Hans Graf Von Sponeck - Second World War - 20 July 1944 Plot and Execution

20 July 1944 Plot and Execution

On 20 July 1944, Sponeck heard on his radio of the bomb attempt on Hitler's life. Heinrich Himmler was given the position of Reichs Security Official and Sponeck was one of the first on his list as a suspected anti-Nazi. Himmler gave the order for Hans Graf von Sponeck to be executed by firing squad. This was carried out at 7:13 am on 23 July 1944 in Germersheim, Germany. Sponeck was allowed Holy Communion before his execution. In a letter to his wife he wrote "I die with firm faith in my Redeemer". Pleading the innocence of his actions in the Kerch peninsula, he went to the firing squad boldly, as witnessed by the priest present, and requested not to be bound or to be blindfolded. Facing the firing squad his last words were "For forty years I have served Germany, which I have loved with my entire heart, as a soldier and an officer. If I must let myself die today, I die in the hope of a better Germany!" Sponeck was buried in Germersheim and while no citations or speeches were permitted at his grave, they did allow the Lord's Prayer to be said. After the war, Sponeck's mortal remains were exhumed and his last resting place was the Soldiers' Cemetery at Dahn in the Palatinate forest.