When the Second World War broke out, Philipp von Boeselager fought enthusiastically for his country, leading a cavalry unit first in France and later on the Russian Front. However, when he discovered what the SS were doing to Jews and Gypsies in the summer of 1942 his enthusiasm quickly turned to disgust. Along with his brother Georg, he joined a group of conspirators in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. After several abortive assassination attempts, including one in which von Boeselager was supposed to shoot the Fuhrer with his own pistol, the plotters finally decided on a plan to blow Hitler up with a bomb. Von Boeselager transported the explosives and passed them on to Claus von Stauffenberg. He and his brother then transported their cavalry units to Berlin to take control of the city. When the plot failed the Boeselager brothers hurried back to the eastern front in an attempt to disguise their intentions. The fact that they were never found out is a testimony to the fortitude of their fellow plotters, who did not give their names away under torture. Georg von Boeselager eventually died in battle on the Russian Front. Philip survived the war, and is today the only survivor of the assassination plot. He still owns the pistol with which he was supposed to shoot Hitler.
