Big raindrops fall from the sky, the air is surprisingly cool for mid-July. It is only 2 p.m. and the sun remains hidden behind gray clouds; only occasionally does a weak ray briefly emerge from behind the clouds. Gray is also the color of the Bendlerblock, the building in Berlin-Tiergarten that houses the German Resistance Memorial Center.

In the expansive inner courtyard of the Memorial Center, a small group of teenagers is looking at an information board. They're reading a passage about the July 20, 1944 plot, the day of the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. One of the teenagers is telling his friends that he recently saw a movie starring Tom Cruise which was set inside this very courtyard and which depicted the events of that day.

A place of remembrance

Housing the German Resistance Memorial Center inside the Bendlerblock was a conscious choice: The inconspicuous seeming building complex was the headquarters of the German military during the Nazi dictatorship. It was from here that Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and his fellow resistance fighters planned their assassination attempt on Hitler, which aimed to kill Hitler with a bomb in the Wolf's Lair, the Führer's military headquarters. After it had become clear their plot had failed, Stauffenberg and three of his closest allies were executed in the inner courtyard of the Bendlerblock building.



Stauffenberg and the 20 July 1944 plot play a central role in the exhibition

This direct connection to the historic site is of fundamental importance, says Johannes Tuchel, head of the Memorial Center.

"Most tourists who come to visit us here are interested in the historical site. They want to know what happened here on July 20, 1944. However, our exhibition is much more extensive, it provides information about the entire spectrum of German resistance to the Nazi regime."

Known and unknown heroes

"Therefore, we call to you: Let not your free will, the most precious thing you possess, be taken away": These words were written on a pamphlet by Helmuth Hübener in 1941, urging his fellow countrymen to take stand against Nazism. Hübener, who was sentenced to death by the Nazis in 1942 at the age of only 17, is one of the lesser known resistance fighters in German history.

Visitors to the center can learn about him and hundreds of other resistance fighters. A walk through the exhibition leaves no doubt about how broad the spectrum of resistance was, despite the relatively small number of people who dared to actively fight against the Nazi regime.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler The assassination attempt of July 20, 1944 Seventy-five years ago, a bomb exploded in the Führer's Wolf's Lair headquarters, which was supposed to kill Adolf Hitler. The assassination attempt failed; Hitler survived. The resistance fighters involved were executed in the days following the attempted coup.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Man behind the July 20 plot Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg was instrumentally involved in the bomb plot of July 20, 1944. As early as 1942, the officer realized that the Second World War could no longer be won. In order to save Germany from imminent destruction, Stauffenberg and other Wehrmacht officers decided to overthrow the Hitler regime.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Kreisau Circle Fundamental political reform in Germany was the goal of the Kreisau Circle. Helmuth James Graf von Moltke and Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (pictured) were the driving forces behind the movement. Some members of the Circle joined the July 20 plot in 1944 and were tried and sentenced to death after the assassination attempt failed.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Hans and Sophie Scholl Starting from 1942 a group of Munich students, led by siblings Hans and Sophie Scholl, tried to resist the National Socialists. The group, which called itself the White Rose, distributed thousands of leaflets denouncing the crimes of the Nazi regime. In February 1943 the Gestapo found the siblings and sentenced them to death.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Attempted Hitler assassination by Georg Elser In 1939, carpenter Georg Elser fastened explosive devices behind Hitler's lectern in the Munich Bürgerbräu brewery. The bomb detonated as planned. However, since Hitler's speech was shorter than expected, he had already left the hall before the explosion. Seven people died and 60 more were injured. Elser was arrested on the same day and taken to Dachau concentration camp, where he died in 1945.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Weidt's Workshop for the Blind During the Second World War, Berlin manufacturer Otto Weidt employed mainly blind and deaf Jews. His broom and brush bindery was considered an "important defense business" and could therefore not be closed down by the Nazis. Weidt managed to provide for his Jewish employees throughout the war and protect them from deportation.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Resistance by artists and intellectuals Numerous artists and intellectuals already turned against the regime when Hitler came to power in 1933. Many who did not want to adapt or openly oppose the system fled into exile. Others, such as the Berlin cabaret group Katakombe, openly criticized the regime. In 1935 the theater was closed by the Gestapo and its founder Werner Finck was imprisoned in the Esterwegen concentration camp.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Die Swing Youth The Swing Jugend or Swing Youth, regarded the American-English way of life, represented by swing music and dance, as a clear opposition to the Nazi regime and the Hitler Youth. In August 1941 there was a wave of arrests, especially in Hamburg, of Swing Youths, many of whom were taken into custody or deported to special youth concentration camps.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler Red Orchestra resistance group The Gestapo used direction finders to track down illegal transmitters used by resistance groups. In the summer of 1942, more than 120 members of the Rote Kapelle were arrested. This group, centered around Harro Schulze-Boysen and Arvid Harnack, wanted to help Jews document the crimes of the Nazi regime and distribute leaflets. More than 50 members were sentenced to death and executed.

Known and unknown heroes: People who resisted Hitler German Resistance Memorial Center On July 19, 1953, the ceremonial unveiling of the Memorial to the German Resistance took place in Berlin in the inner courtyard of the Bendlerblock building, the place where Count Stauffenberg was executed after the failed Hitler assassination. In addition, however, the memorial also commemorates all the other courageous men and women who stood up against the Hitler regime.



Visitors from all around the world

Inside the exhibition, I spoke to a group of young tourists, among them two Mexicans, a Japanese woman and a young girl from London. They told me that they had already learned about the topic of German resistance at school. What they weren't aware of, though, was the scale and diversity of the opposition.

"I didn't know that so many young people, school children and students, were involved in the resistance. Some of them even went as far as to risk their lives because they were convinced they were doing the right thing," says Katherine, the girl from London, who's currently in a language school in Berlin.

The uprising of the youth, a lesser known chapter of German resistance

Films and novels play a large role in shaping tourist's understanding of historical events. "It's my first time in Germany," says Gabriel, who studies mechanical engineering in Mexico City.

"[This] is why I watched a lot of films about the Second World War, the Third Reich and German resistance fighters. It's a bit surreal now to actually see all the places I've so far only encountered in films."

Traitors or heroes?

Most visitors agree that resistance fighters like Stauffenberg and Hübener were heroes of German history. "I like that there's a museum dedicated to these people. They risked their lives at a time when not many people were willing to swim against the tide," says Kumiko, the tourist from Japan, who's already on her second trip to Berlin.

But this positive image of German resistance was not a matter of course, according to the center's director, Tuchel. "It's true that the memorial in the courtyard was inaugurated in 1953, but German resistance was still viewed negatively, something that persisted for quite a while. It took a long time for resistance movements in Germany to be appreciated by the German public. Abroad, it took even longer, sometimes as late as the mid or late 1990s."



The struggle against the Nazi regime had many faces

In the years after 1945, there was initially no official remembrance of the German resistance; in the public perception, those involved in the resistance were still regarded as "traitors" or "oath breakers." It was clear to many resistance fighters that their historical legacy would initially not viewed positively. Stauffenberg was already aware of this because he said to a female comrade-in-arms shortly before the July 20 assassination attempt: "It is time that something was done. Whoever dares to act, however, must be aware that they are likely to go down in history as traitors."

It was only in the mid-1950s that public perception slowly began to change and that resistance fighters were seen as heroes. The center's current exhibition "Ihr trugt die Schande nicht…" ("You did not bear the shame…") deals with the history of perception to the German resistance.

Today, 75 years after the July 20 plot, there's no lack of interest in the topic. On the contrary: Last year the Memorial registered more than 120,000 visitors and counting. After my visit there, I can easily see why.