Georg Elser Hitler's Would-Be Killer

In the latest instalment of our occasional series profiling remarkable yet unheralded characters from history, Roger Moorhouse introduces a little-known carpenter-turned-assassin whose daring attempt to kill Hitler almost succeeded

- Roger Moorhouse

Shortly after 9 pm on 8 November 1939, a Munich beer hall – the Bürgerbräukeller – was clearing up after one of Hitler’s speeches. Earlier in the evening, approximately 3,000 faithful Nazis had thronged the hall, but now, with Hitler departed, the last of the party veterans, the ‘Old Fighters’, were collecting their possessions and saying their goodbyes, leaving behind only the beer hall’s staff and a handful of musicians.

Then, at 9.20 pm exactly, the hubbub was shattered by an explosion. In a flash, the room filled with smoke and dust, and a blast wave raced through the building, shattering windows and blowing outdoors. The tables and stools in the center of the hall were splintered to matchwood; the central pillar was destroyed, and both the gallery and the ceiling came crashing down into the room. The dais and lectern, where Hitler had been standing, were crushed.

One traumatized eyewitness recalled: “There was a bright light, and in the same instant we heard a terrible blast. I was thrown back two meters, falling into the rubble, while all hell broke loose above me. When I came to my senses, I was lying on my stomach with my right arm over the foot of my comrade. I did not know at the time that he was already dead.”