'Hitler assassination attempt' manuscript auctions in Los Angeles online sale

A manuscript showing Nazi General Adolf Heusinger's first-hand account of Operation Valkyrie is for sale

How's this for a unique 'document of history'...? This manuscript is a first-hand account of the Hitler assassination attempt, Operation Valkyrie, signed by Nazi General Adolf Heusinger.

Heusinger was stood next to Hitler in "the Wolf's Lair" on 20 July 1944 when the Operation Valkyrie bomb exploded.

The plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler recently had a resurgence in popular culture when it was adapted by Hollywood into the 2008 film Valkyrie, starring Tom Cruise and Bill Nighy.

This manuscript is dated to November 1945 and details Heusinger's first-hand account of the assassination attempt on Hitler. It even includes the General's hand-drawn diagram of the room and the seating arrangements for Hitler and his staff.

The lengthy six-pages-long manuscript entitled "The Progression of Events of 20 July 1944" also includes a list of the people present in the Wolf's lair. Heusinger's account, here translated into English, includes the following:

The Hitler assassination attempt, according to Nazi General Adolf Heusinger

"The daily review of current happenings took place … at 12:30 in the afternoon in the headquarters of the Führer in Rastenburg. All people indicated on the attached sketch/diagram took part. I, myself represented the then-ill chief of the army, Colonel-General Zeitzler…

"Hitler entered the room coming from his bunker… First I addressed the situation on the Eastern Front… maps were spread on the tables…"

Heusinger's account of the blast itself is especially gripping. "The tabletop flew up in the air..." he writes, "Flames shot in all directions … to my left, Hitler…" The documents are also signed by Heusinger.

Bids on these manuscripts currently stand at $1,250 in a Los Angeles auction, at the time of writing - although the reserve has not yet been met. Considering this manuscript is such a fascinating piece of history, we expect bids to climb further before the hammer falls.

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Images: Nate D Sanders