Countdown to Valkyrie: The July Plot to Assassinate Hitler by Nigel Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I recently re-watched the Tom Cruise movie ‘Valkyrie’ and decided to find out a little more about the plot to kill Hitler. Nigel Jones’ excellent book, focussing not only on the assassination attempt at the Wolf’s Lair but also the sheer breadth of resistance to Hitler’s rule, is fast paced, engaging and full of fascinating detail. I found the bravery of many of the plotters humbling while the terrible post-putsch retribution of the Nazis continued unabated, torturing and hanging alleged conspirators even as the Russians were surrounding Berlin. I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about the history of the Second World War but I learned much from this first-rate book and recommend it highly.



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