How 5 Weird Attempts to Kill Hitler Backfired

More than 40 attempts on the life of Germany's dreaded dictator took place. Somehow, he escaped at the last minute from each and every one of them.

Hitler changed the face of Europe during his regime, killing millions of people to achieve that. In 1934, he initiated the Third Reich after seizing control of the German government.

In order to mislead those who had an agenda against him, he often changed his plans at the last moment and tried to keep as few routine elements in his life as he could. At a wimp, he would cancel trips and parades that dozens had slaved to organize.

In 1929, long before he became a dictator, a soldier planted a bomb in a location where Hitler was giving a speech. Before detonating it, though, he felt he absolutely needed to go to the bathroom, right that second and was locked in. He couldn't detonate the bomb and Hitler walked, TruTV reports.

In 1935, an SS soldier by the name of Heinrich Grunow waited near the fuhrer's country estate, at a location where the curve was too steep and he knew his car would have to slow down. He shot the person in the backseat 3 times, but it turned out to be Hitler's driver. This paranoid man had changed places with his young driver. Grunow shot himself immediately after, before the SS could find him.

At a commemoration in Munich in 1939, a carpenter attempted to take Hitler’s life by planting a bomb in the hall where he would be giving his speech. The speech was scheduled to be 3-4 hours long, but, somehow, this time the Fuhrer cut it short and the bomb exploded 30 minutes after he had left, killing eight bystanders.

In 1943, Officer Rudolf von Gersdorff, who had been elected to be Hitler's personal tour guide at the Berlin Armory, went on a suicide mission to end the latter’s life. He was carrying to bombs in his pocket, and planned to hug the fuhrer and end his life, even if it meant ending his own in the process. Hitler got bored quickly, however, and left the armory in a minute, after completely ignoring the man. As you may suspect, von Gersdorff was not that lucky.

A few American OSS spies came up with a bright idea of their own. In 1944, they planned to fly over Hitler's mansion in the mountains and bomb it with adult magazines. It's not exactly clear how this would have hurt Hitler instead of aiding him, but their dangerous plan came to an end when U.S. air force officials found out about it.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you. In the end, Hitler decided to do the job himself.