10. The 1939 Beer Hall assassination attempt
When Adolf Hitler attended the 1939 Beer Hall Putsch commemoration in Munich on November 9, Germany was at war with England and France, though little warlike activity between the Allies had occurred. Hitler spoke berating his enemies and crowing over Germany’s victory over Poland. As he spoke a bomb was just a few feet away from the Fuhrer, planted there days before. The timers were encased in cork to muffle the sound of their ticking and had been set to detonate while Hitler was speaking since he always started his speech at the commemoration at the same time of day. Unfortunately for the assassin – a carpenter from southern Germany named Georg Elser – Hitler started his speech early that day since he needed to return to Berlin and a war conference with his military leaders. Just 13 minutes after Hitler left the bomb exploded, collapsing the ceiling under which he had stood, killing eight and causing numerous injuries to survivors.
The Gestapo were quickly on the trail of the carpenter, who attempted to flee to Switzerland only to be accosted by German border guards. His interrogation revealed that he had worked as a carpenter at the Beer Hall, while building the bomb at his rented rooms. At the Beer Hall, he carefully hollowed out a pillar near the spot where Hitler spoke each year, concealed the bomb within, and used his considerable carpentry skills to cover the evidence of his work. Surprisingly, the Gestapo did not execute the confessed bomber immediately, retaining him in custody until 1945 before finally sending him to his death. For the rest of the war, the Gestapo suspected that Elser was part of a larger conspiracy, refusing to accept that one man could come so close to success in such an elaborate scheme. If Elser was part of a conspiracy it was a secret which he took with him to his grave, and no evidence of such a conspiracy has ever been found.