Editing Georg Elser (section)

==Bombing==
{{Infobox operational plan
| name          = Bürgerbräukeller Bombing
| image         = File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E12329, München, Bürgerbräukeller, Sprengstoffanschlag.jpg
| image_size    = 300
| caption       = The [[Bürgerbräukeller]] after the bombing
| type          = [[Decapitation strike]] using a [[time bomb]]
| location      = [[Bürgerbräukeller]], [[Munich]]
| map_type      = 
| coordinates   = 
| planned_by    = {{ubl|Georg Elser}}
| objective     = {{blist|Assassinate [[Adolf Hitler]] and other high-ranking Nazi leaders|Prevent destruction of Germany|Prevent [[World War II|another world war]] and [[World War II casualties|the deaths it would cause]]}}
| date          = {{start date|1939|11|8|df=y}}, 21:20 ([[UTC+02:00|UTC+2]])
| executed_by   = Georg Elser
| outcome       = {{blist|Hitler survives as he left 13 minutes before the explosion|Elser is arrested and executed in 1945}}
| casualties    = 8 killed, 62 injured<!--7/63 initially, with 1 dying later-->
}}

===Hitler's escape===
The high-ranking Nazis who accompanied Adolf Hitler to the anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch on 8 November 1939 were [[Joseph Goebbels]], [[Reinhard Heydrich]], [[Rudolf Hess]], [[Robert Ley]], [[Alfred Rosenberg]], [[Julius Streicher]], [[August Frank]], [[Hermann Esser]] and [[Heinrich Himmler]]. Hitler was welcomed to the platform by [[Christian Weber (SS general)|Christian Weber]].<ref name="Hellmut G 2013">{{cite book|author=Hellmut G. Haasis|translator=William Odom|title=Bombing Hitler: The Story of the Man Who Almost Assassinated the Fuhrer|date=January 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=azJMqqh18mkC|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated|isbn=978-1-62087-954-2}}{{page needed|date=November 2020}}</ref>{{page needed|date=November 2020}}

Unknown to Elser, Hitler had initially cancelled his speech at the Bürgerbräukeller to devote his attention to planning the imminent war with France, but changed his mind and attended after all. As fog was forecast, possibly preventing him from flying back to [[Berlin]] the next morning, Hitler decided to return to Berlin the same night by his private train. With the departure from Munich's main station set for 9:30&nbsp;p.m., the start time of the reunion was brought forward half an hour to 8&nbsp;p.m. and Hitler cut his speech from the planned two hours to a one-hour duration.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

Hitler ended his address to the 3000-strong audience of the party faithful at 9:07&nbsp;p.m., 13 minutes before Elser's bomb exploded at 9:20&nbsp;p.m. By that time, Hitler and his entourage had left the Bürgerbräukeller. The bomb brought down part of the ceiling and roof and caused the gallery and an external wall to collapse, leaving a mountain of rubble. Hitler did not learn of the attempt on his life until later that night on a stop in [[Nuremberg]]. When told of the bombing by Goebbels, Hitler responded, "A man has to be lucky" ("Glück muss der Mensch haben"). After returning from Munich to inspect the scene of the bombing, Hitler claimed to have experienced a "premonition" and on the train ride back, Hitler told his constituents, "Now I am completely at peace! My leaving the Bürgerbräu[keller] earlier than usual is proof to me that Providence wants me to reach my goal." ("Jetzt bin ich völlig ruhig! Dass ich den Bürgerbräu früher als sonst verlassen habe, ist mir eine Bestätigung, dass die Vorsehung mich mein Ziel erreichen lassen will.")<ref name=":2" />

=== Casualties ===
Of the 120 people that were still in the hall at the time, sixty-three were injured, sixteen seriously. Seven were killed at the scene while one injured person died a few days later. All but one of those killed were members of the [[Nazi Party]], of which all but one had been longtime supporters of the ideology.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Georg Elser: Die Opfer des Attentats |url=https://www.georg-elser-arbeitskreis.de/texts/opfer1.htm |access-date=2023-07-28 |website=georg-elser-arbeitskreis.de}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=9 November 1939 |title=British, Jews Are Blamed for Attempt to Assassinate Hitler |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/64225490/brgerbrukeller-bombing-1939/ |access-date=29 November 2020 |work=The Rhinelander Daily News |location=Rhinelander, WI |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref>

* Maria Henle (30), cashier and waitress at the Bürgerbräukeller
* Franz Lutz (53), [[Sturmabteilung|SA]]-''[[Sturmhauptführer]]''
* Wilhelm Kaiser (50), SA-''Sturmhauptführer'', deputy leader of [[National Socialist Motor Corps|NSKK]] Regiment 86 
* Wilhelm Weber (37), SA-[[Mann (paramilitary rank)|''Mann'']], radio equipment technician
* Leonhardt Reindl (57), Nazi member since 1923, awarded with the [[Honour Chevron for the Old Guard]] for being part of ''[[Alter Kämpfer|Alte Kämpfer]]''
* Emil Kasberger (54), long-time Nazi member, [[Flute|flautist]] in ''Traditionsgau München-Oberbayern''
* Eugen Schachta (32), SA-''Mann'', radio equipment technician, ''Haupteinsatzleiter'' for {{Interlanguage link|Reichsautozug|de}}
* Michael Schmeidl (73), Nazi member since before 1930 and retired ''Oberamtmann''; died 13 November from arm injuries<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 November 1939 |title=SA-Standarte 2 - Michael Schmeidl |work=Der Oberschlesische Wanderer |pages=2 |volume=112 |issue=322}}</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E12359, München, Adolf Hitler vor Feldherrenhalle.jpg|thumb|"The solemn act of state in front of the Feldherrnhalle in Munich (11 November 1939) for the seven victims of the criminal bomb attack in Bürgerbräukeller on 8 November 1939" (original caption)]]

===Honoring the victims===
In Munich on 9 November, the annual guard of honour for the sixteen "blood martyrs" of the [[Nazi Party|NSDAP]] who died in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 was held at the [[Feldherrnhalle]] as usual. Two days later, at the same location, an official ceremony for the victims of the Bürgerbräukeller bombing took place. Hitler returned from Berlin to stand before seven flag-draped coffins as Rudolf Hess addressed the SA guard, the onlookers, and listeners to ''Grossdeutsche Rundfunk'' ("Greater German Radio"). In his half-hour oration, Hess was not short on hyperbole:

{{Blockquote|At this time the German people take their sad leave of the victims of a gruesome crime, a crime almost unparalleled in history&nbsp;... The perpetrators of this crime have succeeded in teaching the German people to hate&nbsp;... this enormous crime, this war which was forced upon us, will turn out in favor of the Führer, in favor of Germany—in favor of Germany and the entire world.}}

After "''[[Ich hatt' einen Kameraden|Der gute Kamerad]]''" was played, Hitler placed a wreath of [[chrysanthemum]]s on each coffin, then stepped back to lift his arm in the [[Nazi salute]]. The very slow playing of "[[Deutschlandlied|''Deutschland über alles'']]" ended the solemn ceremony.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

===Arrest===
At 8:45&nbsp;p.m. on the night of 8 November, Elser was apprehended by two border guards, {{convert|25|m|-1}} from the Swiss border fence in Konstanz. When taken to the border control post and asked to empty his pockets he was found to be carrying wire cutters, numerous notes and sketches pertaining to explosive devices, firing pins and a blank colour postcard of the interior of the Bürgerbräukeller. At 11&nbsp;p.m., during Elser's interrogation by the Gestapo in Konstanz, news of the bombing in Munich arrived by [[teleprinter]]. The next day, Elser was transferred by car to Munich Gestapo Headquarters.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013" />

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R98680, Besprechung Himmler mit Müller, Heydrich, Nebe, Huber.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|left|[[Heinrich Himmler|Himmler]] (centre) in conference with [[Franz Josef Huber|Huber]], [[Arthur Nebe|Nebe]], [[Reinhard Heydrich|Heydrich]], and [[Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)|Müller]], (left to right) in November 1939]]

===Investigation===
While still returning to Berlin by train, Hitler ordered Heinrich Himmler to put [[Arthur Nebe]], head of [[Kripo]] (Criminal Police), in charge of the investigation into the Munich bombing. Himmler did this, but also assigned total control of the investigation to the chief of the Gestapo, [[Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)|Heinrich Müller]]. Müller immediately ordered the arrest of all Bürgerbräukeller personnel, while Nebe ran the onsite investigation, sifting through the debris.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

Nebe had early success, finding the remains of brass plates bearing patent numbers of a clock maker in [[Villingen-Schwenningen|Schwenningen]], Baden-Würtemberg. Despite the clear evidence of the German make, Himmler released to the press that the metal parts pointed to "foreign origin".<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

Himmler offered a reward of 500,000 marks for information leading to the capture of the culprits, and the Gestapo was soon deluged with hundreds of suspects. When one suspect was reported to have detonator parts in his pockets, Otto Rappold of the counter-espionage arm of the Gestapo sped to Königsbronn and neighbouring towns. Every family member and possible acquaintance of Elser was rounded up for interrogation.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

At the Schmauder residence in Schnaitheim, 16-year-old Maria Schmauder told of her family's recent boarder who was working on an "invention", had a false bottom in his suitcase, and worked at the Vollmer quarry.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

===Interrogation in Munich===
On 9 November, as only one of many suspects being held at Munich Gestapo Headquarters, Elser did not attract much attention for a few days, but when face-to-face meetings took place with Bürgerbräukeller staff, waitress Maria Strobl identified Elser as the odd customer who never ordered more than one drink. Later, on the basis of his Swabian accent, Elser was identified by a storekeeper as the man to whom he had sold a "sound proofing insulation plate" to deaden the sound of ticking clocks.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

Nebe called in [[Franz Josef Huber]], head of the Gestapo in [[Vienna]], to assist. Huber had the idea of asking Elser to bare his knees. When he did, they were found to be badly bruised, the apparent result of working at low level during his night work at the Bürgerbräukeller.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

Dr Albrecht Böhme, head of the Munich Kripo, was witness to a severe and prolonged beating of Elser, in which he said Himmler participated. He later recalled: "But Elser, who was groaning and bleeding profusely from the mouth and nose, made no confession; he would probably not have been physically able to, even if he had wanted to." However, on 15 November, Elser made a full written confession, though the document did not survive the war.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R97512, Berlin, Geheimes Staatspolizeihauptamt.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Berlin, [[Niederkirchnerstraße|Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse 8]]&nbsp;— [[Reich Security Main Office]], formerly Kunstgewerbemuseum (original caption)]]

===Interrogation in Berlin===
Elser was transferred to Berlin Gestapo Headquarters on [[Niederkirchnerstraße|Prinz Albrecht Strasse]], possibly on 18 November. His parents, siblings and their spouses, together with his former girlfriend Elsa Härlen, were taken by train to Berlin to be held in [[Moabit]] prison and then in the grand [[Hotel Kaiserhof (Berlin)|Hotel Kaiserhof]]. His mother, sister Maria Hirth, brother-in-law Karl Hirth and Elsa Härlen were interrogated in the presence of Elser.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

In 1950, Elsa Härlen recollected:

{{Blockquote|...&nbsp;His face was swollen and beaten black and blue. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and I was horrified by his appearance&nbsp;... An officer placed himself behind Elser and, to make him talk, he kept striking him on the back or on the back of his head&nbsp;... What he said was something like this: He had taken black powder from the Vollmer Company, and with this he had built a time bomb. He had been induced to do this by foreign agents and had acted on their orders&nbsp;...}}

Härlen was left in no doubt that Elser was only repeating what his interrogators wanted him to say. Apart from Maria Hirth and her husband, who were considered accomplices and imprisoned for over one year, the family members and Härlen were allowed to return home. While in Berlin, Härlen received special attention, being interviewed by Heinrich Himmler, having an audience with Adolf Hitler, and being quizzed by [[Martin Bormann]]. However, she did not help their cause, which was to find some fragment of evidence that Elser had not acted alone.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

While in Berlin, Elser made five full-size drawings of the design of his bomb in order to persuade his interrogators that he was the sole instigator of the assassination attempt. These drawings are referred to in the Gestapo interrogation report, but have not survived.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

===Interrogation report===
Five days of torture, 19–23 November, produced the Gestapo Protokoll (interrogation report). The document was signed off by Kappler, Schmidt and Seibold for the "Kriminalkommissare".<ref name="Gestapo Interrogration Report 1939">Gestapo Interrogation Report, Nov 1939, Bundesarchiv Koblenz, signature R 22/3100</ref> Buried in the German archives in Koblenz until 1964, this report is now considered the most important source of information on Elser. The report did not mention the interrogation of Elser's family members and Elsa Härlen in Berlin, as the report contains only the answers Elser gave to his interrogators. On the vital question that he was the sole instigator, Elser had this to say:

{{Blockquote|I also had the intention, and considered in detail, to write from Switzerland to the German police to explain that I was the sole culprit in the assassination, no accomplice or accomplices have I had. I would have also sent along an accurate drawing of my apparatus and a description of the execution of the deed, so that one could verify my claim. With such a message to the German police, I just wanted to ensure that under no circumstances would any innocent person be arrested in the search for perpetrators.<ref name="Gestapo Interrogration Report 1939"/>}}

When Himmler read the final report, he flew into a rage and scrawled in green ink on the red cover: "What idiot wrote this?"<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

===Nazi propaganda===
Discarding the interrogation report that found Elser solely responsible, Hitler proceeded to use the Bürgerbräukeller bombing for propaganda purposes. On 22 November, German newspapers were filled with the story that the assassin, Georg Elser, had been funded by the British Intelligence Service, while the organiser of the crime was [[Otto Strasser]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Steinbach |first=Peter |last2=Tuchel |first2=Johannes |date=1983-03-10 |title=George Elser - Tat und Erinnerung |url=https://www.gedenkstaettenforum.de/uploads/media/GedenkstaettenRundbrief83-03-10.pdf |website=Gedenkstätten Forum}}</ref> Photos of two British SIS officers, [[Richard Henry Stevens]] and [[Sigismund Payne Best]], captured in the [[Venlo Incident]] on 9 November 1939, shared the front page of ''[[Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung]]'' with a photo of Georg Elser.<ref>''Deutsche-Allgemeine-Zeitung'' (22 November 1939)</ref>

SS officer [[Walter Schellenberg]] later wrote in his memoirs (''The Labyrinth''):

{{Blockquote|He (Hitler) began to issue detailed directives on the handling of the case to Himmler, Heydrich, and me and gave releases to the press. To my dismay, he became increasingly convinced that the attempt on his life had been the work of the British Intelligence, and that (British [[Secret Intelligence Service|SIS]] officers) Best and Stevens, working together with Otto Strasser, were the real organizers of this crime&nbsp;... Meanwhile a carpenter by the name of Elser had been arrested while trying to escape over the Swiss border. The circumstantial evidence against him was very strong, and finally he confessed&nbsp;... I thought it possible that the [[Black Front]] organization of Otto Strasser might have something to do with the matter and that the British Secret Service might also be involved. But to connect Best and Stevens with the Beer Cellar attempt on Hitler's life seemed to me quite ridiculous. Nevertheless that was exactly what was in Hitler's mind. He announced to the press that Elser and the officers of the British Secret Service would be tried together. In high places there was talk of a great public trial, to be staged&nbsp;... for the benefit of the German people. I tried to think of the best way to prevent this lunacy.<ref>''The Labyrinth: Memoirs of Walter Schellenberg, Hitler's Chief of Counter-intelligence'', 1956, Harper & Brothers, p. 134</ref>}}

The Swiss magazine ''Appenzeller Zeitung'' reported on 23 November 1939 that Otto Strasser had denied any knowledge of Elser, Best or Stevens in an interview in Paris. On 13 November, Swiss authorities had expelled Strasser from Switzerland, after he was found to have made disparaging remarks about Hitler in a foreign newspaper in October.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

===Torture, drugs and hypnosis===
The basement cells of the Berlin Gestapo Headquarters were notorious for the inhumane treatment of prisoners. It was rumoured Elser was kept imprisoned on the top floor until January or February 1941.

[[Arthur Nebe]] told [[Hans Gisevius]] of Elser's frayed state during this period. Gisevius wrote later,

{{Blockquote|...&nbsp;Elser was just a shell of his former self because they (the Gestapo) had tried to squeeze information out of him by feeding him very salty herring and exposing him to heat, and then depriving him of liquids&nbsp;... They wanted him to confess to some kind of connection, however vague, to Otto Strasser. The artisan remained steadfast. Almost like an innocent child or the kind of person one sometimes finds among sect members, he told Nebe of his torment, not begging mercy, not even complaining&nbsp;— it was more like an outburst of joy at seeing once again the person (Nebe) who had treated him humanely since his arrest.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>}}

[[Walter Schellenberg]] wrote of a conversation with [[Heinrich Müller (Gestapo)|Heinrich Müller]], who told him,

{{Blockquote|So far I've always been able to break every one of these types that I've taken on. If this guy had been treated to my beatings earlier on, he never would have thought up this nonsense. In a subsequent discussion, Hitler issued an order to Heydrich: 'I would like to know what kind of man this Elser is. We must be able to classify him somehow. Report back to me on this. And furthermore, use all means to get this criminal to talk. Have him hypnotized, give him drugs; make use of everything of this nature our scientists have tried. I want to know who the instigators are. I want to know who is behind this.'<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>}}

Three days later, Schellenberg heard from Müller that three doctors had worked on Elser for twenty-four hours, injecting him with "sizable quantities of [[Methamphetamine|Pervitin]]", but he continued to say the same thing. Four hypnotists were summoned. Only one could put Elser into a trance, but the prisoner stuck to the same story. The psychologist wrote in his report that Elser was a "fanatic" and had a pathological desire for recognition. He concluded by saying pointedly: Elser had the "drive to achieve fame by eliminating Hitler and simultaneously liberating Germany from the evil of Hitler.'"<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

===Reconstruction of the bomb===
While at Berlin Gestapo Headquarters, Müller put Elser into a workshop and ordered him to reconstruct the explosive device he used at the Bürgerbräukeller. When [[Reinhard Heydrich]] and [[Walter Schellenberg]] visited Elser in the workshop, Schellenberg noted, "He [Elser] responded to questioning only with reluctance but opened up when he was praised for his craftsmanship. Then he would comment on his reconstructed model in detail and with great enthusiasm."<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>

Elser's reconstruction of his Bürgerbräukeller bomb was held in such high regard by the Gestapo, they adopted it into their field manuals for training purposes.<ref name="Hellmut G 2013"/>