Valkyrie (2008) - full transcript
In Nazi Germany during World War II, as the tide turned in favor of The Allies, a cadre of senior German officers and politicians desperately plot to topple the Nazi regime before the nation is crushed in a near-inevitable defeat. To this end, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, an Army officer convinced he must save Germany from Hitler, is recruited to mastermind a real plan. To do so, he arranges for the internal emergency measure, Operation: Valkyrie, to be changed to enable his fellows to seize control of Berlin after the assassination of the Fuhrer. However, even as the plan is put into action, a combination of bad luck and human failings conspire on their own to create a tragedy that would prolong the greater one gripping Europe.
The Fuhrer's promises of peace and
prosperity have faIIen by the wayside...
Ieaving in their wake a path of destruction.
The outrages committed by HitIer's SS are
a stain on the honor of the German Army.
There is widespread disgust
in the officer corps...
toward the crimes committed
by the Nazis...
the murder of civiIians...
the torture and starvation of prisoners...
...the mass execution of Jews.
My duty as an officer is no longer
to save my country.
but to save human lives.
l cannot find one general
in a position to confront Hitler
with the courage to do it.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, sir.
The GeneraI wiII be here in four hours.
Thank you.
I'II need to see him when he arrives.
l find myself surrounded by men
unwilling or unable to face the truth.
Hitler is not only
the archenemy of the entire world
but the archenemy of Germany.
A change must be made.
CoIoneI, my orders are to advance
to Sidi Mansour and hoId it.
That's what we'II do.
The British are moving up from the south,
Patton is cIosing in on the coast.
You know,
we shouId have Ieft two days ago.
No, CoIoneI.
We keep fighting untiI the finaI victory.
North Africa's Iost, and you're going to
need these men a year from now
to defend BerIin.
We can serve Germany or the Fuhrer,
not both.
It's just that sort of taIk
that had you sent here, CoIoneI.
What I said was much worse.
GeneraI.
I'm just trying
to get these men out of here aIive.
-What wouId you have me do?
-TeII Command we're Iow on water.
We'd have to reroute to Mezzouna,
join the 21st Panzer.
At Ieast then we'd have a chance.
And the records wiII show that we didn't
have enough water to reach Sidi Mansour?
I can guarantee it.
See that it's done.
GeneraI.
Up!
Down!
-HitIer's Ieaving.
-Now?
Ja. Fuse.
CoIoneI Brandt! CoIoneI Brandt!
My regards to CoIoneI Stieff.
Cointreau?
Let's hope I don't get thirsty on the fIight.
This is Tresckow.
He's Ianded.
This is GeneraI Tresckow.
Connect me with Operations,
CoIoneI Brandt.
CoIoneI! Tresckow.
I'm gIad you arrived safeIy.
I hate to troubIe you,
but it seems you have the wrong bottIes
for CoIoneI Stieff.
You do stiII have the package?
Oh, no, no, no. As it happens,
I've been caIIed to BerIin unexpectedIy.
I can be at your office first thing
tomorrow morning to pick it up.
Sorry for the inconvenience, CoIoneI.
Yes, thank you.
Do you think he knows?
WeII, there's onIy one way to find out.
-We've been discovered.
-What makes you think that?
Oster's been arrested.
The Gestapo came for him Iast night.
The Gestapo couId have arrested him
for anything.
-What do you think went wrong?
-We don't know.
Fuse. Temperature. AItitude.
AII I know is the damn thing didn't go off.
-GeneraI Tresckow to see CoIoneI Brandt.
-The CoIoneI's expecting you, sir.
At ease.
You'II forgive me, GeneraI.
This IittIe roundup
has had me writing reports aII day.
-Roundup?
-Dissenters.
-Another pIot against the Fuhrer.
-Who are these peopIe?
You'd be surprised.
Now, is this what you've come for?
Perhaps we shouId open it.
I beg your pardon?
WeII, you've come a Iong way.
You must be thirsty.
You know, I wonder how the Fuhrer,
who does not partake,
wouId feeI about a soIdier
who did so on duty.
CoIoneI Brandt.
I took you for another sort, GeneraI.
And I you.
We're stiII in business.
Find a repIacement for Oster.
There's no one we can trust, not in BerIin.
WeII, then stop Iooking in BerIin.
Countess von Stauffenberg?
Perhaps before you go in, we couId have
a word together in my office.
I wiII see my husband now.
The right hand has been amputated
above the wrist.
He's missing the fourth and fifth fingers
on the Ieft hand.
We couIdn't save the Ieft eye.
CoIoneI.
When you're ready, sir.
l'm a soldier. l serve my country.
But this is not my country.
l was lying out there bleeding to death.
thinking. ''lf l die now.
''l leave nothing to my children
but shame. ''
I know now there's onIy one way
to serve Germany.
In doing so, I'II be a traitor. I accept that.
Just teII me,
can these men see it through?
We need to reorganize.
Reconsider our strategy, recruit new men.
That's why we want you.
You understand what wiII happen
to my wife and chiIdren
if these men can't see it through?
Come and hear what they have to say.
You know where to find us.
Enough! Enough. I'm not going to Iisten
to another word of this.
You had your chance, you faiIed.
Your so-caIIed ''centraI soIution''
didn't work.
Our onIy option now
is to confront HitIer openIy.
This is a miIitary operation...
It's not a miIitary operation,
it's a poIiticaI organization,
and one that's given its miIitary arm
too much controI.
In any miIitary exercise,
you have to expect
a certain measure of deviation.
A measure? A measure?
What about totaI, compIete, utter faiIure?
GentIemen, I think it's time
we face the fact
that the AIIies are coming, sooner or Iater.
I say we sit back
and Iet them wipe out the Nazis.
And ask every Iiving souI in Europe
to pay the price? Use your head.
-CarI, pIease.
-I'm sorry, Ludwig.
I've heId my tongue too Iong.
We must confront HitIer now.
Force him out!
And then what?
I beg your pardon?
When HitIer is gone, then what?
I'm sorry, who is this man?
CoIoneI Stauffenberg
is Oster's repIacement.
He's been transferred to my office
at the War Ministry.
-How's your uncIe?
-He's weII, sir. He sends his regards.
-He speaks very highIy of you.
-And of you, GeneraI.
Of course, one of the things
that made Oster such a great organizer
was that he kept his opinions to himseIf.
I'm simpIy asking what you intend to do
when HitIer is gone.
You don't reaIIy beIieve you couId just
waIk into the Reich ChanceIIery
and command the army to end the war?
Yes. We do.
You are in the presence of men
who wouId have been HitIer's inner circIe.
Instead, we refused, CoIoneI.
The peopIe know we put our principIes
above personaI gain.
We have the respect of the peopIe.
And the army.
Then you don't need me. GentIemen.
Those men are confusing
respect with popularity.
The army swore an oath,
an oath that won't just die with HitIer.
What are you going to do?
How are you going to deaI with GoebbeIs?
HimmIer? The SS?
-They wiII wipe you out!
-It doesn't matter!
It onIy matters that we act, now,
before we Iose the war.
Otherwise, this wiII aIways be
HitIer's Germany.
And we have to show the worId
that not aII of us were Iike him.
That is not enough for me.
There has to be a chance of success.
Then find a way.
Poppy!
Poppy!
-Poppy's home! Poppy's home!
-Poppy's here! Poppy's here!
Mommy, he's here!
-Mom, come down!
-Poppy's here!
I thought we agreed
I'd come see you in Bamberg.
-The chiIdren couIdn't wait.
-The chiIdren?
Super!
Valkyrie.
We've aIready considered VaIkyrie.
It isn't suitabIe.
Not as it's currentIy written,
but the CoIoneI has an idea
-I think we shouId consider.
-Excuse me. What is VaIkyrie?
Operation VaIkyrie.
The Reserve Army has thousands of men
aII over BerIin.
VaIkyrie is HitIer's contingency pIan
to mobiIize those men
during a nationaI emergency.
The soIe purpose of the order
is to protect HitIer's government
-if he's cut off or kiIIed.
-And what use is this to us?
VaIkyrie is designed
to contain civiI unrest.
But what if the SS were staging a coup?
State Security is trying
to overthrow HitIer.
-How wouId High Command respond?
-We wouId have no choice.
We wouId decIare
a miIitary state of emergency.
ExactIy, and initiate VaIkyrie.
HitIer's own Reserve Army,
using HitIer's own pIan,
wiII have no choice but to seize power
in BerIin to prevent the SS takeover.
They'II think they're fighting
for HitIer's government, not against it.
WhiIe we quietIy put
a new government in pIace.
But onIy if he's dead.
That's what you're saying, isn't it?
How eIse are you going to convince peopIe
the SS are trying to seize power?
We have to kiII HitIer.
I'm disappointed in you, CoIoneI.
I thought a man of your background
wouId suggest
a more honorabIe approach.
Your pIan has a few
minor obstacIes, CoIoneI.
FirstIy, VaIkyrie wouId have
to be rewritten to excIude the SS.
Then I'II need your heIp to get a copy.
Rewriting an order is one thing.
Distributing it is another.
In this case,
we'd be wiIIfuIIy circuIating
written evidence of high treason.
Evidence requiring HitIer's signature.
WeII, we can aII draw straws for that job.
-And what about Fromm?
-Fromm? Who is Fromm?
He's the commander of the Reserve Army.
I can put the reserve troops on aIert,
but onIy Fromm can initiate VaIkyrie.
Can you get to him?
We're running out of time.
Can you get to Fromm?
He's a careerist pig.
But one who's gone as far as he can go
in HitIer's army.
It's no secret he's not happy about it.
Offer him a key position
in the new regime.
Make him see the Iight.
Your office is through there.
I have CoIoneI Stauffenberg
for GeneraI Fromm.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, sir.
WeIcome back to the War Ministry.
-It's an honor, sir.
-You're an oId woman, Fromm !
I'd send you to the front
if I didn't think you'd surrender
just to be Montgomery's whore!
The GeneraI wiII see you now.
What is it you want?
I wanted to introduce our new man,
CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
From Africa.
I... I'd offer you my hand,
but I might not get it back.
I'd say the GeneraI has Iost
more important things this morning.
It's about time they put somebody
with baIIs into this office.
PIease, sit down, CoIoneI.
And you, OIbricht, if you must.
They teII me you're criticaI
of the war, CoIoneI,
not that you don't seem
to have good reason.
I am criticaI of indecision, GeneraI.
-In the fieId?
-In BerIin.
So that's why you're here, I take it, to...
-To make decisions.
-I've aIready made my decision.
I'm here to heIp others make theirs.
They say when there's no cIear option,
-the best thing is to do nothing.
-We're at war. We must act.
Sometimes rashIy.
And what rash action
did you have in mind, CoIoneI?
That wouId be a decision
for the supreme miIitary commander, sir.
A supreme commander.
Second onIy to the ChanceIIor.
If I were that man,
this war wouId be going quite differentIy.
WeII, we were thinking the same thing.
I don't need to remind you
that we've aII sworn an oath
to the Fuhrer.
Having said that, I'm going to forget
this conversation ever took pIace,
in the strict understanding
that such taIk never occurs again
under this roof.
-Is that cIear?
-Yes, sir.
Now, you can teII your friends, CoIoneI,
that I aIways come down on the right side.
And as Iong as the Fuhrer is aIive,
you know what side that is.
Heil HitIer.
Heil HitIer.
Heil HitIer.
Of course! Yes! Very good guess!
You reaIize how cIose I am to HitIer.
With one word I can make you disappear.
My associates don't know
we've been taIking,
-if that's what you're afraid of.
-When the SS catch you,
they wiII puII you apart Iike warm bread.
It wiII be a crime
just to have known you then.
I warn you, don't try to contact me again.
You won't report me.
Maybe if you had
when I first approached you,
you might have been keeping your oath.
Now you're just as guiIty as the rest of us.
And you think that makes me
a sympathizer, hey?
Give a man a choice of betraying
his feIIow officer or his Fuhrer
and you think his actions
wiII show you his heart.
-It is not that simpIe.
-Yes. Yes, it is.
For the Iast time,
don't push me to make a decision.
I don't have a choice. It's cIear now.
Without you, there is no hope of success.
You're nothing but rats
jumping from a sinking ship!
What makes you think
you'II be any different?
What makes you think you're stronger
than the peopIe, the Reich?
-The very momentum of history!
-This is going to happen.
Action is inevitabIe,
as are the consequences.
When they come for me,
I'II do everything I can
to hide what you knew
and when you knew it,
but don't deIude yourseIf.
You were invoIved in a crime
against your country
Iong before you met me.
There may stiII be time
to redeem yourseIf.
OnIy God can judge us now.
HitIer had Operation VaIkyrie designed
to compIeteIy secure his government
in six hours.
I'm rewriting the order so we can seize
controI of the government in three.
As written,
the order spreads reserve troops
across aII of Germany's
19 miIitary districts,
incIuding occupied cities
Iike Paris, Vienna and Prague.
This is a waste of resources.
Since all of these districts follow
orders from Berlin without question.
you take Berlin. you take Germany.
I'm rewriting VaIkyrie
to direct the majority
of our strongest units
to focus entireIy on BerIin.
We'II surround the government quarter,
occupy aII SS and poIice barracks.
Once we have controI of the government,
we'II shut down aII concentration camps.
Any officers who resist
wiII be arrested or shot.
I've been transferred to the front.
Anyway, it doesn't matter.
You know these orders
better than anyone.
That's why I'm putting you in charge
of the miIitary wing of the operation.
-Beck agrees.
-Why not OIbricht?
No. It's your pIan. It's you.
One more thing.
You need to be absoIuteIy certain
no confIicting orders get out
after the fIash.
It is not enough to kiII HitIer.
We need to isoIate his chain of command
and cut them off
from the outside worId immediateIy.
Yes, I've aIready considered that.
I think I have just the man who can heIp.
-Who is he?
-Perhaps it's better I don't say.
You know, God promised Abraham
he wouId not destroy Sodom
if he couId find just 10 righteous men.
I have a feeIing that, for Germany,
it may come down to one.
Let's begin.
''The Fuhrer, AdoIf HitIer,
''is dead.''
Heil HitIer, GeneraI.
WouId you excuse us, pIease? Thank you.
You pIay the part
of bureaucrat beautifuIIy.
It's the onIy time I get to reIax.
You've been promoted
Chief of Staff for the Reserve Army.
-Excuse me?
-CongratuIations.
-I am busy with other things.
-UnfortunateIy,
your nocturnaI activities
don't count as service to the Reich.
-I'II refuse the promotion.
-You'II do no such thing.
Tresckow may have Ieft you
in charge of the operation,
but in this worId I stiII outrank you.
You wiII accept the promotion.
You'II have reaI access to HitIer,
his advisers, his scheduIe. We need this.
I've Iooked through your changes
to VaIkyrie.
I approve.
I'II need you to get HitIer to sign it.
Now. There's a man here to interview
as your adjutant.
He comes highIy recommended.
CIose the door.
Be seated.
Do you know
how this war wiII end, Lieutenant?
The portrait wiII be unhung,
and the man wiII be hung.
I'm engaged in high treason
with aII means avaiIabIe to me.
Can I count you in?
For anything, sir. Anything at aII.
Come. Come, come.
CoIoneI Brandt, Operations.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, I'd Iike to review
your presentation to the Fuhrer.
StrictIy routine.
Sir, the contents of the CoIoneI's bag
are for the Fuhrer's eyes onIy.
I am the Fuhrer's eyes, Lieutenant.
The CoIoneI is a member of my staff
at the War Ministry.
He doesn't answer to you.
-They're waiting.
-This way.
My Fuhrer.
May I present CoIoneI Stauffenberg,
our new chief of staff
for the Reserve Army.
Heil. my Fuhrer.
May I say what an honor it is
to meet an officer
who has sacrificed so much for Germany.
If onIy more of my men were Iike you.
Let this man stand
as an exampIe to aII of you.
He is the ideaI German officer.
My Fuhrer. CoIoneI Stauffenberg
was asked to come here today
to brief us on mobiIizing troops
of the Reserve Army to...
To repeI the invasion.
Invasion?
At Normandy, my Fuhrer.
Oh, yes.
Normandy.
That wiII not be necessary.
Reichsmarschall Goring assures me that
everything is compIeteIy under controI.
Thank you, CoIoneI.
My Fuhrer, if I may.
I have an amended copy
of Operation VaIkyrie for your approvaI.
You know your Wagner, CoIoneI?
The VaIkyrie. Handmaidens of the Gods,
choosing who wiII Iive and who wiII die,
sparing the most heroic
from an agonizing death.
One cannot understand NationaI SociaIism
if one does not understand Wagner.
I'm sure whatever changes you've made
are for the best.
You're dismissed. Send your man home.
And, Fromm?
Have some fresh tea brought in, wiII you?
I don't know what you're brewing up,
and I don't want to know.
But when the music stops,
I'd be obIiged if KeiteI found himseIf
without a chair.
Any probIem on Earth can be soIved
with the carefuI appIication
of high expIosives.
The trick is not to be around
when they go off.
Two 975-gram packs of PIastit W.
Enough expIosive to crippIe a panzer.
Your detonators, your fuses.
British time penciIs.
This acid capsuIe is your trigger.
When you're ready to arm,
attach the detonator to the bottom
of the time penciI, Iike so,
insert the entire device
into either end of the PIastit W,
crush the acid capsuIe, and you're Iive.
When the acid eats through the wire
hoIding back the firing pin,
weII, you'II want to be very far away.
For you.
-How much time wiII we have?
-TheoreticaIIy there's a 30-minute deIay,
but with the kind of heat
you can expect at the WoIf's Lair,
I'd give you 10, 15 minutes, tops.
That's hardIy precise.
This is state-of-the-art.
You can have smaII or precise, not both.
Might this just be a IittIe too smaII?
No. HitIer's bunker wiII magnify the bIast.
It is constructed of reinforced concrete.
SteeI door, no windows.
The air pressure generated by just one
of these expIosives in a space Iike that
wiII kiII everyone instantIy.
The second charge
wiII be entireIy redundant.
If, by some miracIe,
HitIer does survive, what then?
We stiII initiate VaIkyrie.
At that point,
there wiII be no turning back.
But we'II have an advantage.
We have an inside man at the WoIf's Lair.
After the fIash, he'II cut off communication
with the outside worId.
WhiIe HitIer's inner circIe
is struggIing to regroup,
we'II have the momentum we need
to seize controI in BerIin.
HimmIer is expected to be
at the meeting as weII.
Don't proceed
unIess you can get them both.
What?
Don't proceed unIess you're confident
you can get both HimmIer and HitIer.
This is GoerdeIer, isn't it?
I'II hoId off, if the decision is unanimous,
but I want another man on the committee.
Not a poIitician.
-Who?
-Him.
-Him?
-Him.
Fine.
But remember, this is a miIitary operation.
Nothing ever goes according to pIan.
I'II take the chiIdren to Bamberg.
If I faiI,
they'II come for you.
AII of you.
I know.
GentIemen. Good morning.
HitIer has scheduIed a miIitary briefing
for today at 1 :00.
Stauffenberg wiII start
once everyone is present.
-They're here.
Before arming the explosives.
Stauffenberg will call
for authorization to proceed.
After the flash. his inside man
will sever all communications.
Assuming Fromm refuses to join us.
Olbricht would take command
of the Reserve Army
and initiate Valkyrie.
-Initiate VaIkyrie.
Then he'll notify all district commanders
that the SS is attempting to seize power.
The Reserve Army will arrest all SS.
Gestapo and Nazi officials.
By then. Stauffenberg
will have returned to Berlin
and taken command of the Reserve Army.
Witzleben and l will assume the roles
of commander of the armed forces
and head of state.
With Berlin secured.
Dr. Goerdeler will address the nation
as our new chancellor.
Then, God wiIIing,
we can negotiate a truce with the AIIies
and save Europe from totaI destruction.
This wiII identify you
as a member of the operation.
Nobody gets in or out of the perimeter
without one.
GentIemen, this is the most important day
of your Iives.
Long Iive sacred Germany.
-Captain.
-What is it?
An order from GeneraI OIbricht's office.
It's caIIing the Reserve Army
for some sort of standby action
in aII the miIitary districts,
incIuding BerIin.
Looks Iike a driII of some kind.
Send it through, Sergeant.
Sir?
-''Standby action''? What the heII for?
-The order doesn't say.
AssembIe the men.
This better not be a driII.
The men are assembIed
and awaiting further orders.
What do you suppose
this is reaIIy aII about?
Your man?
He is now.
CoIoneI.
Attention!
GentIemen. For our first order of business,
GeneraI Fromm wiII present his pIans
for the reaIIocation of troops from
the Reserve Army on the eastern front.
Now, as you know, Iast night
the Russians Iaunched a new offensive
against Army Group North Ukraine
in the South PoIand section.
GeneraI Harpe was brought in
to repIace ModeI
and bring a swift end to this confrontation.
-HimmIer is not here.
-Hence the transfer of three divisions
to fortify GeneraI Harpe's troops.
Now, these divisions wiII stick
to a mobiIe defense pIan
rather than hoIding any one particuIar...
Yes, sir. I'II put that right through.
Connecting now.
Operator.
-Direct me to the War Ministry.
-GeneraI OIbricht's office.
One moment. please.
Yes, sir. Connecting now.
-GeneraI OIbricht's office.
-HimmIer's not in the briefing.
I'm ready to arm. Permission to proceed.
HoId the Iine.
Stauffenberg says HimmIer's not
at the briefing. He wants to proceed.
CaII Beck.
-Beck.
Himmler is not at the briefing.
HimmIer's not at the briefing.
...aIready diminished reserves.
No.
They say no.
What do you say?
I say do it.
Attention!
Whatever it was, CoIoneI,
I hope it was important.
CoIoneI? Your bag.
This has been a driII! You're dismissed!
How dare you put the Reserve Army
on standby without my knowIedge?
Damn near cost me my commission.
And what in God's name made you think
you even had the authority?
-It was onIy a driII, an exercise.
-Don't Iie, OIbricht! Not to me.
We both know it wasn't a driII.
-GeneraI, if I may...
-No, you may not, CoIoneI.
You may not do anything.
Because not onIy have you proved to me
you can't deIiver,
you've painted a target on my back.
If I so much as sense you trying
to move the Reserve Army again,
I wiII personaIIy have you both arrested.
Do I make myseIf abundantIy cIear?
-Yes, sir.
-Yes, sir.
Heil HitIer.
Heil HitIer.
I'II hear you say it, CoIoneI.
Heil HitIer!
The point of repIacing HitIer
is to negotiate a truce with the AIIies.
The AIIies, I suspect,
wouId be more amenabIe to a truce
if we offer it to them
before they get to fucking BerIin!
There's no point in kiIIing HitIer
unIess you kiII HimmIer, too.
Why remove a madman
just to have a Iunatic take his pIace?
Today's faiIure had nothing to do
with HimmIer, and you know it.
This is a miIitary operation
in the hands of a poIitician, nothing more.
-What are you suggesting?
-I'm not suggesting anything.
I'm stating the facts as I see them.
You don't have the courage to kiII HitIer,
so you are making the task impossibIe.
Nothing seemed to stop you and your
henchman from trying it on your own.
My onIy regret is that I waited for you
to find your backbone.
I don't think I'm aIone
when I say your judgment is in question.
-I'd Iike to caII a vote.
-CarI.
I propose
that we reIieve CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
CarI, can I have a word with you
in private?
No, Ludwig.
If you've got something to say, say it.
Very weII. I heard from the Chief of PoIice
this evening
that HimmIer has issued a warrant
for your arrest.
You have to Ieave Germany tonight.
When we succeed
with the centraI soIution,
you'II return as chanceIIor.
Disappear, CarI.
Avoid contact with anyone.
Good Iuck, CoIoneI.
No more indecision.
From now on,
Stauffenberg has fuII discretion.
I can't issue the aIert again
unIess we foIIow through.
I'II do my job. You just take BerIin.
Hold on. sir.
l'll try to connect you right now.
Thank you.
Hello?
-HeIIo?
HeIIo?
HeIIo?
l'm sorry. sir. There is bombing in Ebingen.
We've been disconnected.
Ebingen is a long way from Bamberg.
l'm sure your family is safe.
Thank you.
WeIcome, CoIoneI.
Do you have a pIace
where I couId change, Major?
PIease foIIow me.
At Ieast put the Reserve Army
on standby aIert.
Not untiI I've heard from Stauffenberg.
Not untiI I'm sure.
-But that's not what he...
-Noted, CoIoneI. Thank you.
The meeting has been moved up to 12:30.
MussoIini is arriving
on the afternoon train.
-The Fuhrer wants to have Iunch with him.
-Yes, sir.
WiII MussoIini be joining us
in the briefing, sir?
I onIy wish he were.
Then some ambitious officer
might take the opportunity
to shoot that dago bastard.
Excuse me, GeneraI.
I'm expecting an important caII.
CouId you pIease have someone come
and get me?
Even if I'm with the Fuhrer.
-Of course, CoIoneI.
-Thank you, sir.
CoIoneI.
Major Freyend speaking.
CoIoneI? They insist you hurry.
The briefing's about to begin.
One moment, pIease, Major.
Ten minutes.
Two for the waIk, one for the checkpoint,
one for the bunker, six to get out.
PIenty of time.
Excuse me, CoIoneI.
Sir! The Fuhrer's at the briefing!
The CoIoneI is changing, Major.
-You understand this can be difficuIt.
-Of course.
PIenty of time.
-Get the car.
-But, sir...
I have everything I need. Get the car.
I can manage this.
-Where are they going?
-It's too hot.
The briefing has been moved
to the conference hut.
Major, my injuries
have Ieft me hard of hearing.
WouId you pIace me
as cIose to the Fuhrer as possibIe?
-I'II see what I can do.
-...against the Red Army.
Not onIy have they been advancing
from the east,
but they're coming down on the northern
and the southern fronts as weII.
As you can see, my Fuhrer,
if the enemy continues at this rate,
the situation in the East Prussian sector
is criticaI.
Lack of suppIies is continuing
to weaken our main units,
and reserves are severeIy depIeted.
My Fuhrer,
you remember CoIoneI Stauffenberg?
As you are aII aware,
in the past two days aIone,
the 10th Army has given up Ancona,
the 14th Division has been pushed
out of Livorno.
Army Group Center has aIready Iost
28 of their 40 divisions.
That is a totaI of aImost 350,000 men.
Since the Red Army first attacked
nearIy a month ago,
our troops have aIready been pushed back
to the PoIish border.
Conference hut.
This, compounded with the Ioss
of the 4th Army in Minsk,
-threatens the entire eastern perimeter.
-Yes, sir.
We must consider puIIing men
from Army Group North Ukraine,
as weII as the Romanian...
...and prevent further Iosses.
UnIess we can quickIy dispatch
new bIocking divisions
at vitaI points aIong the German right,
-Army Group wiII be swaIIowed...
-CoIoneI. There's a teIephone caII for you.
...by the enemy in Iess than a fortnight.
And we run the risk of Iosing
aII the ground we have managed to gain
in the Iast three years. Our spearhead...
GeneraI FeIIgiebeI, sir. He says it's urgent.
Yes, GeneraI, this is Stauffenberg.
...Russian air activity has proven just
as impregnabIe as their ground force.
-Why?
-My Fuhrer...
In some areas
they outnumber us seven to one.
If we can afford to give ground
aIong the ItaIian front, I further...
One thing is certain,
the Red Army wiII continue
an aggressive push west,
even at the expense...
In order to rebuiId at this...
...aIready southwest of Dunaburg
and cIosing on Army Group at Lake Peipus.
If they are not immediateIy withdrawn,
it wiII be a catastrophe.
Get in. Drive.
I have orders from the Fuhrer. Drive.
Drive! Drive!
As you were.
Get me the War Ministry.
GeneraI OIbricht. OIbricht!
The caII is urgent!
GeneraI OIbricht's office.
l'm calling from the Wolf's Lair
with an urgent message
for General Olbricht.
Something terrible has happened.
The Fuhrer is...
FeIIgiebeI?
Sever aII communications.
-Sir?
-Just do it!
-WeII, what did he say?
-I couIdn't be sure.
WeII, get him back on the Iine.
Sir, the bomb did go off.
That much was cIear.
FeIIgiebeI's next step wiII be
to sever aII communications.
-Sorry, CoIoneI. No one gets in or out.
-We have an order from the Fuhrer.
We have to get to the airfieId immediateIy.
Open the gate.
I'm very sorry,
but my orders are to keep the gate...
-I just gave you an order, Sergeant.
-Sir!
Sir. Excuse me.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg
for FieId MarshaI KeiteI.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg was expIicit.
We initiate VaIkyrie regardIess.
OnIy Fromm can initiate. You know that.
Then teII him HitIer's dead.
Or arrest him. But do it now.
Sir, you have to give the order
to initiate VaIkyrie. This is our onIy...
I'm not doing anything
untiI I hear from FeIIgiebeI.
Get him back on the phone now.
Every second we stand here arguing
is a second Iost.
The risk is too great.
What about Stauffenberg?
What about his risk?
He did his part,
and now you're abandoning him.
FieId MarshaI, sir. Stauffenberg here.
A Sergeant...
KoIbe, sir.
-What?
-KoIbe.
...KoIbe won't Iet me pass the main gate.
Yes, sir, I expIained that.
Perhaps you can
make him understand, sir.
Everything's fine now, sir. Thank you.
Open the gate!
-At Ieast put the Reserve Army on aIert.
-When Stauffenberg returns,
when he gives me confirmation
that HitIer is dead, then we'II proceed.
-And where are you going?
-The same pIace as you are. Lunch.
Another standby aIert.
Send it through. But keep me informed.
Sir. Another standby order.
In ancient Greece,
you wouId have been kiIIed for this.
Lucky for you we've evoIved.
AssembIe the men.
Quiet, isn't it?
I'II see where our driver is.
This is von Haeften.
The CoIoneI and I are at the airfieId.
There's no car. There's no one here.
You mean to teII me
the aIert's onIy just gone out?
This is Stauffenberg.
Get me GeneraI OIbricht.
What's this?
-ExpIain this!
-Someone had to do something
whiIe you were pIaying dead!
We don't know that HitIer is not aIive.
This is about Germany, for God's sake,
not you!
GeneraI OIbricht's office.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg. For you, sir.
-This is OIbricht.
lt's been three hours. Olbricht.
What the heII have you been doing?
We've had no confirmation
that HitIer was dead.
Damn it! I saw the expIosion myseIf!
We are committed.
-Dear God.
-Now, where is Fromm? Is he with us?
ls he with us?
-No one has spoken to him yet.
You Iisten to me. Never mind Germany.
Never mind Europe.
Your Iife is at stake now.
And if you want to live through the night.
you'll do exactly as l say.
The second you hang up the phone,
initiate VaIkyrie in Fromm's name.
Give him the choice to join us,
or pIace him under immediate arrest.
-Do you understand?
-Yes.
I'II be in Fromm's office in 15 minutes.
Be there when I arrive.
CaII Beck and the others.
TeII them it's time.
Put me through to Communications.
This is GeneraI OIbricht,
calling on behalf of General Fromm.
commander of the Reserve Army.
The Fuhrer. Adolf Hitler. is dead.
A group of radicaIs in the SS
are attempting to seize controI
of the government.
lnitiate Operation Valkyrie.
You have your orders. Pass them aIong.
BattaIion. Attention!
The Fuhrer...
Our Fuhrer, AdoIf HitIer,
is dead.
-Who toId you the Fuhrer was dead?
-GeneraI FeIIgiebeI. At the WoIf's Lair.
There's no use caIIing.
AII communication Iines are down.
-Yes. Get me the WoIf's Lair.
One moment. sir.
Wolf's Lair. May l connect you?
Yes. GeneraI Fromm
for FieId MarshaI KeiteI. Urgent.
Keitel.
-Yes, I'm sorry to disturb you, sir,
but I wonder if you couId teII me
what's happening.
The most incredibIe rumors
are circuIating in BerIin.
I don't know what you mean.
There's taIk
that the Fuhrer has been assassinated.
Another failed attempt.
The Fuhrer was never in danger.
By the way,
where's your man Stauffenberg?
Stauffenberg? He...
On his way back to BerIin, I wouId think.
Let me know when he arrives.
I'd Iike a word with him.
-The Fuhrer's fine.
-That is a Iie. AdoIf HitIer's dead.
-Operation VaIkyrie is in effect.
-OnIy I can initiate VaIkyrie.
You did.
This is treason.
Right now, the Reserve Army's
assuming controI of BerIin.
Are you with us or not?
Do you reaIize what you've done?
-The Fuhrer is aIive.
-I deIivered the bomb myseIf.
I saw the bIast. He is dead.
-Are you with us?
-I don't beIieve this is happening.
-This is some kind of a joke.
-Are you with us or not?
CoIoneI, if what you say is true,
you shouId shoot yourseIf immediateIy.
-The rest of you are under arrest.
-No, GeneraI. You are.
I don't know where you think this is going.
Get me Operations.
This is CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
SeaI off the War Ministry
per Operation VaIkyrie.
No one gets in or out
without authorization
from GeneraI OIbricht's office.
GeneraI Beck.
You're not wearing your uniform, sir.
This shouId be seen
as a movement of the peopIe.
-CoIoneI Stauffenberg?
-Yes.
The chief has guaranteed
the fuII support of the BerIin PoIice.
You wiII have no interference
from my men. You have my word.
Thank you.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, sir.
We are reporting for duty.
Thank you for coming.
GentIemen, in three hours
I want confirmation
that the government quarter is ours
and SS Command has been cIeared
of every Iiving souI.
You aII know what must be done.
By nightfaII, I want to know
that HitIer's Germany
has seen its Iast sunrise.
Yes, sir.
AII repIacements have been authorized.
In fact, FieId MarshaI WitzIeben
has been appointed Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces.
That's exactIy why he's been appointed.
If he was a member of the Party,
he'd be Iocked up as a suspect.
Yes, sir, I understand your concern,
but this is an emergency.
The commanding officer
at the 1 1th District, pIease.
I need a decision, Major.
TeII your men that acts of vengeance
wiII not be toIerated.
Why hasn't anyone occupied
the TegeI broadcasting station?
Can I speak to the commanding officer
in Hannover, pIease?
We represent
a different form of government.
I'd be carefuI who you said that to.
LoyaIty to the Party
isn't what it used to be.
-Yes, Paris. France.
-Not since they murdered the Fuhrer.
And, Josef. Thank you.
You've made the right decision.
District 13 is ours.
By order of FieId MarshaI von WitzIeben,
you are under arrest
for crimes against the state.
This is Stauffenberg. I'm trying to
connect with Major-GeneraI Thadden.
No, I've aIready spoken to 413 BattaIion.
You'II have no troubIe
getting reinforcements.
The order expIaining everything
wiII be in your hand shortIy.
No, these are your orders. ExceIIent.
My wife is in Bamberg with my chiIdren.
WouId you pIease try to raise them
on the phone?
-Yes, sir.
-Thank you.
GeneraI SchwedIer
has issued the VaIkyrie orders
and has seaIed off headquarters.
Good. Check on the radio stations
every 20 minutes
tiII we have confirmation they're ours.
WeII, with aII due respect, sir,
you can't beIieve everything you hear.
That is SS propaganda. He's dead.
OnIy the commander of the Home Army
is authorized to give orders.
GeneraI? Sir.
-HeIIo, Christian?
-Our men in the transport offices
have secured
the raiIway communications network,
but there are repeater stations...
-Yes. I give you my word.
-...teIephone and teIegraph offices,
emergency broadcast outposts.
We need more men.
Thank you. Give my best to your famiIy.
He's with us.
Mertz? CaII Potsdam.
TeII them to pIace aII avaiIabIe units
under our controI.
You have your men.
Now get controI of the radio.
We have controI
of the government quarter.
We don't have BerIin yet.
-What is it now, Sergeant?
-Arrest orders, sir.
One from CoIoneI Stauffenberg
in the War Ministry
to arrest Reich Minister GoebbeIs.
The other is from the WoIf's Lair,
to arrest CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
Send them both through.
Our job is not to interpret orders,
our job is to pass them aIong, regardIess.
-Yes, but...
-That wiII be aII, Sergeant.
This is treason! You're aII going
to pay for this! Do you hear me?
New arrest orders, sir.
For Stauffenberg and GoebbeIs.
Do we arrest them both?
I wouId hate to find out
I'm being taken advantage of.
-You reaIIy think it's a coup?
-Of that I am certain.
What I can't say is which side we're on.
Come with me.
District 4, Dresden and Leipzig.
District 12, Wiesbaden. District 9...
They've had no troubIe
getting reinforcements,
and I reIy on you seeing
that this gets done.
I've just spoken to CoIoneI Linstow.
They've arrested 1,200 SS
and Gestapo officiaIs in Paris.
Not a singIe shot fired.
EarIy reports from Vienna are good.
I'm waiting on word from Prague.
IncredibIe.
I'm ready to be connected.
-Minister GoebbeIs?
-What can I do for you, Major?
My battaIion has an order
to bIockade the government quarter
and pIace you under arrest.
Are you
a dedicated NationaI SociaIist, Major?
Yes, sir.
Major Remer here. HeIIo?
Do you recognize my voice?
-Yes, my Fuhrer.
Then listen to me very carefully.
l want these traitors taken alive.
Yes, my Fuhrer.
You heard what he said.
The Fuhrer wants the traitors taken aIive.
Yes, sir.
It's a coup, aII right. We can't afford
to remain neutraI any Ionger.
You have to make a decision.
When it's over,
we better wind up on the right side.
Very weII.
Send through aII communications
from the WoIf's Lair.
Stop aII communications
from Stauffenberg.
ReIease these men!
But they're part of the coup.
I've just been on the phone
with HitIer himseIf.
We are the coup, you idiot.
We've been duped.
We've Iost contact with District 1 1 .
The switchboard is overIoaded.
Give it 10 minutes and try again.
Give me GeneraI BieIer, District 1 1 .
We stiII need...
-I don't want to Ieave any section...
-Keep trying.
Out of my way. Where is GeneraI Fromm?
GeneraI Fromm is no Ionger in command.
I am.
Beck? What are you doing here?
What is going on?
The Fuhrer is dead.
The SS are staging a coup.
We've initiated Operation VaIkyrie
to crush the uprising
and save HitIer's Germany.
You wiII present the order to your troops.
I wiII do no such thing
untiI I speak to GeneraI Fromm.
You wiII foIIow your orders,
or you are under arrest.
This is treason. I wiII take no part.
The Fuhrer is not dead.
-The Fuhrer is not dead!
-Stop him !
The Fuhrer is not dead!
The Fuhrer is not dead!
I have sworn an oath! This is treason!
You aII swore an oath!
Listen to what I have to say.
You are aII making a terribIe mistake!
The Fuhrer is not dead!
The Fuhrer is not dead!
PIease try my wife again.
Bamberg, pIease.
Take your hands off me!
Sir.
Over 215 enemy tanks
have been annihilated
in the past week alone.
The air force.
engaged in lowflying offensives
on enemy concentrations...
-Lieutenant.
I can't get through to GeneraI GerIach.
Send a runner down to his office.
Bring him here.
Yes, thank you.
Yes, this is Stauffenberg.
I was speaking to the GeneraI
about five minutes ago.
He toId me he'd return my caII.
I've yet to hear from him.
I trust everything in your district
is under controI?
Hans, I need your answer.
There's no more time for indecision.
And the GeneraI knows I'm waiting?
I'm ordering you to put him
on the phone immediateIy.
The army gave their oath to a Iiar, Hans.
-HeIIo?
-One who's broken his own oath...
-HeIIo?
-...to the peopIe a hundred times over.
Hans, Iisten to me...
This operation has been terminated!
Stand down!
Today. an attempt
was made on the Fuhrer's life.
The Fuhrer himself suffered no major
injuries beyond light burns and bruises.
He resumed his work immediately.
Those seriously wounded
include General Schmundt.
Colonel Brandt and staff assistant Berger.
Lighter injuries were sustained
by General Jodl
and Generals Korten. Buhle.
Bodenschatz. Heusinger...
Send the foIIowing orders
to aII Reserve Army commanders.
''Broadcast incorrect. Fuhrer is dead.
''Operation VaIkyrie stiII in effect.''
...and. as scheduled. received Mussolini
for an afternoon briefing.
Long live our Fuhrer. Adolf Hitler.
whom the almighty God
has so visibly blessed today.
I saw the bIast.
I saw the bIast.
Today an attempt was made
on the Fuhrer's life.
The Fuhrer himself suffered no major
injuries beyond light burns and bruises.
-I'm sorry.
He resumed his work immediately.
Those seriously wounded
include General Schmundt.
Colonel Brandt and staff assistant Berger.
Lighter injuries were sustained
by General Jodl
and Generals Korten. Buhle.
Bodenschatz. Heusinger...
Shortly after the attempt on his life.
the Fuhrer was joined
by ReichsmarschaII Goring
and. as scheduled. received Mussolini
for an afternoon briefing.
Stay tuned for the Fuhrer's address
to the German people.
My famiIy?
Our Iines have been cut.
-I'm sorry.
-Go.
It's aII right. Go.
GeneraI. Sir.
We have to get you out of here.
Get him out of here.
-Stop!
-Stand down!
-I said stop!
-I said stand down!
HoId your fire!
CoIoneI Stauffenberg?
By orders of the Fuhrer,
you're under arrest.
If you have any Iast messages
to your wives and chiIdren,
I wiII hear them now.
Very weII.
A court-martiaI convened by me
in the Fuhrer's absence
wiII pronounce sentence.
Beck, you're under arrest.
CoIoneI Mertz von Quirnheim,
GeneraI OIbricht, Lieutenant Haeften,
and the CoIoneI
whose name I wiII not mention,
are condemned to death.
GeneraI. My orders are
to take these men aIive.
Noted, Major.
I'd Iike a pistoI, pIease.
For personaI reasons.
Get on with it.
-With aII respect...
-That wiII be aII, Major.
KiIIing us won't hide your invoIvement.
My invoIvement?
I don't know what you're taIking about.
-You knew and did nothing.
-You're as guiIty as any of us.
-Spare me, Lieutenant.
-No one wiII be spared.
I'm thinking of earIier times.
This is an outrage that has never before
been perpetrated here!
A fieId marshaI and a generaI decIare
that they couId do things better
than he who is the Fuhrer of us aII!
-You confess to having said this?
-Yes.
My fellow Germans.
l speak to you tonight for two reasons.
First. so that you can hear my voice
and know that l am unhurt.
Second. so that you may know
the details of a crime
without parallel in German history.
A small clique of ambitious.
dishonorable officers
have conspired to eliminate me.
Except for a few bruises and burns.
l was completely untouched.
l see in this the hand of Providence.
directing me to complete my work.
Look them in the eye.
They'II remember you.
OIbricht!
Make ready.
Well. we have to show the world
that not all of us were like him.
Safe! Stand!
Fire!
Stand!
Stauffenberg!
The people know we put our principles
above personal gain.
Make ready!
Aim !
Safe! Stand!
You may hand us over to the executioner,
but in three months' time,
the disgusted and harried peopIe
wiII bring you to book
and drag you alive
through the dirt in the streets.
Take him away.
Make ready.
Aim.
-Long Iive sacred Germany!
-Fire!
Stand.
prosperity have faIIen by the wayside...
Ieaving in their wake a path of destruction.
The outrages committed by HitIer's SS are
a stain on the honor of the German Army.
There is widespread disgust
in the officer corps...
toward the crimes committed
by the Nazis...
the murder of civiIians...
the torture and starvation of prisoners...
...the mass execution of Jews.
My duty as an officer is no longer
to save my country.
but to save human lives.
l cannot find one general
in a position to confront Hitler
with the courage to do it.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, sir.
The GeneraI wiII be here in four hours.
Thank you.
I'II need to see him when he arrives.
l find myself surrounded by men
unwilling or unable to face the truth.
Hitler is not only
the archenemy of the entire world
but the archenemy of Germany.
A change must be made.
CoIoneI, my orders are to advance
to Sidi Mansour and hoId it.
That's what we'II do.
The British are moving up from the south,
Patton is cIosing in on the coast.
You know,
we shouId have Ieft two days ago.
No, CoIoneI.
We keep fighting untiI the finaI victory.
North Africa's Iost, and you're going to
need these men a year from now
to defend BerIin.
We can serve Germany or the Fuhrer,
not both.
It's just that sort of taIk
that had you sent here, CoIoneI.
What I said was much worse.
GeneraI.
I'm just trying
to get these men out of here aIive.
-What wouId you have me do?
-TeII Command we're Iow on water.
We'd have to reroute to Mezzouna,
join the 21st Panzer.
At Ieast then we'd have a chance.
And the records wiII show that we didn't
have enough water to reach Sidi Mansour?
I can guarantee it.
See that it's done.
GeneraI.
Up!
Down!
-HitIer's Ieaving.
-Now?
Ja. Fuse.
CoIoneI Brandt! CoIoneI Brandt!
My regards to CoIoneI Stieff.
Cointreau?
Let's hope I don't get thirsty on the fIight.
This is Tresckow.
He's Ianded.
This is GeneraI Tresckow.
Connect me with Operations,
CoIoneI Brandt.
CoIoneI! Tresckow.
I'm gIad you arrived safeIy.
I hate to troubIe you,
but it seems you have the wrong bottIes
for CoIoneI Stieff.
You do stiII have the package?
Oh, no, no, no. As it happens,
I've been caIIed to BerIin unexpectedIy.
I can be at your office first thing
tomorrow morning to pick it up.
Sorry for the inconvenience, CoIoneI.
Yes, thank you.
Do you think he knows?
WeII, there's onIy one way to find out.
-We've been discovered.
-What makes you think that?
Oster's been arrested.
The Gestapo came for him Iast night.
The Gestapo couId have arrested him
for anything.
-What do you think went wrong?
-We don't know.
Fuse. Temperature. AItitude.
AII I know is the damn thing didn't go off.
-GeneraI Tresckow to see CoIoneI Brandt.
-The CoIoneI's expecting you, sir.
At ease.
You'II forgive me, GeneraI.
This IittIe roundup
has had me writing reports aII day.
-Roundup?
-Dissenters.
-Another pIot against the Fuhrer.
-Who are these peopIe?
You'd be surprised.
Now, is this what you've come for?
Perhaps we shouId open it.
I beg your pardon?
WeII, you've come a Iong way.
You must be thirsty.
You know, I wonder how the Fuhrer,
who does not partake,
wouId feeI about a soIdier
who did so on duty.
CoIoneI Brandt.
I took you for another sort, GeneraI.
And I you.
We're stiII in business.
Find a repIacement for Oster.
There's no one we can trust, not in BerIin.
WeII, then stop Iooking in BerIin.
Countess von Stauffenberg?
Perhaps before you go in, we couId have
a word together in my office.
I wiII see my husband now.
The right hand has been amputated
above the wrist.
He's missing the fourth and fifth fingers
on the Ieft hand.
We couIdn't save the Ieft eye.
CoIoneI.
When you're ready, sir.
l'm a soldier. l serve my country.
But this is not my country.
l was lying out there bleeding to death.
thinking. ''lf l die now.
''l leave nothing to my children
but shame. ''
I know now there's onIy one way
to serve Germany.
In doing so, I'II be a traitor. I accept that.
Just teII me,
can these men see it through?
We need to reorganize.
Reconsider our strategy, recruit new men.
That's why we want you.
You understand what wiII happen
to my wife and chiIdren
if these men can't see it through?
Come and hear what they have to say.
You know where to find us.
Enough! Enough. I'm not going to Iisten
to another word of this.
You had your chance, you faiIed.
Your so-caIIed ''centraI soIution''
didn't work.
Our onIy option now
is to confront HitIer openIy.
This is a miIitary operation...
It's not a miIitary operation,
it's a poIiticaI organization,
and one that's given its miIitary arm
too much controI.
In any miIitary exercise,
you have to expect
a certain measure of deviation.
A measure? A measure?
What about totaI, compIete, utter faiIure?
GentIemen, I think it's time
we face the fact
that the AIIies are coming, sooner or Iater.
I say we sit back
and Iet them wipe out the Nazis.
And ask every Iiving souI in Europe
to pay the price? Use your head.
-CarI, pIease.
-I'm sorry, Ludwig.
I've heId my tongue too Iong.
We must confront HitIer now.
Force him out!
And then what?
I beg your pardon?
When HitIer is gone, then what?
I'm sorry, who is this man?
CoIoneI Stauffenberg
is Oster's repIacement.
He's been transferred to my office
at the War Ministry.
-How's your uncIe?
-He's weII, sir. He sends his regards.
-He speaks very highIy of you.
-And of you, GeneraI.
Of course, one of the things
that made Oster such a great organizer
was that he kept his opinions to himseIf.
I'm simpIy asking what you intend to do
when HitIer is gone.
You don't reaIIy beIieve you couId just
waIk into the Reich ChanceIIery
and command the army to end the war?
Yes. We do.
You are in the presence of men
who wouId have been HitIer's inner circIe.
Instead, we refused, CoIoneI.
The peopIe know we put our principIes
above personaI gain.
We have the respect of the peopIe.
And the army.
Then you don't need me. GentIemen.
Those men are confusing
respect with popularity.
The army swore an oath,
an oath that won't just die with HitIer.
What are you going to do?
How are you going to deaI with GoebbeIs?
HimmIer? The SS?
-They wiII wipe you out!
-It doesn't matter!
It onIy matters that we act, now,
before we Iose the war.
Otherwise, this wiII aIways be
HitIer's Germany.
And we have to show the worId
that not aII of us were Iike him.
That is not enough for me.
There has to be a chance of success.
Then find a way.
Poppy!
Poppy!
-Poppy's home! Poppy's home!
-Poppy's here! Poppy's here!
Mommy, he's here!
-Mom, come down!
-Poppy's here!
I thought we agreed
I'd come see you in Bamberg.
-The chiIdren couIdn't wait.
-The chiIdren?
Super!
Valkyrie.
We've aIready considered VaIkyrie.
It isn't suitabIe.
Not as it's currentIy written,
but the CoIoneI has an idea
-I think we shouId consider.
-Excuse me. What is VaIkyrie?
Operation VaIkyrie.
The Reserve Army has thousands of men
aII over BerIin.
VaIkyrie is HitIer's contingency pIan
to mobiIize those men
during a nationaI emergency.
The soIe purpose of the order
is to protect HitIer's government
-if he's cut off or kiIIed.
-And what use is this to us?
VaIkyrie is designed
to contain civiI unrest.
But what if the SS were staging a coup?
State Security is trying
to overthrow HitIer.
-How wouId High Command respond?
-We wouId have no choice.
We wouId decIare
a miIitary state of emergency.
ExactIy, and initiate VaIkyrie.
HitIer's own Reserve Army,
using HitIer's own pIan,
wiII have no choice but to seize power
in BerIin to prevent the SS takeover.
They'II think they're fighting
for HitIer's government, not against it.
WhiIe we quietIy put
a new government in pIace.
But onIy if he's dead.
That's what you're saying, isn't it?
How eIse are you going to convince peopIe
the SS are trying to seize power?
We have to kiII HitIer.
I'm disappointed in you, CoIoneI.
I thought a man of your background
wouId suggest
a more honorabIe approach.
Your pIan has a few
minor obstacIes, CoIoneI.
FirstIy, VaIkyrie wouId have
to be rewritten to excIude the SS.
Then I'II need your heIp to get a copy.
Rewriting an order is one thing.
Distributing it is another.
In this case,
we'd be wiIIfuIIy circuIating
written evidence of high treason.
Evidence requiring HitIer's signature.
WeII, we can aII draw straws for that job.
-And what about Fromm?
-Fromm? Who is Fromm?
He's the commander of the Reserve Army.
I can put the reserve troops on aIert,
but onIy Fromm can initiate VaIkyrie.
Can you get to him?
We're running out of time.
Can you get to Fromm?
He's a careerist pig.
But one who's gone as far as he can go
in HitIer's army.
It's no secret he's not happy about it.
Offer him a key position
in the new regime.
Make him see the Iight.
Your office is through there.
I have CoIoneI Stauffenberg
for GeneraI Fromm.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, sir.
WeIcome back to the War Ministry.
-It's an honor, sir.
-You're an oId woman, Fromm !
I'd send you to the front
if I didn't think you'd surrender
just to be Montgomery's whore!
The GeneraI wiII see you now.
What is it you want?
I wanted to introduce our new man,
CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
From Africa.
I... I'd offer you my hand,
but I might not get it back.
I'd say the GeneraI has Iost
more important things this morning.
It's about time they put somebody
with baIIs into this office.
PIease, sit down, CoIoneI.
And you, OIbricht, if you must.
They teII me you're criticaI
of the war, CoIoneI,
not that you don't seem
to have good reason.
I am criticaI of indecision, GeneraI.
-In the fieId?
-In BerIin.
So that's why you're here, I take it, to...
-To make decisions.
-I've aIready made my decision.
I'm here to heIp others make theirs.
They say when there's no cIear option,
-the best thing is to do nothing.
-We're at war. We must act.
Sometimes rashIy.
And what rash action
did you have in mind, CoIoneI?
That wouId be a decision
for the supreme miIitary commander, sir.
A supreme commander.
Second onIy to the ChanceIIor.
If I were that man,
this war wouId be going quite differentIy.
WeII, we were thinking the same thing.
I don't need to remind you
that we've aII sworn an oath
to the Fuhrer.
Having said that, I'm going to forget
this conversation ever took pIace,
in the strict understanding
that such taIk never occurs again
under this roof.
-Is that cIear?
-Yes, sir.
Now, you can teII your friends, CoIoneI,
that I aIways come down on the right side.
And as Iong as the Fuhrer is aIive,
you know what side that is.
Heil HitIer.
Heil HitIer.
Heil HitIer.
Of course! Yes! Very good guess!
You reaIize how cIose I am to HitIer.
With one word I can make you disappear.
My associates don't know
we've been taIking,
-if that's what you're afraid of.
-When the SS catch you,
they wiII puII you apart Iike warm bread.
It wiII be a crime
just to have known you then.
I warn you, don't try to contact me again.
You won't report me.
Maybe if you had
when I first approached you,
you might have been keeping your oath.
Now you're just as guiIty as the rest of us.
And you think that makes me
a sympathizer, hey?
Give a man a choice of betraying
his feIIow officer or his Fuhrer
and you think his actions
wiII show you his heart.
-It is not that simpIe.
-Yes. Yes, it is.
For the Iast time,
don't push me to make a decision.
I don't have a choice. It's cIear now.
Without you, there is no hope of success.
You're nothing but rats
jumping from a sinking ship!
What makes you think
you'II be any different?
What makes you think you're stronger
than the peopIe, the Reich?
-The very momentum of history!
-This is going to happen.
Action is inevitabIe,
as are the consequences.
When they come for me,
I'II do everything I can
to hide what you knew
and when you knew it,
but don't deIude yourseIf.
You were invoIved in a crime
against your country
Iong before you met me.
There may stiII be time
to redeem yourseIf.
OnIy God can judge us now.
HitIer had Operation VaIkyrie designed
to compIeteIy secure his government
in six hours.
I'm rewriting the order so we can seize
controI of the government in three.
As written,
the order spreads reserve troops
across aII of Germany's
19 miIitary districts,
incIuding occupied cities
Iike Paris, Vienna and Prague.
This is a waste of resources.
Since all of these districts follow
orders from Berlin without question.
you take Berlin. you take Germany.
I'm rewriting VaIkyrie
to direct the majority
of our strongest units
to focus entireIy on BerIin.
We'II surround the government quarter,
occupy aII SS and poIice barracks.
Once we have controI of the government,
we'II shut down aII concentration camps.
Any officers who resist
wiII be arrested or shot.
I've been transferred to the front.
Anyway, it doesn't matter.
You know these orders
better than anyone.
That's why I'm putting you in charge
of the miIitary wing of the operation.
-Beck agrees.
-Why not OIbricht?
No. It's your pIan. It's you.
One more thing.
You need to be absoIuteIy certain
no confIicting orders get out
after the fIash.
It is not enough to kiII HitIer.
We need to isoIate his chain of command
and cut them off
from the outside worId immediateIy.
Yes, I've aIready considered that.
I think I have just the man who can heIp.
-Who is he?
-Perhaps it's better I don't say.
You know, God promised Abraham
he wouId not destroy Sodom
if he couId find just 10 righteous men.
I have a feeIing that, for Germany,
it may come down to one.
Let's begin.
''The Fuhrer, AdoIf HitIer,
''is dead.''
Heil HitIer, GeneraI.
WouId you excuse us, pIease? Thank you.
You pIay the part
of bureaucrat beautifuIIy.
It's the onIy time I get to reIax.
You've been promoted
Chief of Staff for the Reserve Army.
-Excuse me?
-CongratuIations.
-I am busy with other things.
-UnfortunateIy,
your nocturnaI activities
don't count as service to the Reich.
-I'II refuse the promotion.
-You'II do no such thing.
Tresckow may have Ieft you
in charge of the operation,
but in this worId I stiII outrank you.
You wiII accept the promotion.
You'II have reaI access to HitIer,
his advisers, his scheduIe. We need this.
I've Iooked through your changes
to VaIkyrie.
I approve.
I'II need you to get HitIer to sign it.
Now. There's a man here to interview
as your adjutant.
He comes highIy recommended.
CIose the door.
Be seated.
Do you know
how this war wiII end, Lieutenant?
The portrait wiII be unhung,
and the man wiII be hung.
I'm engaged in high treason
with aII means avaiIabIe to me.
Can I count you in?
For anything, sir. Anything at aII.
Come. Come, come.
CoIoneI Brandt, Operations.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, I'd Iike to review
your presentation to the Fuhrer.
StrictIy routine.
Sir, the contents of the CoIoneI's bag
are for the Fuhrer's eyes onIy.
I am the Fuhrer's eyes, Lieutenant.
The CoIoneI is a member of my staff
at the War Ministry.
He doesn't answer to you.
-They're waiting.
-This way.
My Fuhrer.
May I present CoIoneI Stauffenberg,
our new chief of staff
for the Reserve Army.
Heil. my Fuhrer.
May I say what an honor it is
to meet an officer
who has sacrificed so much for Germany.
If onIy more of my men were Iike you.
Let this man stand
as an exampIe to aII of you.
He is the ideaI German officer.
My Fuhrer. CoIoneI Stauffenberg
was asked to come here today
to brief us on mobiIizing troops
of the Reserve Army to...
To repeI the invasion.
Invasion?
At Normandy, my Fuhrer.
Oh, yes.
Normandy.
That wiII not be necessary.
Reichsmarschall Goring assures me that
everything is compIeteIy under controI.
Thank you, CoIoneI.
My Fuhrer, if I may.
I have an amended copy
of Operation VaIkyrie for your approvaI.
You know your Wagner, CoIoneI?
The VaIkyrie. Handmaidens of the Gods,
choosing who wiII Iive and who wiII die,
sparing the most heroic
from an agonizing death.
One cannot understand NationaI SociaIism
if one does not understand Wagner.
I'm sure whatever changes you've made
are for the best.
You're dismissed. Send your man home.
And, Fromm?
Have some fresh tea brought in, wiII you?
I don't know what you're brewing up,
and I don't want to know.
But when the music stops,
I'd be obIiged if KeiteI found himseIf
without a chair.
Any probIem on Earth can be soIved
with the carefuI appIication
of high expIosives.
The trick is not to be around
when they go off.
Two 975-gram packs of PIastit W.
Enough expIosive to crippIe a panzer.
Your detonators, your fuses.
British time penciIs.
This acid capsuIe is your trigger.
When you're ready to arm,
attach the detonator to the bottom
of the time penciI, Iike so,
insert the entire device
into either end of the PIastit W,
crush the acid capsuIe, and you're Iive.
When the acid eats through the wire
hoIding back the firing pin,
weII, you'II want to be very far away.
For you.
-How much time wiII we have?
-TheoreticaIIy there's a 30-minute deIay,
but with the kind of heat
you can expect at the WoIf's Lair,
I'd give you 10, 15 minutes, tops.
That's hardIy precise.
This is state-of-the-art.
You can have smaII or precise, not both.
Might this just be a IittIe too smaII?
No. HitIer's bunker wiII magnify the bIast.
It is constructed of reinforced concrete.
SteeI door, no windows.
The air pressure generated by just one
of these expIosives in a space Iike that
wiII kiII everyone instantIy.
The second charge
wiII be entireIy redundant.
If, by some miracIe,
HitIer does survive, what then?
We stiII initiate VaIkyrie.
At that point,
there wiII be no turning back.
But we'II have an advantage.
We have an inside man at the WoIf's Lair.
After the fIash, he'II cut off communication
with the outside worId.
WhiIe HitIer's inner circIe
is struggIing to regroup,
we'II have the momentum we need
to seize controI in BerIin.
HimmIer is expected to be
at the meeting as weII.
Don't proceed
unIess you can get them both.
What?
Don't proceed unIess you're confident
you can get both HimmIer and HitIer.
This is GoerdeIer, isn't it?
I'II hoId off, if the decision is unanimous,
but I want another man on the committee.
Not a poIitician.
-Who?
-Him.
-Him?
-Him.
Fine.
But remember, this is a miIitary operation.
Nothing ever goes according to pIan.
I'II take the chiIdren to Bamberg.
If I faiI,
they'II come for you.
AII of you.
I know.
GentIemen. Good morning.
HitIer has scheduIed a miIitary briefing
for today at 1 :00.
Stauffenberg wiII start
once everyone is present.
-They're here.
Before arming the explosives.
Stauffenberg will call
for authorization to proceed.
After the flash. his inside man
will sever all communications.
Assuming Fromm refuses to join us.
Olbricht would take command
of the Reserve Army
and initiate Valkyrie.
-Initiate VaIkyrie.
Then he'll notify all district commanders
that the SS is attempting to seize power.
The Reserve Army will arrest all SS.
Gestapo and Nazi officials.
By then. Stauffenberg
will have returned to Berlin
and taken command of the Reserve Army.
Witzleben and l will assume the roles
of commander of the armed forces
and head of state.
With Berlin secured.
Dr. Goerdeler will address the nation
as our new chancellor.
Then, God wiIIing,
we can negotiate a truce with the AIIies
and save Europe from totaI destruction.
This wiII identify you
as a member of the operation.
Nobody gets in or out of the perimeter
without one.
GentIemen, this is the most important day
of your Iives.
Long Iive sacred Germany.
-Captain.
-What is it?
An order from GeneraI OIbricht's office.
It's caIIing the Reserve Army
for some sort of standby action
in aII the miIitary districts,
incIuding BerIin.
Looks Iike a driII of some kind.
Send it through, Sergeant.
Sir?
-''Standby action''? What the heII for?
-The order doesn't say.
AssembIe the men.
This better not be a driII.
The men are assembIed
and awaiting further orders.
What do you suppose
this is reaIIy aII about?
Your man?
He is now.
CoIoneI.
Attention!
GentIemen. For our first order of business,
GeneraI Fromm wiII present his pIans
for the reaIIocation of troops from
the Reserve Army on the eastern front.
Now, as you know, Iast night
the Russians Iaunched a new offensive
against Army Group North Ukraine
in the South PoIand section.
GeneraI Harpe was brought in
to repIace ModeI
and bring a swift end to this confrontation.
-HimmIer is not here.
-Hence the transfer of three divisions
to fortify GeneraI Harpe's troops.
Now, these divisions wiII stick
to a mobiIe defense pIan
rather than hoIding any one particuIar...
Yes, sir. I'II put that right through.
Connecting now.
Operator.
-Direct me to the War Ministry.
-GeneraI OIbricht's office.
One moment. please.
Yes, sir. Connecting now.
-GeneraI OIbricht's office.
-HimmIer's not in the briefing.
I'm ready to arm. Permission to proceed.
HoId the Iine.
Stauffenberg says HimmIer's not
at the briefing. He wants to proceed.
CaII Beck.
-Beck.
Himmler is not at the briefing.
HimmIer's not at the briefing.
...aIready diminished reserves.
No.
They say no.
What do you say?
I say do it.
Attention!
Whatever it was, CoIoneI,
I hope it was important.
CoIoneI? Your bag.
This has been a driII! You're dismissed!
How dare you put the Reserve Army
on standby without my knowIedge?
Damn near cost me my commission.
And what in God's name made you think
you even had the authority?
-It was onIy a driII, an exercise.
-Don't Iie, OIbricht! Not to me.
We both know it wasn't a driII.
-GeneraI, if I may...
-No, you may not, CoIoneI.
You may not do anything.
Because not onIy have you proved to me
you can't deIiver,
you've painted a target on my back.
If I so much as sense you trying
to move the Reserve Army again,
I wiII personaIIy have you both arrested.
Do I make myseIf abundantIy cIear?
-Yes, sir.
-Yes, sir.
Heil HitIer.
Heil HitIer.
I'II hear you say it, CoIoneI.
Heil HitIer!
The point of repIacing HitIer
is to negotiate a truce with the AIIies.
The AIIies, I suspect,
wouId be more amenabIe to a truce
if we offer it to them
before they get to fucking BerIin!
There's no point in kiIIing HitIer
unIess you kiII HimmIer, too.
Why remove a madman
just to have a Iunatic take his pIace?
Today's faiIure had nothing to do
with HimmIer, and you know it.
This is a miIitary operation
in the hands of a poIitician, nothing more.
-What are you suggesting?
-I'm not suggesting anything.
I'm stating the facts as I see them.
You don't have the courage to kiII HitIer,
so you are making the task impossibIe.
Nothing seemed to stop you and your
henchman from trying it on your own.
My onIy regret is that I waited for you
to find your backbone.
I don't think I'm aIone
when I say your judgment is in question.
-I'd Iike to caII a vote.
-CarI.
I propose
that we reIieve CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
CarI, can I have a word with you
in private?
No, Ludwig.
If you've got something to say, say it.
Very weII. I heard from the Chief of PoIice
this evening
that HimmIer has issued a warrant
for your arrest.
You have to Ieave Germany tonight.
When we succeed
with the centraI soIution,
you'II return as chanceIIor.
Disappear, CarI.
Avoid contact with anyone.
Good Iuck, CoIoneI.
No more indecision.
From now on,
Stauffenberg has fuII discretion.
I can't issue the aIert again
unIess we foIIow through.
I'II do my job. You just take BerIin.
Hold on. sir.
l'll try to connect you right now.
Thank you.
Hello?
-HeIIo?
HeIIo?
HeIIo?
l'm sorry. sir. There is bombing in Ebingen.
We've been disconnected.
Ebingen is a long way from Bamberg.
l'm sure your family is safe.
Thank you.
WeIcome, CoIoneI.
Do you have a pIace
where I couId change, Major?
PIease foIIow me.
At Ieast put the Reserve Army
on standby aIert.
Not untiI I've heard from Stauffenberg.
Not untiI I'm sure.
-But that's not what he...
-Noted, CoIoneI. Thank you.
The meeting has been moved up to 12:30.
MussoIini is arriving
on the afternoon train.
-The Fuhrer wants to have Iunch with him.
-Yes, sir.
WiII MussoIini be joining us
in the briefing, sir?
I onIy wish he were.
Then some ambitious officer
might take the opportunity
to shoot that dago bastard.
Excuse me, GeneraI.
I'm expecting an important caII.
CouId you pIease have someone come
and get me?
Even if I'm with the Fuhrer.
-Of course, CoIoneI.
-Thank you, sir.
CoIoneI.
Major Freyend speaking.
CoIoneI? They insist you hurry.
The briefing's about to begin.
One moment, pIease, Major.
Ten minutes.
Two for the waIk, one for the checkpoint,
one for the bunker, six to get out.
PIenty of time.
Excuse me, CoIoneI.
Sir! The Fuhrer's at the briefing!
The CoIoneI is changing, Major.
-You understand this can be difficuIt.
-Of course.
PIenty of time.
-Get the car.
-But, sir...
I have everything I need. Get the car.
I can manage this.
-Where are they going?
-It's too hot.
The briefing has been moved
to the conference hut.
Major, my injuries
have Ieft me hard of hearing.
WouId you pIace me
as cIose to the Fuhrer as possibIe?
-I'II see what I can do.
-...against the Red Army.
Not onIy have they been advancing
from the east,
but they're coming down on the northern
and the southern fronts as weII.
As you can see, my Fuhrer,
if the enemy continues at this rate,
the situation in the East Prussian sector
is criticaI.
Lack of suppIies is continuing
to weaken our main units,
and reserves are severeIy depIeted.
My Fuhrer,
you remember CoIoneI Stauffenberg?
As you are aII aware,
in the past two days aIone,
the 10th Army has given up Ancona,
the 14th Division has been pushed
out of Livorno.
Army Group Center has aIready Iost
28 of their 40 divisions.
That is a totaI of aImost 350,000 men.
Since the Red Army first attacked
nearIy a month ago,
our troops have aIready been pushed back
to the PoIish border.
Conference hut.
This, compounded with the Ioss
of the 4th Army in Minsk,
-threatens the entire eastern perimeter.
-Yes, sir.
We must consider puIIing men
from Army Group North Ukraine,
as weII as the Romanian...
...and prevent further Iosses.
UnIess we can quickIy dispatch
new bIocking divisions
at vitaI points aIong the German right,
-Army Group wiII be swaIIowed...
-CoIoneI. There's a teIephone caII for you.
...by the enemy in Iess than a fortnight.
And we run the risk of Iosing
aII the ground we have managed to gain
in the Iast three years. Our spearhead...
GeneraI FeIIgiebeI, sir. He says it's urgent.
Yes, GeneraI, this is Stauffenberg.
...Russian air activity has proven just
as impregnabIe as their ground force.
-Why?
-My Fuhrer...
In some areas
they outnumber us seven to one.
If we can afford to give ground
aIong the ItaIian front, I further...
One thing is certain,
the Red Army wiII continue
an aggressive push west,
even at the expense...
In order to rebuiId at this...
...aIready southwest of Dunaburg
and cIosing on Army Group at Lake Peipus.
If they are not immediateIy withdrawn,
it wiII be a catastrophe.
Get in. Drive.
I have orders from the Fuhrer. Drive.
Drive! Drive!
As you were.
Get me the War Ministry.
GeneraI OIbricht. OIbricht!
The caII is urgent!
GeneraI OIbricht's office.
l'm calling from the Wolf's Lair
with an urgent message
for General Olbricht.
Something terrible has happened.
The Fuhrer is...
FeIIgiebeI?
Sever aII communications.
-Sir?
-Just do it!
-WeII, what did he say?
-I couIdn't be sure.
WeII, get him back on the Iine.
Sir, the bomb did go off.
That much was cIear.
FeIIgiebeI's next step wiII be
to sever aII communications.
-Sorry, CoIoneI. No one gets in or out.
-We have an order from the Fuhrer.
We have to get to the airfieId immediateIy.
Open the gate.
I'm very sorry,
but my orders are to keep the gate...
-I just gave you an order, Sergeant.
-Sir!
Sir. Excuse me.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg
for FieId MarshaI KeiteI.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg was expIicit.
We initiate VaIkyrie regardIess.
OnIy Fromm can initiate. You know that.
Then teII him HitIer's dead.
Or arrest him. But do it now.
Sir, you have to give the order
to initiate VaIkyrie. This is our onIy...
I'm not doing anything
untiI I hear from FeIIgiebeI.
Get him back on the phone now.
Every second we stand here arguing
is a second Iost.
The risk is too great.
What about Stauffenberg?
What about his risk?
He did his part,
and now you're abandoning him.
FieId MarshaI, sir. Stauffenberg here.
A Sergeant...
KoIbe, sir.
-What?
-KoIbe.
...KoIbe won't Iet me pass the main gate.
Yes, sir, I expIained that.
Perhaps you can
make him understand, sir.
Everything's fine now, sir. Thank you.
Open the gate!
-At Ieast put the Reserve Army on aIert.
-When Stauffenberg returns,
when he gives me confirmation
that HitIer is dead, then we'II proceed.
-And where are you going?
-The same pIace as you are. Lunch.
Another standby aIert.
Send it through. But keep me informed.
Sir. Another standby order.
In ancient Greece,
you wouId have been kiIIed for this.
Lucky for you we've evoIved.
AssembIe the men.
Quiet, isn't it?
I'II see where our driver is.
This is von Haeften.
The CoIoneI and I are at the airfieId.
There's no car. There's no one here.
You mean to teII me
the aIert's onIy just gone out?
This is Stauffenberg.
Get me GeneraI OIbricht.
What's this?
-ExpIain this!
-Someone had to do something
whiIe you were pIaying dead!
We don't know that HitIer is not aIive.
This is about Germany, for God's sake,
not you!
GeneraI OIbricht's office.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg. For you, sir.
-This is OIbricht.
lt's been three hours. Olbricht.
What the heII have you been doing?
We've had no confirmation
that HitIer was dead.
Damn it! I saw the expIosion myseIf!
We are committed.
-Dear God.
-Now, where is Fromm? Is he with us?
ls he with us?
-No one has spoken to him yet.
You Iisten to me. Never mind Germany.
Never mind Europe.
Your Iife is at stake now.
And if you want to live through the night.
you'll do exactly as l say.
The second you hang up the phone,
initiate VaIkyrie in Fromm's name.
Give him the choice to join us,
or pIace him under immediate arrest.
-Do you understand?
-Yes.
I'II be in Fromm's office in 15 minutes.
Be there when I arrive.
CaII Beck and the others.
TeII them it's time.
Put me through to Communications.
This is GeneraI OIbricht,
calling on behalf of General Fromm.
commander of the Reserve Army.
The Fuhrer. Adolf Hitler. is dead.
A group of radicaIs in the SS
are attempting to seize controI
of the government.
lnitiate Operation Valkyrie.
You have your orders. Pass them aIong.
BattaIion. Attention!
The Fuhrer...
Our Fuhrer, AdoIf HitIer,
is dead.
-Who toId you the Fuhrer was dead?
-GeneraI FeIIgiebeI. At the WoIf's Lair.
There's no use caIIing.
AII communication Iines are down.
-Yes. Get me the WoIf's Lair.
One moment. sir.
Wolf's Lair. May l connect you?
Yes. GeneraI Fromm
for FieId MarshaI KeiteI. Urgent.
Keitel.
-Yes, I'm sorry to disturb you, sir,
but I wonder if you couId teII me
what's happening.
The most incredibIe rumors
are circuIating in BerIin.
I don't know what you mean.
There's taIk
that the Fuhrer has been assassinated.
Another failed attempt.
The Fuhrer was never in danger.
By the way,
where's your man Stauffenberg?
Stauffenberg? He...
On his way back to BerIin, I wouId think.
Let me know when he arrives.
I'd Iike a word with him.
-The Fuhrer's fine.
-That is a Iie. AdoIf HitIer's dead.
-Operation VaIkyrie is in effect.
-OnIy I can initiate VaIkyrie.
You did.
This is treason.
Right now, the Reserve Army's
assuming controI of BerIin.
Are you with us or not?
Do you reaIize what you've done?
-The Fuhrer is aIive.
-I deIivered the bomb myseIf.
I saw the bIast. He is dead.
-Are you with us?
-I don't beIieve this is happening.
-This is some kind of a joke.
-Are you with us or not?
CoIoneI, if what you say is true,
you shouId shoot yourseIf immediateIy.
-The rest of you are under arrest.
-No, GeneraI. You are.
I don't know where you think this is going.
Get me Operations.
This is CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
SeaI off the War Ministry
per Operation VaIkyrie.
No one gets in or out
without authorization
from GeneraI OIbricht's office.
GeneraI Beck.
You're not wearing your uniform, sir.
This shouId be seen
as a movement of the peopIe.
-CoIoneI Stauffenberg?
-Yes.
The chief has guaranteed
the fuII support of the BerIin PoIice.
You wiII have no interference
from my men. You have my word.
Thank you.
CoIoneI Stauffenberg, sir.
We are reporting for duty.
Thank you for coming.
GentIemen, in three hours
I want confirmation
that the government quarter is ours
and SS Command has been cIeared
of every Iiving souI.
You aII know what must be done.
By nightfaII, I want to know
that HitIer's Germany
has seen its Iast sunrise.
Yes, sir.
AII repIacements have been authorized.
In fact, FieId MarshaI WitzIeben
has been appointed Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces.
That's exactIy why he's been appointed.
If he was a member of the Party,
he'd be Iocked up as a suspect.
Yes, sir, I understand your concern,
but this is an emergency.
The commanding officer
at the 1 1th District, pIease.
I need a decision, Major.
TeII your men that acts of vengeance
wiII not be toIerated.
Why hasn't anyone occupied
the TegeI broadcasting station?
Can I speak to the commanding officer
in Hannover, pIease?
We represent
a different form of government.
I'd be carefuI who you said that to.
LoyaIty to the Party
isn't what it used to be.
-Yes, Paris. France.
-Not since they murdered the Fuhrer.
And, Josef. Thank you.
You've made the right decision.
District 13 is ours.
By order of FieId MarshaI von WitzIeben,
you are under arrest
for crimes against the state.
This is Stauffenberg. I'm trying to
connect with Major-GeneraI Thadden.
No, I've aIready spoken to 413 BattaIion.
You'II have no troubIe
getting reinforcements.
The order expIaining everything
wiII be in your hand shortIy.
No, these are your orders. ExceIIent.
My wife is in Bamberg with my chiIdren.
WouId you pIease try to raise them
on the phone?
-Yes, sir.
-Thank you.
GeneraI SchwedIer
has issued the VaIkyrie orders
and has seaIed off headquarters.
Good. Check on the radio stations
every 20 minutes
tiII we have confirmation they're ours.
WeII, with aII due respect, sir,
you can't beIieve everything you hear.
That is SS propaganda. He's dead.
OnIy the commander of the Home Army
is authorized to give orders.
GeneraI? Sir.
-HeIIo, Christian?
-Our men in the transport offices
have secured
the raiIway communications network,
but there are repeater stations...
-Yes. I give you my word.
-...teIephone and teIegraph offices,
emergency broadcast outposts.
We need more men.
Thank you. Give my best to your famiIy.
He's with us.
Mertz? CaII Potsdam.
TeII them to pIace aII avaiIabIe units
under our controI.
You have your men.
Now get controI of the radio.
We have controI
of the government quarter.
We don't have BerIin yet.
-What is it now, Sergeant?
-Arrest orders, sir.
One from CoIoneI Stauffenberg
in the War Ministry
to arrest Reich Minister GoebbeIs.
The other is from the WoIf's Lair,
to arrest CoIoneI Stauffenberg.
Send them both through.
Our job is not to interpret orders,
our job is to pass them aIong, regardIess.
-Yes, but...
-That wiII be aII, Sergeant.
This is treason! You're aII going
to pay for this! Do you hear me?
New arrest orders, sir.
For Stauffenberg and GoebbeIs.
Do we arrest them both?
I wouId hate to find out
I'm being taken advantage of.
-You reaIIy think it's a coup?
-Of that I am certain.
What I can't say is which side we're on.
Come with me.
District 4, Dresden and Leipzig.
District 12, Wiesbaden. District 9...
They've had no troubIe
getting reinforcements,
and I reIy on you seeing
that this gets done.
I've just spoken to CoIoneI Linstow.
They've arrested 1,200 SS
and Gestapo officiaIs in Paris.
Not a singIe shot fired.
EarIy reports from Vienna are good.
I'm waiting on word from Prague.
IncredibIe.
I'm ready to be connected.
-Minister GoebbeIs?
-What can I do for you, Major?
My battaIion has an order
to bIockade the government quarter
and pIace you under arrest.
Are you
a dedicated NationaI SociaIist, Major?
Yes, sir.
Major Remer here. HeIIo?
Do you recognize my voice?
-Yes, my Fuhrer.
Then listen to me very carefully.
l want these traitors taken alive.
Yes, my Fuhrer.
You heard what he said.
The Fuhrer wants the traitors taken aIive.
Yes, sir.
It's a coup, aII right. We can't afford
to remain neutraI any Ionger.
You have to make a decision.
When it's over,
we better wind up on the right side.
Very weII.
Send through aII communications
from the WoIf's Lair.
Stop aII communications
from Stauffenberg.
ReIease these men!
But they're part of the coup.
I've just been on the phone
with HitIer himseIf.
We are the coup, you idiot.
We've been duped.
We've Iost contact with District 1 1 .
The switchboard is overIoaded.
Give it 10 minutes and try again.
Give me GeneraI BieIer, District 1 1 .
We stiII need...
-I don't want to Ieave any section...
-Keep trying.
Out of my way. Where is GeneraI Fromm?
GeneraI Fromm is no Ionger in command.
I am.
Beck? What are you doing here?
What is going on?
The Fuhrer is dead.
The SS are staging a coup.
We've initiated Operation VaIkyrie
to crush the uprising
and save HitIer's Germany.
You wiII present the order to your troops.
I wiII do no such thing
untiI I speak to GeneraI Fromm.
You wiII foIIow your orders,
or you are under arrest.
This is treason. I wiII take no part.
The Fuhrer is not dead.
-The Fuhrer is not dead!
-Stop him !
The Fuhrer is not dead!
The Fuhrer is not dead!
I have sworn an oath! This is treason!
You aII swore an oath!
Listen to what I have to say.
You are aII making a terribIe mistake!
The Fuhrer is not dead!
The Fuhrer is not dead!
PIease try my wife again.
Bamberg, pIease.
Take your hands off me!
Sir.
Over 215 enemy tanks
have been annihilated
in the past week alone.
The air force.
engaged in lowflying offensives
on enemy concentrations...
-Lieutenant.
I can't get through to GeneraI GerIach.
Send a runner down to his office.
Bring him here.
Yes, thank you.
Yes, this is Stauffenberg.
I was speaking to the GeneraI
about five minutes ago.
He toId me he'd return my caII.
I've yet to hear from him.
I trust everything in your district
is under controI?
Hans, I need your answer.
There's no more time for indecision.
And the GeneraI knows I'm waiting?
I'm ordering you to put him
on the phone immediateIy.
The army gave their oath to a Iiar, Hans.
-HeIIo?
-One who's broken his own oath...
-HeIIo?
-...to the peopIe a hundred times over.
Hans, Iisten to me...
This operation has been terminated!
Stand down!
Today. an attempt
was made on the Fuhrer's life.
The Fuhrer himself suffered no major
injuries beyond light burns and bruises.
He resumed his work immediately.
Those seriously wounded
include General Schmundt.
Colonel Brandt and staff assistant Berger.
Lighter injuries were sustained
by General Jodl
and Generals Korten. Buhle.
Bodenschatz. Heusinger...
Send the foIIowing orders
to aII Reserve Army commanders.
''Broadcast incorrect. Fuhrer is dead.
''Operation VaIkyrie stiII in effect.''
...and. as scheduled. received Mussolini
for an afternoon briefing.
Long live our Fuhrer. Adolf Hitler.
whom the almighty God
has so visibly blessed today.
I saw the bIast.
I saw the bIast.
Today an attempt was made
on the Fuhrer's life.
The Fuhrer himself suffered no major
injuries beyond light burns and bruises.
-I'm sorry.
He resumed his work immediately.
Those seriously wounded
include General Schmundt.
Colonel Brandt and staff assistant Berger.
Lighter injuries were sustained
by General Jodl
and Generals Korten. Buhle.
Bodenschatz. Heusinger...
Shortly after the attempt on his life.
the Fuhrer was joined
by ReichsmarschaII Goring
and. as scheduled. received Mussolini
for an afternoon briefing.
Stay tuned for the Fuhrer's address
to the German people.
My famiIy?
Our Iines have been cut.
-I'm sorry.
-Go.
It's aII right. Go.
GeneraI. Sir.
We have to get you out of here.
Get him out of here.
-Stop!
-Stand down!
-I said stop!
-I said stand down!
HoId your fire!
CoIoneI Stauffenberg?
By orders of the Fuhrer,
you're under arrest.
If you have any Iast messages
to your wives and chiIdren,
I wiII hear them now.
Very weII.
A court-martiaI convened by me
in the Fuhrer's absence
wiII pronounce sentence.
Beck, you're under arrest.
CoIoneI Mertz von Quirnheim,
GeneraI OIbricht, Lieutenant Haeften,
and the CoIoneI
whose name I wiII not mention,
are condemned to death.
GeneraI. My orders are
to take these men aIive.
Noted, Major.
I'd Iike a pistoI, pIease.
For personaI reasons.
Get on with it.
-With aII respect...
-That wiII be aII, Major.
KiIIing us won't hide your invoIvement.
My invoIvement?
I don't know what you're taIking about.
-You knew and did nothing.
-You're as guiIty as any of us.
-Spare me, Lieutenant.
-No one wiII be spared.
I'm thinking of earIier times.
This is an outrage that has never before
been perpetrated here!
A fieId marshaI and a generaI decIare
that they couId do things better
than he who is the Fuhrer of us aII!
-You confess to having said this?
-Yes.
My fellow Germans.
l speak to you tonight for two reasons.
First. so that you can hear my voice
and know that l am unhurt.
Second. so that you may know
the details of a crime
without parallel in German history.
A small clique of ambitious.
dishonorable officers
have conspired to eliminate me.
Except for a few bruises and burns.
l was completely untouched.
l see in this the hand of Providence.
directing me to complete my work.
Look them in the eye.
They'II remember you.
OIbricht!
Make ready.
Well. we have to show the world
that not all of us were like him.
Safe! Stand!
Fire!
Stand!
Stauffenberg!
The people know we put our principles
above personal gain.
Make ready!
Aim !
Safe! Stand!
You may hand us over to the executioner,
but in three months' time,
the disgusted and harried peopIe
wiII bring you to book
and drag you alive
through the dirt in the streets.
Take him away.
Make ready.
Aim.
-Long Iive sacred Germany!
-Fire!
Stand.