals ===
==== Opposition to Hitler and to Nazi policies ====
While the primary goal of the plotters was to remove Hitler from power, they did so for various reasons. The majority of the group behind the 20 July plot were conservative nationalists—idealists, but not necessarily of a democratic stripe.<ref>Encyclopedia of Contemporary German Culture, "The heroes of West German accounts at this time were the men involved in the largely conservative, nationalist resistance of the July Plot of 1944. It was not until much later that a new generation of left-liberal historians pointed out how little many involved in the July Plot actually sympathized with or understood democratic ideas. John Sandford. 2013.</ref><ref>''Faith and Democracy: Political Transformations at the German Protestant Kirchentag'', 1949–1969 Benjamin Carl Pearson 2007 
Similarly, one could argue that the conservative, nationalist resistance circles that grew up during the war years, whose activity culminated in the July 1944 Officers Plot</ref> Martin Borschat portrays their motivations as a matter of aristocratic resentment, writing that the plot was mainly carried out by conservative elites who were initially integrated by the Nazi government but during the war lost their influence and were concerned about regaining it.{{sfn|Evans|2015|p=198}} However, at least in Stauffenberg's case, the conviction that Nazi Germany's atrocities against civilians and prisoners of war were a dishonour to the nation and its military was likely a major motivating factor.{{sfn|Evans|2009b}} Historian Judith Michel assesses the circle around the 20 July Group as a diverse and heterogeneous group that included liberal democrats, conservatives, social democrats, authoritarian aristocrats, and even communists.  The common goal was to overthrow Hitler's regime and bring the war to a swift end.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kas.de/de/web/geschichte-der-cdu/kalender/kalender-detail/-/content/attentat-auf-adolf-hitler|title=Der 20. Juli 1944 – Attentat auf Adolf Hitler|date=26 June 2014|access-date=22 July 2021|archive-date=20 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720095613/https://www.kas.de/de/web/geschichte-der-cdu/kalender/kalender-detail/-/content/attentat-auf-adolf-hitler|url-status=live}}</ref> There is evidence of the plot encompassing a broad spectrum of plotters which included Communists that April, before the attempted coup, Stauffenberg agreed to cooperate with the Operational Leadership of the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) remaining in Germany. Contacts were established through the Social Democrats Adolf Reichwein and Julius Leber.<ref>Hans Coppi Jr.; 'Der vergessene Widerstand der Arbeiter: Gewerkschafter, Kommunisten, Sozialdemokraten, Trotzkisten, Anarchisten und Zwangsarbeiter'; pp. 154–157</ref>

==== Territorial demands ====
Among demands initially countenanced by the plotters for issue towards the Allies were such points as re-establishment of Germany's 1914 boundaries with [[Belgium]], [[France]] and [[Poland]] and no reparations. Like most of the rest of German resistance, the 20 July plotters believed in the idea of [[Greater Germany]] and as a condition for peace demanded that the western allies recognize as a minimum the incorporation of [[Austria]], [[Alsace-Lorraine]], [[Sudetenland]], and the annexation of Polish-inhabited territories that Germany ceded to Poland after 1918, with the restoration of some of the overseas colonies. They believed that Europe should be controlled under German hegemony.{{sfn|Evans|2015|pp=198–199}}

The overall goals towards Poland were mixed within the plotters. Most of the plotters found it desirable to restore the old German borders of 1914, while others pointed out that the demands were unrealistic, and amendments had to be made.<ref>''German Foreign Policy''.  Klaus Hilderbrand. pp. 185–188</ref> Some like [[Friedrich-Werner Graf von der Schulenburg]] even wanted all of Poland annexed to Germany.<ref>''Alternatives to Hitler: German Resistance Under the Third Reich''. Hans Mommsen. p. 161</ref>

To Poland, which was fighting against Nazi Germany with both its army and government in exile, the territorial demands and traditional nationalistic visions of resistance were not much different from the racist policies of Hitler.<ref>German Foreign Policy Klaus Hilderbrand, page 188</ref> Stauffenberg, as one of the leaders of the plot, stated five years before the coup in 1939 during the [[invasion of Poland|Poland campaign]]: "It is essential that we begin a systemic colonisation in Poland. But I have no fear that this will not occur."<ref>Peter Hoffman Stauffenberg: ''A Family History, 1905–1944''; p. 116; 2003 McGill-Queen's Press</ref><ref>War of extermination p. 137.</ref>

==== Political vision of post-Hitler Germany ====
Many members of the plot had helped the Nazis gain power and shared revisionist foreign policy goals pursued by Hitler, and even at the time of the plot were anti-democratic, hoping to replace Hitler with a conservative-authoritarian government involving aristocratic rule. They opposed popular legitimation or mass participation in governance of the state.<ref>''A Concise History of Germany''. p. 200. Mary Fulbrook</ref>

==== Political program ====
The political program of the [[#planned government|planned government]] was outlined in a draft for a [[government policy statement]], consisting of twelve points:

# Restoration of the [[rule of law]], [[Separation of powers|independence of the courts]], protection of personal and property security, dissolution of [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]], prevention of [[lynch law]],
# Combating corruption, restitution of [[Art theft and looting during World War II|looted works of art]], ending the [[The Holocaust|persecution of Jews]], punishment of [[war crime]]s,
# Dissolution of the [[Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda]] and an end to propaganda reporting on the course of the war,
# [[Separation of church and state]], a [[Christianity|Christian]] mindset as the basis for policies, [[freedom of the press]],
# Restoration of Christian education by parents
# Reduction of [[bureaucracy]], examination and possible punishment, dismissal or transfer of all officials appointed and promoted from 1 January 1933, especially [[Nazi party]] members
# Transformation of the [[provinces of Prussia]] and [[States of the Weimar Republic|states]] into ''[[Reichsgau]]e'', [[local self-government]] for the ''Reichsgaue'', [[Districts of Germany|districts]] and [[Municipalities of Germany|municipalities]] under the supervision of ''[[Reichsstatthalter]]'',
# Restoration of full [[economic freedom]] after the war, protection of [[private property]], [[Planned economy|planned economic measures]] only under conditions of war-related shortages,
# Responsible and conscientious [[social policy]] in the hands of ''Reichsgaue'' and [[trade union]]s
# Ending national debt through tax increases and [[austerity]] policies, international agreement on debt repayment
# Continuation of the war for defence purposes only,
# Commencement of peace negotiations with the [[Western Allies]], punishment of those Germans responsible for the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goerdeler |first=Carl |last2=Beck |first2=Ludwig |date=1944 |orig-date= |title=Draft for a government policy statement |url=https://www.gdw-berlin.de/fileadmin/bilder/publikationen/begleitmaterialien/Faksimiles_PDFs_deutsch/FS_10.1_DE_2.Aufl-RZ-web.pdf |website=[[German Resistance Memorial Center]] |language=de}}</ref>