Lot 190

101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION SALVAGES DOCUMENTS DAMAGED IN THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON HITLER

Previous image preload Next image preload

101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION SALVAGES DOCUMENTS DAMAGED IN THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON HITLER

Estimate: $600 - $800

Current Bid: $300

(2 Bids)

by Alexander Historical Auctions LLC
July 30, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Live Auction
106 East Main Street, Suite 103
Elkton, MD, US 21921

101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION SALVAGES DOCUMENTS DAMAGED IN THE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON HITLER
A highly unusual and interesting mimeographed document, 13pp. legal folio, [n.p.], Aug. 28, 1945, assembled by the military intelligence (G-2) staff of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. The document reprints and translates German attempts to assemble and reconstruct fragments of transcripts recording conferences between Adolf Hitler and his military staff which were damaged during the July 20,1944 bombing aimed at assassinating the Fuhrer at his ‘Wolfsschanze' headquarters in Poland. The document opens with a ‘preparatory note' written by stenographer Heinz Buchholz, who was injured in the bombing, in part: ‘This is a stenographic report of Stenographer [Heinrich] BERGER who died of an accident on 20 July 1944. [In fact, Berger's legs were blown off in the explosion, and he died instantly.] Due to fire more than half of the pages are partly destroyed…' The following transcripts date between Feb. 1 and March 5, 1943, and record conversations at both the ‘Wolfsschanze' and Hitler's ‘Werwolf' headquarters in Ukraine, between Hitler and his top military advisors, including Alfred Jodl, Kurt Zeitzler, Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, Wilhelm Keitel, Hans Jeschonnek, and others. All feature very interesting military content, in very small part: [Feb 1, 1943]… HITLER: [discussing the situation at Stalingrad]… They made an absolute premeditated surrender… Otherwise, they would have concentrated their forces and formed sort of a porcupine and shot themselves with their last bullet. If you visualize that a woman can have the pride to leave, lock up and shoot herself immediately just because she heard a few insulting remarks, then I have no respect for a soldier (who is afraid of shooting himself but who rather) gives himself up… I had a letter… The letter had been sent to [Otto von] Below. I can show it to you. He (i.e. an officer in Stalingrad) says, ‘I have come to the following conclusions about these people: [Freidrich] Paulus, question mark; that one, [Walter von] Seydlitz [-Kurzbach], should be shot; [Arthur] Schmidt should be shot' ZEITZLER: I have heard bad things about Seydlitz, too…' This conference goes on to discuss the situation in North Africa, the Atlantic, the Balkans, and in the air war, successively. Continuing: ‘[March 5, 1943]… ZEITZLER: All in all, nothing spectacular happened… Then somehow or another a new Russian tank showed up. HITLER: That has already been reported at Stalingrad. ZEITZLER: It is a super-heavy tank. It has, however, not been captured by us, but officers have sneaked up to 300 meters of it and sketched it. It weighs somewhere between 50 to 80 tons, has two turrets; a 75mm armor-piercing shell bounced off. That's the first time that ever happened… HITLER: That's impossible. ZEITZLER: Everything is rounded off. HITLER: Then it's cast… JODL: The losses that have been reported by the 5th Armored Army are considerable… It is asserted that there is a total loss of 19 Mark III's… and 7 Tiger tanks. HITLER: The loss of the 7 Tigers can only be explained that they again had their recurring transmission damages and were simply left standing… [all sic]' Much more good content besides, touching on subjects as varied at the Heinkel He-177 long-range bomber, the British De Haviland Mosquito all-wood fighter, the personality of Gen. Erwin Rommel, the quality of Japanese troops fighting in Japan and the defeat of Japanese forces at Midway, the potential of American as a ‘new Rome', submarine attacks on Allied convoys in the Arctic and the Indian Ocean, and much else. Each page is marked ‘SECRET' at top and bottom, overstamped with ‘CONFIDENTIAL' in all instances, and the document is stapled at the top left into a brown manila folder, very faintly bearing the titles ‘Adolf Hitler' and ‘German High Command'. The first three pages have tron away at the staples, with additional tears to the edges and even toning throughout, else very good. Should be seen. The piece originates from the personal files of German General FRANZ HALDER (1884-1972), Chief of Staff of the German ‘Oberkommando des Heeres' (OKH), or Army High Command, from 1938 until his removal in 1942. How it came into his possession is unknown.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Shipping, handling and insurance charges will be added to all invoices. Shipments are sent via FEDEX, USPS Express, USPS International Priority, and DHL (for most overseas shipments) or FedEx Ground at the auctioneer's option. Shipments will only be sent to the registered bidder address, re-routing shipments is not permitted. All shipments require a direct signature, no exceptions. Shipping to certain countries is extremely expensive and will be invoiced according to dimensional weight as required! By law the full value is required by customs for international shipments. Please inquire before bidding! International shipments are invoiced by DIMENSIONAL weight, not the item weight. Please contact us for an estimate before bidding. Customers who supply their own courier account number will still be charged a handling fee. Please allow 2-3 weeks for shipments after receipt of payment due to the high volume of packages being shipped.

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000