Stauffenberg

This book examines the extraordinary personality of Claus Count Stauffenberg, a key figure in the 1944 coup attempt against Hitler. Stauffenberg's personality is thrown into relief by a study of his two brothers and other family members and friends. The three Stauffenberg brothers, Berthold, Alexander, and Claus, were inseparable both emotionally and intellectually. Their view of human existence was rooted in their south-German aristocratic background, in classical antiquity, and in Christian culture. This 'family biography' describes how the brothers' professions and their political and military environments led them to take fundamental positions on their government's and Hitler's tyranny. Inevitably the book focuses on Claus Count Stauffenberg's military career and his fight to overthrow Hitler, culminating in the attempted assassination and coup of 20 July 1944. No other work has yet probed Stauffenberg's life and mind so deeply, or has offered such a comprehensive account of resistance to Hitler at the highest administrative level.