Georg Elser Hitler’s would-be killer

Shortly after 9pm on 8 November 1939, a Munich beer hall – the Bürgerbräukeller – was clearing up after one of Hitler’s speeches. Earlier in the evening, approximately 3,000 faithful Nazis had thronged the hall, but now, with Hitler departed, the last of the party veterans, the ‘Old Fighters’, were collecting their possessions and saying their goodbyes, leaving behind only the beer hall’s staff and a handful of musicians.

Then, at 9.20pm exactly, the hubbub was shattered by an explosion. In a flash, the room filled with smoke and dust, and a blast wave raced through the building, shattering windows and blowing out doors. The tables and stools in the centre of the hall were splintered to matchwood; the central pillar was destroyed, and both the gallery and the ceiling came crashing down into the room. The dais and lectern, where Hitler had been standing,