Early in 1945, presumably in February, the Gestapo transferred Georg Elser to Dachau concentration camp. He was held under strict guard in solitary confinement in the “commandant’s arrest section.” The door to Elser’s cell had to be open during the day with an officer outside at all times. He was granted a workbench in Dachau and was also able to play his zither. However, Georg Elser seems to have sensed he would not survive the end of the war; he is said to have raised this concern on several occasions.
When the Nazi leaders realized they had lost the war, Georg Elser was shot dead near the old crematorium in Dachau concentration camp by SS-Oberscharführer Theodor Bongartz on April 9, 1945, on instructions “from the very top.” His body was immediately cremated along with all his clothing. Georg Elser does not have a grave; only his cell in Dachau’s commandant’s arrest section is marked by a memorial plaque.
On the same day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wilhelm Canaris, Karl Sack, and other resistance activists were murdered in Flossenbürg concentration camp, as was Hans von Dohnanyi in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The Nazi leadership did not want their most strident opponents to survive and have any influence over the future. Georg Elser was shot because he was the first person to come extremely close to the aim of killing Hitler.
Cell corridor in the “commandant’s arrest section” at Dachau concentration camp.
Georg Elser was shot dead on April 9, 1945. On the same day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wilhelm Canaris, Karl Sack, and other resistance activists were murdered in Flossenbürg concentration camp, as was Hans von Dohnanyi in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The Nazi leadership did not want their most strident opponents to survive and have any influence over the future. Georg Elser was shot because he was the first person to come extremely close to the aim of killing Hitler.
Georg Elser was shot dead on April 9, 1945. On the same day, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Wilhelm Canaris, Karl Sack, and other resistance activists were murdered in Flossenbürg concentration camp, as was Hans von Dohnanyi in Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The Nazi leadership did not want their most strident opponents to survive and have any influence over the future. Georg Elser was shot because he was the first person to come extremely close to the aim of killing Hitler.
Elser once again emphasizes the decisions that led to his deed. His statements show that he did not act lightly, but decided with a deeply felt sense of responsibility based on Christian beliefs.
Elser once again emphasizes the decisions that led to his deed. His statements show that he did not act lightly, but decided with a deeply felt sense of responsibility based on Christian beliefs.
Cookie Settings
We use cookies to design and improve our website. These cookies are only used to analyze access to this website. All data recorded is saved in anonymized form. More in our Data Protection Declaration.
