I wanted to prevent the war.
Georg Elser and the Assassination Attempt of November 8, 1939

For many years, even many historians regarded Georg Elser as an instrument of the Nazi state. This interpretation continued until the late 1960s, when the Munich historian Lothar Gruchmann found the records of Elser’s interrogations in the Reich Justice Ministry files. At around the same time, his fellow historian Anton Hoch published an evaluation of all sources on the assassination attempt known at the time, which also clearly showed that Elser acted alone, disproving all the rumors.

Not until the 1980s and 1990s did Georg Elser begin to receive appropriate honors. These included an internationally respected film starring Klaus Maria Brandauer and a number of publications, but above all the establishment of the Georg Elser Memorial Center in Königsbronn. Streets and schools were named after him and monuments erected. Georg Elser is now regarded as “Hitler’s true antagonist” (Joseph P. Stern), “the lonely assassin” (Peter Steinbach) or the “lonely witness” (Klemens von Klemperer) and as one of the most consequential opponents of the Nazi dictatorship. Founded in Heidenheim in April 1988, the Georg Elser Working Group has succeeded in making the region aware of Georg Elser’s deed through events, exhibitions, and publications. The working group and the municipality of Königsbronn played a key role in establishing the Georg Elser Memorial Center in Königsbronn in 1998.