Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg - A Real Hero?

[woschei]

I am very interested in the Objectivist vision of heroism. Andrew Bernstein of The Ayn Rand Institute said in an interview that "a hero is somebody who is committed in one form or another to either the creation of or the defense of life-promting values." I think Col. Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg fits in that definition. Von Stauffenberg made a dramatic turnaround from being an supporter of Adolf Hitler and his regime to carrying the bomb packed in a briefcase that was intended to kill him.

The 60th anniversary of Stauffenberg's failed assassination attempt of July 20, 1944, will be commemorated in Germany on Tuesday.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Horst Koehler will attend a ceremony at the Bendlerblock, the former Nazi war ministry in Berlin, where Stauffenberg and three fellow conspirators were executed by firing squad hours after the bomb went off.

I reject any attempt to define von Stauffenberg's acting by altruistic terms. Lutheran bishop Wolfgang Huber said at Berlin Cathedral: "Those who sacrificed their lives during those days did not die in vain. Their example lives on."

For a short biography of Stauffenberg look here:

http://www.moreorless.au.com/heroes/stauffenberg.html