Sponsored Links:
AP
In this January 28, 1978, file picture, Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist is photographed in Munich, Germany.
Munich - Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist, the last surviving member of the group of German Wehrmacht officers who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II, has died at 90, representatives confirmed on Tuesday.
Von Kleist, who as a young military officer joined the conspiracy headed by Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, said he would have blown himself up to rid Germany of the Nazi dictator.
He was present on July 20, 1944, in Bendlerblock, the Berlin headquarters of the supreme army command, when the conspirators planted a bomb with the intention of killing Hitler at his field headquarters in East Prussia.
Von Kleist was imprisoned but survived his detention and time in a concentration camp.
After the war he became a publisher and in 1962 founded what became the annual Munich security conference.
“The older I get, the more it surprises me that I survived,” von Kleist said in an article in the German-language Focus magazine marking his 90th birthday in July.
It was equally surprising to him how Stauffenberg managed to take on the “power bloc of evil” and nearly topple it.
“It was his human strengths that enabled him to do it,” von Kleist said. - Sapa-dpa
) and select "Flag as inappropriate". Our moderators will take action if need be.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Services
Buying a car has never been easy. Motoring.co.za contains a large database of car listings with a user friendly search.
Start searching today »
Business Directory
We like to make your life easier
Mobile
Browse IOL on your phone at m.iol.co.za.
Newsletters
Subscribe to our newsletters. News delivered to your inbox!
