Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and was central to the Holocaust. He was hated by his persecuted enemies and even by some of his own countrymen. Although attempts were made to assassinate him, none were successful. Hitler had numerous bodyguard units over the years which provided security.
When Hitler returned to Munich from military service in 1918, he became a member of the Nazi Party, an extremist far-right political party in Bavaria. In 1921, he was elected leader of the party. As his speeches promoted violence and racism, Hitler needed permanent security.
Founded in 1920, the Sturmabteilung (SA) was the first of many paramilitary protection squads that worked to protect Nazi officials. In 1923, a small bodyguard unit, which became known as the Stosstrupp-Hitler (SSH), was set up specifically for Hitler's protection. It was under the control of the SA. Then in 1925, as the Nazi Party grew, the Schutzstaffel (SS) was created as a sub-section of the SA. Initially only about a hundred men, it was also originally a personal protection unit for Hitler. Several other bodyguard organisations, such as the Führerbegleitkommando (FBK), Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), and Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD) were created as sub-sections of the SS. Police and security forces available included the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo), Ordnungspolizei (Orpo), Kriminalpolizei (Kripo), and Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo). In addition, the Nazi intelligence organisation, the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), investigated and performed security checks on people, including party members. If the SD personnel determined an arrest was to be made, they passed the information on to the Gestapo. Like many autocratic rulers, Hitler surrounded himself with security units for protection.
In 1918, Adolf Hitler returned to Munich after Germany's defeat in World War I. Similar to many German veterans at the time, he was left feeling bitter and frustrated. He believed in the widely held "Stab-in-the-back myth", that the German Army did not lose the war on the battlefield but on the home front due to the communists and Jews.
The 1930s were a time of civil unrest in Germany, compounded by the economic problems of the Great Depression. In this environment, a number of extremist political parties took form, including the German Workers' Party (DAP), a short-lived predecessor of the Nazi Party. Sensing an opportunity, Hitler decided to join the DAP, which was renamed the Nazi Party in 1920. He was considered a charismatic orator which led to him being chosen to lead the party the following year. Over the years, the number of Hitler's enemies expanded, especially after the Nazi Party's seizure of power in 1933. Security problems increased as Germany began its annexation of territory, "occupation" of countries and with the invasion of Poland, which initiated World War II in Europe. His bodyguard commanders thereby established a security structure that was followed throughout the war in Europe.
In 1932–33, the RSD was only allowed to provide security duties for Hitler at a distance. One evening in 1933, while traveling in Munich, Hitler became aware of an unknown car following his own. He told his driver Erich Kempka to accelerate the supercharged Mercedes-Benz, so the following car could not keep up. It turned out that the car pursuing Hitler was full of RSD bodyguards, who had not thought to inform the Führer or any of his immediate entourage beforehand. This incident illustrates the "sometimes farcical nature of Hitler's security" during the early years. It further is an example of the duplication of departments and units with overlapping responsibilities, which was common in Nazi Germany. This policy was used in the "hierarchy" of the SS and Nazi Party to prevent one person or one group from accumulating too much power.
As Hitler went from being a stateless street politician to supreme leader of Nazi Germany, the responsibilities of his bodyguard expanded enormously. The bodyguard leaders in the Führer
Everywhere Hitler went, he was accompanied by men of the FBK. They worked in three shifts, providing close protection of Hitler. Before a trip or important public event, the RSD checked the route, the buildings along it, and the places which Hitler was to visit. The local Gestapo office provided intelligence reports, along with information as to any assassination rumours, to the RSD. Orpo police officers were called in as necessary to help with security. As far as possible, the streets or approaches to a building were lined with uniformed SS men, with every third man facing the crowd. At the same time, plainclothes SS men or Kripo police officers mingled with the crowd of spectators. Hitler's motorcade was preceded by a pilot car. Hitler's car, usually an open Mercedes-Benz, followed 50 metres behind. Hitler always stood or sat in the front seat, beside the driver, with a FBK member and an adjutant behind him. Following his car were two cars to the left and right, one with the rest of the FBK and the other with a detachment of RSD men. Then came the car of other Nazi chieftains and/or SS leaders; after a further 100-metre gap came the car or cars with any additional guests.
The LSSAH guarded Hitler's private residences and offices, providing an outer ring of protection for the Führer and his visitors. Buildings protected included the old Reich Chancellery, the new Reich Chancellery, and the Berghof in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria. LSSAH men manned sentry posts at the entrances to the old Reich Chancellery and the new Reich Chancellery. The Orpo police also had sentry posts inside, where people's passes and identity cards were checked. The RSD were responsible for having the Gestapo and Kripo run security checks on any employees and workers. They were assisted by the SD, which investigated and monitored people for subversive activities and passed the information gathered on to the Gestapo for action when needed. Wherever Hitler was in residence, members of the RSD and FBK would be present. The RSD men patrolled the grounds and the FBK men provided close security protection. For special events, the number of LSSAH guards were increased. At the Berghof residence in the Obersalzberg, a large contingent of the LSSAH were housed in adjacent barracks. They patrolled an extensive cordoned security zone that encompassed the nearby homes of other Nazi leaders. Further, the nearby former hotel "Turken" was turned into quarters to house the RSD. The FBK men were always with Hitler, providing the close security protection.
After the war started, the FBB provided wider security protection for Hitler when in residence at the Berghof, as he travelled by vehicle to front-line command posts and at military headquarters. They would be in heavily armed vehicles at the front and back of Hitler's convoy. In addition, army motorcycle outriders were positioned at the front and rear of the convoy of vehicles. The FBK would ride with Hitler and the RSD men would ride in a separate car during the trips.
See main article: Assassination attempts on Adolf Hitler.
On 8 November 1939, Hitler went to the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall in Munich for the annual anniversary celebration of the attempted putsch of 1923. He began speaking around 8:10 pm, earlier than usual because he had urgent business in Berlin. He left the hall at around 9:07 pm. About thirteen minutes later, a time bomb which had been concealed inside a pillar behind the speaker's rostrum exploded, killing eight and injuring sixty-three.
The man behind the elaborate assassination attempt was Johann Georg Elser, a carpenter-cabinet maker from Baden-Württemberg who had supported the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (German Communist Party; KPD), but also felt Hitler was leading the country to war. After the beer hall closed, from August until the beginning of November, he worked carving out a concealed cavity in a section in a pillar. By the time the bomb exploded, Elser was heading to the Swiss border. He was apprehended by German customs police and handed over for interrogation by the Gestapo before being sent to Dachau concentration camp. He was executed on 9 April 1945. The event was an embarrassment for the security services and given the "sensitivity of the case" Himmler and Heydrich took personal charge of the investigation. Although Elser had acted alone without any help, Heydrich was convinced the British Secret Service was involved.
On 13 March 1943, in preparation for the Battle of Kursk, Hitler visited the Eastern Front at Smolensk. Originally the plan was for certain officers to shoot Hitler collectively at a signal given in the officers' mess during lunch. However, that plan was cast aside. Instead a second plan devised by General Henning von Tresckow's anti-Nazi resistance group was carried out. Upon leaving, staff officer Heinz Brandt, who was traveling in Hitler's entourage, agreed to take a box containing two bottles of cognac to Colonel Hellmuth Stieff who was stationed at Hitler's headquarters. The package was given to Brandt by Tresckow. The cognac bottles were actually a bomb placed into a casing, with a timer fuse. The plane took off with both Hitler and Brandt on board, but it arrived safely at the Wolf's Lair field headquarters in East Prussia. The bomb most likely failed to detonate because the extremely low temperatures in the unheated luggage compartment of the plane prevented the fuse from operating properly.
See main article: 20 July plot. Hitler's most famous military headquarters during the war was the Wolf's Lair (Wolfsschanze). He spent more time at that Eastern Front military field headquarters than any other. Hitler first arrived at the headquarters in June 1941. In total, he spent more than 800 days there during a -year period until his final departure on 20 November 1944. It was guarded by personnel from the RSD and FBB.
It had several security zones. Sperrkreis 1 (Security Zone 1) was located at the heart of the Wolf's Lair. Ringed by steel fencing and guarded by RSD and FBK men, it contained Hitler's bunker and ten other camouflaged bunkers built from thick steel-reinforced concrete. Sperrkreis 2 (Security Zone 2) surrounded the inner zone. This area housed the quarters of several Reich ministers, the HQ personnel, two messes, a communication centre, as well as the military barracks for the FBB. Sperrkreis 3 (Security Zone 3) was a heavily fortified outer security area which surrounded the two inner zones. It was defended by land mines and FBB personnel, which manned guard houses, watchtowers, and checkpoints. Despite the security, the most notable assassination attempt against Hitler was made at the Wolf's Lair on 20 July 1944.
With Germany suffering major defeat on all fronts, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and his ring of conspirators decided to eliminate Hitler and the Nazi leadership, establish a new government, and save the country from total destruction. On 20 July 1944, during a military conference at the Wolf's Lair, Stauffenberg planted a briefcase bomb underneath Hitler's conference table and then quickly left, claiming he had to make an important telephone call. Shortly after, the bomb exploded, fatally wounding three officers and the stenographer, who died shortly thereafter. Hitler survived with only minor injuries, as did everyone else who was shielded from the blast by the conference table leg.
The FBB closed all three Security Zone checkpoints, but by then Stauffenberg's car had been let through two of them as he left the area. Contrary to the imposed security doctrine in place, Stauffenberg and his adjutant were able to pass through the closed Security Zone 3 checkpoint and proceed to the airport for the flight to Berlin. They succeeded in getting away before clarity of the events could be established by the military and security personnel at the Wolf's Lair complex.