The Anti Nazi — Hans Oster. Hans Oster’s initiatives helped in…
By: Karthick Nambi
Tags: World War II, Humanity, War, World, History

The Anti Nazi — Hans Oster

Hans Oster’s initiatives helped in saving many lives and prevented Spain from entering an alliance with Germany

Hans Oster. Source-Wikipedia

Nazi officials hurdled Jews in the occupied zone into a train towards Spain. It was a daring escape plan to save Jews from persecution.

The escape plan was not conducted by resistance groups or by Allied spies. Nazi bureaucrats deep inside the Nazi government executed it.

It was Hans Oster and his accomplices. Anti Nazi officials filled the Abwehr; or German military secret intelligence, and plotted against Hitler and saved many lives.

Initial Days:

Abwehr at work.Source-Wikipedia

Hans Oster was born in Dresden in 1887. He joined the German military and fought in World War I and won an Iron Cross for his bravery.

After an investigation on an alleged affair with an Army general staff’s wife, the German military removed Oster from his post. Oster maintained his close contacts with World War I veterans, which paid him off in the Nazi regime.

In 1933 when the Nazi government came to power in Germany, HItler’s second-in-command Herman Göring became the head of the state of Prussia. Göring appointed Oster as the deputy head of the German military intelligence or Abwehr.

Nazi In fight:

Leaders of SA and SS. Source-Wikipedia

The Nazi regime had two wild organizations internally, which were fighting for supremacy. It was the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS). Tje SS headed by Heinrich Himmler had the upper hand, and in 1934 a significant event tipped the scale.

From June 30, 1934, to July 2, 1934, also called the Night Of Long Knives, SS men systematically executed or neutralized SA men. This infighting infuriated Hans Oster.

The straw that broke the camel’s back was in November 1938, also called Krystal Nacht. On Krystal Nacht, SS troops rampaged across Germany, ransacked Jewish properties, and killed many Jews. Hans Oster despised the violence committed by the Nazi regime.

The Oster Conspiracy:

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. Source-Wikipedia

To bring an end to Hitler’s terror campaign. Hans Oster joined hands with Admiral Wilhelm Canaris-Head of Abwehr, Hands Bernard Gisevios-a Gestapo officer, Ludwig Beck, and Franz Helder in German general staff.

They were collectively called the Oster conspiracy. The team contacted Neville Chamberlin, the Conservative prime minister of Britain, and tried to gain his support to overthrow the Nazi government.

Chamberlain rejected the plan as he was afraid of the repercussions. Remember, Britain and Germany were not yet at war. The conspiracy ended, but Hans Oster continued his anti-Nazi activities.

Anti Nazi Activities:

Oster contacted Gijsberitus Jacobus, a Dutch military attache to Germany in Berlin. Oster passed on the valuable information that Germany will attack the Netherlands soon.

The Dutch Army attache reported it to the Dutch government, but it fell on deaf ears. Hans Oster helped persuade Spanish dictator Francisco Franco not to join the Axis powers.

He informed Franco that Germany would lose the war due to raw materials constraints. If Spain entered the Aaxis alliance, the USA would stop food and energy exports to Spain, severely affecting the already civil war-torn economy. Spain remained neutral during the entire World War II.

Operation Valkyrie:

Memorial. Source-Wikipedia

Hans Oster helped in the escape of many Jews from occupied zones. Oster even employed Jews as his agents so that they can escape from persecution.

Oster’s luck was running short. He and fellow German officers planted a bomb in Hitler’s bunker to kill him, which was came to be known as Operation Valkyrie.

Hitler survived the explosion, and the SS started to round up the conspirators. The arrested men revealed many big shots of German high command like Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Nazi government arrested Hans Oster in 1944. In a mock trial, the German military court sentenced him to death.

Camp guards executed Hans Oster in the Flossenburg concentration camp on April 9, 1945, just one month before the German surrender. Hans Oster was one of the few men in the Nazi government to fight against the Nazi ideology. They worked against it risking their lives to save many lives.