Hitler was really lucky...

[Lancer44]

Hitler was in Warsaw at 5-th of October 1939 viewing Victory Parade of tryumphant Wehrmacht. On the same day the last large formation of Polish Army - Independent Operational Group "Polesie", under command of general Kleeberg, after succesful battle in triangle Kock - Radzyn - Lukow kapitulated because had no more ammunition - soviets captured their rear echelons.
Warsaw capitulated on the 27-th of September 1939. Germans entered city on the 1-st of October. During these 3 days when Polish soldiers still could move freely, group of conspirators prepared assasination predicting rightfully that Hitler will attend victory parade and that he wil, have to enter the city in such and such way.
General Michal Tokarzewski ordered major Franciszek Niepokolczycki to organize action. Niepokolczycki with few sappers, among them lieutenant Dominik Zelazko, transported 500 kilograms of TNT to bomb crater near BGK Bank on New World Street.


Colonel, (major in 1939), Franciszek Niepokolczycki, code names: Teodor, Szubert, Franek, Żejmian, Halny.

Explosives had to be detonated from nearby Railways headquarters.
For some reasons bomb not exploded and was discovered by Germans after Hitler already left to Berlin.
Hitler was really lucky, because his limousine passed only several metres from the site. Explosion of such quantity of TNT would kill everyone in a radius of 100 metres.
No one knew why such carefully prepared action failed. General Tokarzewski ordered investigation which ended with the conclusion that observers, which had to give signal to trigger explosion, were "cleared" from their points by German gendarmes and sapper with the trigger could not react in time.

Newsweek talked to lieutenant Dominik Zelazko which explained that commander of the group major Niepokolczycki had some doubts, travelled outside Warsaw in 3-rd of October and practically made action impossible.
There is no proof that Niepokolczycki thinking about possible consequencies, (German retributions, political implications), balanced pro and against and decided to postpone assasination.

As I said, there is no proof which can be accepted by responsible historian, however wife of colonel Niepokolczycki told many people that "Franek never even come close to this part of Nowy Swiat - New World St. During occupation and after the war he solemnly never went to this place and many times repeated that - my foot will never touch this coursed place."

Perhaps after all what happened after 1939 he regretted his decision?

Discussion like that is always risky, diving into "alternative history" may be unprofessional but what do you think - if this action would be succesful - what would be the outcome?
Would it change the history?

Lancer44

Sources in polish:

http://matura.newsweek.pl/materialy/artykul.aspArtykul=1356


Portal Historyczny - Artyku³

Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego

[Jim O]

Originally Posted by Lancer44

Discussion like that is always risky, diving into "alternative history" may be unprofessional but what do you think - if this action would be succesful - what would be the outcome?
Would it change the history?

First, thank you for that information. I never read that story before.

Discussion of "alternate history" or "what ifs" is always interesting and is a place where people can be a bit "creative" and take some liberties. As long as everyone knows that up front I see no harm in it. In fact, it can be useful in learning about the actual history.

What would have happened had Hitler been assassinated in 1939? Certainly the answer would be different than if he had been assassinated in 1943 or 1944. A power vacuum would have ensued, and who would have come up the victor is not clear. Göring? Himmler? Hess? The military? Someone else? The Polish people would have suffered reprisals of profound proportions no matter what.

In October 1939 things are good in Germany. People are happy and war has not touched the homeland. Germany's "honor" has been restored and she has gained a great deal of territory. Someone other than Hitler may be "satisfied" with that. Given that Hitler is out of the picture and the Soviets are in eastern Poland (a fact that didn't seem to bother the French and the British nearly as much as Germany being in Poland), with Poland effectively partitioned again, the British and French may be willing to make peace.

So the question is whether whoever wins the power struggle is "married" to National Socialist philosophy of Der Führer or not. The biggest question is whether Barbarossa would have occurred and I'm inclined to think that it would not. But that's just my guess.

[Jim O]

Here's a photo of Hitler entering Warsaw on October 5, 1939.

ah_warsaw.jpg

[Helmut Von Moltke]

If the little corporal died, most likely that Himmler or Goering would take charge, as at that time types like Stauffenberg weren't too loud yet.

K

[Klaus]

Just imagine: Himmler is the Führer. Things would have been a lot worse than before. The SS as the main Power in Germany.

That would have changed a lot of things...

[Helmut Von Moltke]

Ahem, Klaus, I think the Wehmracht would be renamed the Waffen-SS. Just kidding. Now, things would get funny with Goering in charge.. a lot of hunting...

K