Stiftung 20. Juli 1944

The Stiftung 20. Juli 1944 is a German foundation that supports former members of the German resistance to Nazism and their heirs, in particular those who died for participating in the attempt on Hitler's life on 20 July 1944. It originated as the Hilfswerk 20. Juli 1944, founded in 1945 to provide material and legal support to the survivors and active participants of the resistance movement, and received the legal form of a foundation in 1949. The foundation engages in commemorative and educational work, including publications and event series such as "Forum 20. Juli - Vermächtnis und Zukunftsauftrag."

The Hilfswerk 20. Juli 1944 was founded in 1945 to provide material and legal support to the survivors and active participants of the resistance movement. In 1949 it received the legal form of a foundation. Dr. Walter Bauer, Dr. Fabian von Schlabrendorff and Elisabeth-Gärtner Strünck were significantly involved in its establishment, together with survivors and relatives of the 20 July 1944 coup attempt, with the participation of then Federal President Prof. Dr. Theodor Heuss and later Bundestag President Dr. Eugen Gerstenmaier. In Nörten-Hardenberg, the residence of Carl Hans Graf von Hardenberg, Emil Henk was elected chairman of the board of trustees, and Dr. Walter Bauer and Dr. Paul Collmer were elected to the board. The first head of the foundation was Renate Gräfin von Hardenberg. The most important goal of the Hilfswerk at that time was material and emotional support for the victims of National Socialism, especially the relatives and survivors of the resistance fighters involved on 20 July 1944. The foundation also advised those survivors who had to defend themselves in legal proceedings against neo-Nazi attacks. After the death of Emil Henk in 1971, the theologian Dr. Eberhard Bethge was chairman of the board of trustees from 1971 to 1985; the board consisted of Ludwig von Hammerstein, Dr. Reinhard Goerdeler and Dieter Thomas. In 1985 Ludwig von Hammerstein took over the chairmanship of the board of trustees, after his death in 1996 Dr. Rüdiger von Voß and in 2009 Dr. Axel Smend. Since 2021 Valerie Riedesel Freifrau zu Eisenbach has been chairwoman of the board of trustees.

1. 1Stiftung 20. Juli 1944stiftung-20-juli-1944.de
2. 2Geschichte - Stiftung 20. Juli 1944stiftung-20-juli-1944.de
3. 3Stiftung 20. Juli 1944wikidata.org