Who saved Hitler The Munich Crisis & The Oster Conspiracy 1938

If you could travel back in time and kill baby Hitler, would you do it? This is a common question asked by many, which has deep philosophical ramifications. But we don't necessarily have to break the laws of physics and travel back in time to kill John Connor. In fact, numerous attempts have been made on Hitler's life, and some of these were very close to succeeding. One of the ones that I think had the best chance of assassinating Hitler was the 1938 coup attempt, also known as the Oster Conspiracy after Hans Oster, one of the conspirators. It's a prime example of how history could have been so much different had one man not saved Hitler's life. Who was this mystery man? Why did he save Hitler? And why am I bringing up this particular event? I'm glad you asked over dramatic voiceover. One of my Patrons, Spectre321, wanted to know more about the German resistance movement against Hitler. As part of his question, he mentions the 1938 coup attempt, and because there's many parts to Spectre's question, I'm going to focus on the 1938 coup today, and come back to answer the rest of his question in a future video, so be sure to subscribe if you haven't done so already. In order to fully understand the 1938 coup attempt, we need to go back to 1934. Tensions rose in Europe during 1934 when the Fascist leader Dollfuss, the guy in charge of Austria, was assassinated. Mussolini assumed it was Hitler, and it probably was, since Hitler wanted to annex Austria into the Reich. At this time, Mussolini didn't want Hitler to annex Austria, and even sent troops to the Austrian border to dissuade him, which was actually what caused Hitler to back down. Mussolini had saved Austria from the Anschluss. In September, Britain, France and Italy signed yet another piece of paper, a joint declaration pledging to preserve Austrian independence. Yes, in 1934, Mussolini was working with the Western Allies against Hitler, and they saw him in a favourable light. But this didn't last. In late 1934, Mussolini set his sights on Ethiopia. He thought that, with the British busy negotiating with the Germans in order to keep the peace in Europe, the beginnings of their appeasement policy, the French and British wouldn't mind if he took Ethiopia. But he misjudged the situation. In fact, Hitler sent arms to the Ethiopians, partly to bog down Italian troops, but partly to show support for the British, whom he wanted an alliance with. So the war proceeded slowly for Mussolini, and Mussolini lost that British and French support that he had previously had. A tear in relations occurred, with Mussolini isolated from them in the grand scheme of things. Hitler now decided to use this opportunity to march into the Rhineland in the March of 1936. Wilhelm Canaris was the head of the German Abwehr intelligence agency. He was still, at this time, on Hitler's side, and had a high-level source in Britain close to the cabinet. His spy network had also penetrated MI6, and had enough information to confirm to Hitler that, if Hitler marched into the Rhineland in 1936, the British would not oppose him. The French weren't willing to go in and stop Hitler unless they had British and Italian support. But, because the Italians were engaged in Ethiopia, and had actually been sanctioned by the Western Allies at this point, and Hitler refused to sanction the Italians believing it would improve relations, Mussolini refused. The British also declined, so Hitler got away with it. The main point to note here is the split between Mussolini and the West. Prior to Ethiopia, Mussolini had been against Hitler, and had successfully prevented Hitler from taking Austria. But with relations with the West soured over Ethiopia, Mussolini was now without Allies. Then the Spanish Civil War happened. Hitler and Mussolini were not Allies, and did not jointly agree to send aid to Franco. They each came to that conclusion separately. But the war would bring them together. Hitler offered Mussolini German recognition of Italian conquests in Ethiopia, which Mussolini accepted. Franco asked Hitler if he could spare planes to transport him to the Spanish mainland. And Hitler turned to Canaris, who again, still on Hitler's side at this point, leapt into action, getting in touch with his spy network in Spain. Twenty Junkers 52 transports, ten more than Franco had asked for, and six Heinkel 51 fighters, some flown by British pilots, were swiftly chartered through London to Tetouan Airfield in northern Morocco. Canaris' intervention tipped the balance of the Spanish Civil War in Franco's favour. Canaris now had influence with Franco and his government, and Franco even gave him a villa as a thank you. Meanwhile, Mussolini and Hitler were slowly coming together, with Mussolini flying to Germany for the Olympics, and in 1937 as well, although nothing formal was agreed, until November 1937, with the Italians finally signing the Anti-Comintern Pact, and being accepted into that alliance. Then the Blomberg Fritzsch Affair occurred in the January and February of 1938. This event was the catalyst for turning Canaris against Hitler. From now on, Canaris would work to subvert the Führer, and this was when the systematic organization of Hitler's opponents began. Finally, in March 1938, Hitler invaded Fascist Austria, and annexed it into the Reich. Mussolini was furious with Hitler, but at this point, Mussolini's military had been exhausted in Ethiopia, and were also committed in Spain. So he was in no position to stop Hitler on his own like he previously did. And, of course, neither Britain nor France were willing to intervene. In fact, the most serious opposition seems to have come from Sir Frederick Marquis, managing director of Louis's, the department store. He therefore instructed the company's 14 buyers in Germany to close their books, and, on 23rd of March 1938, made a powerful speech in Leicester, announcing a complete boycott of German goods. Taken aback by the considerable and largely positive reaction to this intervention, Marquis concluded that this was just the sort of firm, moral lead the country desired. But instead of giving this guy a medal, which is what I would have done, he was summoned to Downing Street to be chastised by the scumbag politicians. Why? Thousands of Jews and other enemies of the Nazis were being beaten and murdered in Austria, their property was getting smashed and expropriated, and the survivors were forced onto their hands and knees to scrub the streets whilst being kicked and screamed at. And the British establishment is complaining to the one guy in Britain who protested against this by telling him not to interfere in the foreign policy of the country. You know your political state is a complete joke when the first line of defence against external enemies is a managing director of a department store. But anyway, the main thing to note here is that, because of the breakdown of relations between Mussolini and the West, this gave Hitler the opportunity he needed to start expanding. Mussolini was still not on his side yet when Hitler set his sights on the Sudetenland, and it is super important that you understand this because of what happened during the Munich Crisis. Now we have to remember that, during this time, the German army wasn't ready for war in 1938, especially a war on two fronts. Germany didn't have many allies, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a thing of the future, and, as we've just seen, Fascist Italy wasn't on their side yet either. This was why, from 2nd to 10th of May, Hitler surrounded himself with an enormous entourage of 500 diplomats, officials, party functionaries, security men, and journalists on a state visit to Italy in order to sound out Mussolini's response if Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. In fact, Czechoslovakia had an alliance with the Soviet Union at this point, and Chief of the Army's General Staff, Ludwig Beck, was concerned that an invasion would draw Germany into a bigger conflict. General Beck, who was in the resistance movement, pleaded with Hitler to find an agreement with Britain and or the Soviet Union to avoid a war on two fronts. Hitler was enraged, and dismissed Beck from his position on the 18th of August 1938, replacing him with Franz Halder. Beck and Canaris, as well as Oster, now began meeting together in order to plan what they were going to do. In fact, they provided intelligence to the Czechs, warning them that Hitler wanted the Sudetenland before Hitler had even acted. Canaris was also manipulating the flow of information to Hitler to slow him down, and was providing information to the British to try and get them to stand firm against Hitler. In April 1938, conservative politician Karl Goedeler, who had been the Price Commissar earlier in the 1930s, which led him to fall out with Hitler and become a resistance member, visited Britain to warn them directly about Hitler's plans to invade Czechoslovakia. He also went a second time later in the year. This resulted in Churchill being informed who wasn't Prime Minister at this time, and Churchill wrote letters and rang Halifax, Anthony Eden, and the French Prime Minister about Hitler's intentions. Churchill even sent a letter to the British Embassy in Berlin, warning the Germans that Britain would send her army to France if the Germans crossed the Czech border in force. Canaris mentioned this letter to Hitler. But Hitler was determined, and this was where the coup attempt comes in. On the 28th of September 1938, 50 or so men under Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz's command, armed with weapons supplied by Admiral Canaris, prepared to take Hitler into custody. In addition, some of the men had secretly decided to kill the Führer upon his arrest. There were also plenty of reinforcements throughout Berlin ready to assist in this plot, versus just 15 SS guards who were on duty guarding the Chancellery. The Chancellery doors would even be opened by an inside conspirator. The plot had been meticulously prepared. The moment Hitler gave the order to invade the Sudetenland, they would make their move. This is the critical thing. Everyone assumed that an invasion of Czechoslovakia would lead to war, and nobody wanted war except for Hitler. The German army at this stage believed it would be a disaster, so the moment Hitler decided to attack, the conspirators would strike, arrest, and then kill Hitler, then announce that they had stopped the madman from taking them to war. The British knew of the plot, and it is strongly suspected that the British Prime Minister did too. All that was needed was for the British to tell Hitler no, showing that they were willing to fight. And that would have been it. But in all their careful preparations, the conspirators had missed one crucial factor the British Prime Minister. Instead of standing up to Hitler, drawing the heart of the crisis after months of back and forth, Chamberlain announced that he would fly to meet the Führer at Berchtesgaden. "...I fell from heaven!" Hitler was reported to have said after he got Chamberlain's letter saying that he was on his way to find a peaceful solution. It's not 100% clear if Chamberlain knew about the coup attempt, but Ashdown says he has a strong suspicion that the British Prime Minister's sudden visit to Berchtesgaden was, if only in part, designed to pre-empt the coming coup so as to give Chamberlain the peacemaker his time upon the stage. The plot was foiled, and many in Chamberlain's cabinet were not happy when he returned on the 17th of September. And on the 22nd of September 1938, when Chamberlain outlined his proposal for a compromise with Hitler, right on cue, Hitler said they weren't good enough, and upped his demands. "...Chamberlain sat bolt upright, his face flush with anger, and for a few moments was too astonished to speak. After what seemed like an interminably painful silence, he at last composed himself sufficiently to ask Hitler the reason for his sudden change of mind. Hitler gave a new ultimatum and deadline for the 1st of October. Chamberlain was appalled. "'But that's an ultimatum!' he explained, throwing his copy of the terms on the table in disgust and getting up from his chair as if to leave. "'Ein Diktat!' interjected Henderson, who knew it would be an emotive word for Hitler, who had for years used it to describe the Treaty of Versailles. "'Chamberlain was,' Hitler assured him, "'grievously mistaken. It was nothing of the sort,' he continued. "'It is not a Diktat at all. Look, the document is headed by the word Memorandum.'" This did mean though that the conspirators had another opportunity to attempt the coup, and they began to prepare for it a second time. All Chamberlain had to do was stand firm. The Czechs were willing to fight, with men rushing to take up arms and man positions. The French were willing to fight too. Daladier even told Chamberlain this. All Chamberlain had to do was stand firm. 10,000 people protested in Britain, demanding that the British Prime Minister stand by the Czechs. All Chamberlain had to do was stand firm. Chamberlain told his cabinet about Hitler's new demands, saying they were bad, but that they should accept them. His cabinet were not amused. Some calling for mobilization, and others who were on Chamberlain's side remained silent, as if knowing they were wrong. Again, all Chamberlain had to do was stand firm. But this was Chamberlain, wasn't it? And of course, Chamberlain backed down to Hitler's diktat. He sent Sir Horace Wilson to negotiate, but the meeting with Hitler turned into a screaming match when Hitler didn't get his way. "...Germany was treated like s***! One would not dare treat even the Turks like that!" He continued to shout. "...on the 1st of October I shall have Czechoslovakia where I want her!" He then said that he didn't care if Britain and France now declared war, saying, let them strike, and that he was no longer willing to negotiate with the Czechs directly. In a speech the next day, Hitler said that he had no further interest in the Czech state, and that he was now determined to give the Germans their freedom, or take it for themselves. Clearly, things weren't going well. Yet even at this point, Chamberlain was still eager to avoid war at all costs, rather than stand up to Hitler. So, he wrote a letter to Mussolini, asking him to intervene and stop Hitler. Here's why it was important to start this video talking about events in 1934. Chamberlain wrote to Mussolini saying that Mussolini was now the only man who could stop Hitler. Mussolini had fallen out with the West over Ethiopia, but was not on Hitler's side yet. He was isolated and in the middle of the two camps. That's why he stepped in to stop the war. His message to Hitler reflects the fact that he was sitting on the fence. The Duce informs you that, whatever you decide, Führer, Fascist Italy stands behind you. The Duce is, however, of the opinion that it would be wise to accept the British proposal, and begs you to refrain from mobilization. An hour before the expiration of his ultimatum and the beginning of war, Hitler delayed German mobilization because of Mussolini's intervention, and negotiations began. Some in Germany were disappointed that Hitler had given in, but many were also happy, as were lots of people around the world, including Roosevelt, who begged Hitler to find a peaceful solution to the Sudeten issue. Chamberlain was certainly pleased. "...whatever views honourable members may have had about Senior Mussolini in the past, I believe that everyone will welcome his gesture of being willing to work with us for peace in Europe." And, to be fair, Mussolini was well-suited to this role. When the negotiations began between Mussolini, Hitler, Chamberlain and Dalladia, Mussolini was the only one who was able to speak without an interpreter. He could speak all the languages. This certainly gave him an advantage, because the meeting between all the leaders was done in such haste that there had been no preparations made. With everyone sitting in comfortable chairs, the atmosphere was far from businesslike. There was no agenda, no chairman, no one to take notes, and not even any paper or pencils for the leaders to take their own. The local telephone system had crashed. When Chamberlain introduced himself to Mussolini, Mussolini coldly shrugged him off. Mussolini then presented a memorandum which was similar to Hitler's previous terms. In fact, Hitler had met Mussolini at the Austrian border, and had worked out a plan with him. And both Chamberlain and Dalladia didn't seem to realize any of this, nor had they made a plan themselves. Instead, they both largely agreed with Mussolini's proposal. The points they didn't agree on made Hitler more and more angry as the meeting dragged on. Finally, at 130 in the morning on the 29th of September 1938, they came to an agreement. After dipping his pen into an empty inkpot, Hitler was the first to sign the document. Chunks of territory were carved from the breast of Czechoslovakia. Germany got the Sudetenland, Poland occupied the Secession area, and Hungary took areas in the south. One-fifth of her territory was gone, along with 800,000 Czech citizens. Perhaps worse, the British and French had both given the impression to Hitler that they had no will to fight. "...our enemies are small worms. I saw them at Munich." The following day, Chamberlain presented Hitler with a declaration that Britain and Germany would never go to war again. Hitler signed it without demur. Then Chamberlain went home and waved a piece of paper. And so there was no order to invade, no launching of armies, and no trigger for a coup. It was over. They could have justified the coup to the German people by saying that Hitler was leading them to war, and that only a coup could have prevented war. But that justification no longer worked because Chamberlain had given in, and Hitler's aggression was vindicated. The threat of war had been neutralized, and Germany had gained territory at no expense. War had been avoided. Hitler had won without a shot being fired. Hitler's popularity reached new heights among the German public, and ironically, he was now the preserver of a peace he had not wanted. As for the resistance, Chamberlain and Dalladier pulled the carpet from under the conspirators' feet. Yes, in fact, it wasn't until much later that the resistance would recover from this setback. The Abwehr's eternal plotter, Hans-Berg Gesevius, who had been amongst the most active of the conspirators right from the start, commented bitterly after the war, "...peace in our time. Let us put it a bit more realistically. Chamberlain saved Hitler." And the British people praised Chamberlain for this. "...rarely had a man who had decided on such a disastrous course of action enjoyed such enthusiastic praise for having done so. Rarely was a piece of paper, such as the one he waved at the cameras on his return to Britain, so worthless." There's a few things to take away from this. First, Fascism wasn't aligned to National Socialism. Hitler had annexed Fascist Austria, with its leaders not wanting that to happen. In fact, Dollfuss had actually banned the Austrian National Socialist Party in July 1933. Arguably, Hitler had assassinated Dollfuss. Mussolini certainly believed so. And Mussolini himself was against Hitler up until 1935, when his invasion of Ethiopia isolated him from the Western powers. He then started to drift towards the German camp, but still hadn't fully aligned himself with the Germans in 1938. Arguably, he wouldn't do so until 1940. This information is conveniently forgotten by those wishing to paint the picture that National Socialism and Fascism were one and the same ideology. This is factually untrue, and for more information on this, you can check out my video on the differences between Fascism and National Socialism. Secondly, there was a small German resistance movement prior to the war, really getting going after the Blomberg-Fritzsch Affair and the run-up to the war. And this resistance movement was willing and able to mount a coup during the Munich Crisis in 1938. It needed justification to do that though, and Chamberlain's inability to stand firm prevented the coup from taking place. This failure dissuaded members of the resistance, with many now believing that Hitler had been right, and that he was on the correct course. They now believed, thanks to Chamberlain, that their enemies were weak, and wouldn't resist them. And it was only later, mostly after Barbarossa had failed, that they realized their mistake. I'll be coming back to cover the resistance in later years in the future, but another thing to consider is this. If Chamberlain was on a war-footing, and wanted to destroy Germany, as claimed by David Hoggan and many others in the Nazi camp, why didn't he allow the 1938 coup to go through? Now, they may argue that Chamberlain secretly wanted war, not just to get rid of Hitler. But I don't see how giving in to Hitler and claiming peace for our time is a quest for war. Surely, if he wanted war, he would have stood firm against Hitler, which would have led directly to the war, and or let the coup attempt go through, assuming he knew about the coup attempt, summed down that he did. If he wanted war, then he had France and the Czechs on his side, and potentially the Soviet Union, at a time when the Wehrmacht was nowhere near prepared for war. It makes sense for him to strike in 1938, especially with the coup ready to go, to cut off the head of the snake, than it does for him to wait until the Germans were better prepared for the fight later. The counter will be that Britain and France weren't ready for war, but neither was Germany. And you're forgetting about Czechoslovakia too, plus Poland potentially, or the Soviet Union. An aggressive strike at this time could have been enough. And if Chamberlain wanted war, then this was a perfect opportunity. And yet, he did absolutely everything in opposition to this idea that he wanted war. He bent over backwards to Hitler, over and over, begging for peace, so much that he completely sold out the Czechs. So, once again, we have further evidence that undermines the Nazi narrative. Finally, of all the assassination attempts on Hitler's life, there's only three that stand out as having a decent chance of success. There's the famous July Plot of 1944, when the bomb went off and almost killed Hitler. There's another bomb plot in November 1939, when a carpenter almost got him, but Hitler unexpectedly left earlier than he should have done, so the bomb missed the main man. And finally, the Oster Conspiracy, which we've just covered. By the sounds of it, the Oster Conspiracy had a very high chance of success. 15 SS guards weren't going to stop 50 soldiers from storming the Chancellery. And, if some of the members of the army secretly wanted to kill Hitler, then there's a decent probability that he probably wouldn't have survived. Without Hitler, National Socialism would have been thrown into chaos, and maybe the war could have been prevented. It's hard to say exactly what would have happened, but had it been attempted, history could have taken a very different course. Assuming Chamberlain knew of the plot, what would you have done in his shoes? Would you have gone for peace at all costs? Or would you have stood up to Hitler and let the coup go through? Would it have been bad press for the West? Are we looking at the events too much with the benefit of hindsight? I'll let you be the judge of that. Thanks for watching, bye for now.