Editing Georg Elser (section)

===Conspiracy theories===
Elser has been the subject of rumours and various conspiracy theories since the Bürgerbräukeller bombing. After the war, Protestant pastor and theologian [[Martin Niemöller]], also in custody in the "bunker" at Sachsenhausen, gave credence to the rumour that Elser had been a member of the [[SS]] and that the whole assassination attempt had been staged by the Nazis to portray Hitler as being protected by Providence. Many others, like quarry owner Georg Vollmer, building on his dead wife's contribution, weighed in with their version of the truth.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/> In 1948, [[Allen Welsh Dulles]], the future [[Director of Central Intelligence]] (de facto head of the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]]) summed up a range of conspiracy theories when he wrote:

{{Blockquote|On 8 November a bomb exploded in Bürgerbräukeller in Munich shortly after Hitler had given his annual speech on the anniversary of the beer hall putsch of 1923 and after he had left the building. This event still remains unresolved.

Some evidence suggests that the infernal machine was exploded with the knowledge of Hitler and Himmler in order to consolidate the German sense of community, or, as in the case of the [[Reichstag fire]], to give rise to a new wave of terror.

I heard there were photographs showing a high-ranking SS officer standing next to Hitler with a watch in hand, to take care that the leaders escaped in time. Others claim the attack was the work of communists acting independently and without the knowledge of other anti-Nazi groups. A new report presents the plot as the attempted assassination of an illegal socialist group.<ref>[[Allen W. Dulles|Dulles, Allen W.]], ''Conspiracy in Germany'', Zurich, 1948{{page needed|date=November 2020}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2020}}}}

In 1969, historical research by Anton Hoch based on The Gestapo Protokoll (interrogation report) dated 19–23 November 1939, found that Elser had acted alone and there was no evidence to involve the Nazi regime or any outside group in the assassination attempt.<ref name="Attentat">{{cite journal |last=Hoch |first=Anton |title=Das Attentat auf Hitler im Münchner Bürgerbräukeller 1939 |journal=Vierteljahrheft für Zeitgeschichte |volume=17 |issue=4 |year=1969 |pages=383–413 |jstor=30196299 }}</ref>