Sicherheitsdienst (SD) Internal File

(Classification: STUFE IV – Nur für den Dienstgebrauch / Eyes Only)

File Code: RSHA–SD/IV–20JUL/Walküre
Date: 20–22 July 1944
Origin: Reichssicherheitshauptamt, Berlin

Event Log

12:42 hrs – Detonation of explosive device at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze. The blast destroyed the central map chamber. Witnesses describe a burst of flame followed by a violent release of pressure as pneumatic pipes ruptured, scattering fragments of brass fittings across the hall.

12:46 hrs – Automaton sentry units from Wachegruppe Wolf sealed the perimeter. Steam shutters deployed, cutting off corridors. Surviving officers attempted escape through side passages; several suffocated in confined compartments as gas pressure systems failed.

13:20 hrs – Telegraphed confirmation received at Bendlerblock, Berlin by conspirator Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. Brass-coded signal: “The Wolf is silent. The Eagle must rise.”

14:05 hrs – Units of Ersatzheer began partial mobilization in Berlin under Operation Walküre. Automaton carriers and steam-trucks positioned at Tiergarten and Wilhelmstraße.

18:30 hrs – SS countermeasures initiated. Reichsführer-SS Himmler deployed elite mechanized detachments with pneumatic carbines. Automaton patrols infiltrated Bendlerblock; heavy fighting recorded in corridors. Stauffenberg neutralized in firefight.

00:15 hrs (21 July) – General Ludwig Beck attempted self-termination with issued service revolver. Survived initial wound; finished by SS adjutant on Himmler’s order.

06:00 hrs – Remaining conspirators detained. Mechanograph transcripts and brass cipher-wheels confiscated. Summary executions conducted in Plötzensee by means of industrial hoists (classified as “exemplarische Strafe”).

Key Actors (Post-Coup Consolidation)

• Albert Speer (Armaments Minister)
  Elevated to Reichskanzler and, within 48 hours, acclaimed as Führer. Presented as technocrat of stability. Public persona carefully managed: architectural blueprints displayed beside rocket schematics to symbolize progress.

• Hermann Göring (Reichsmarschall)
  Secured immediate control of Luftwaffe and resource syndicates. Orchestrated seizure of Ural supply lines and Lesser Asia petroleum convoys. Commands zeppelin-freighters outfitted with armored gondolas.

• Heinrich Himmler (Reichsführer-SS)
  Master of security consolidation. SS surveillance networks extended with automaton auxiliaries, brass-coded relay stations, and pneumatic message tubes. Himmler personally supervised purges within Wehrmacht command.

Assessment

The coup has eliminated Adolf Hitler, along with unstable elements within the General Staff. Result: a Reich less reliant on charismatic frenzy, more reliant on systemic efficiency.

Advantages gained:

• Ural resource corridor secured without diversion of manpower toward suppression of mutiny.

• Consolidated leadership between Göring, Himmler, and Speer.

• Propaganda re-framed: Hitler elevated as martyr; Speer as the new embodiment of rational destiny.

Risks noted:

• Internal rivalries between Göring (industry) and Himmler (security) may destabilize regime in long term.

• Speer positioned as conciliatory figurehead but monitored.

Concluding Note

(Redacted passage, author suspected Heydrich protégé)

“The Reich has shifted from blood and myth to brass and machine. With Führer Speer at the fore, the State is now a mechanism — each cog aligned, each piston in motion. Where the man faltered, the Machine endures.”

(Stamped in black enamel: RSHA ARCHIV — GEHEIM)