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WIP Critique Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff - 1943

Discussion in 'vBench (Works in Progress)' started by ACCOUNT_DELETED, Sep 2, 2014.

  1. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    My latest project is a portrait bust of Rudolph-Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, the officer who came second closest, after Stauffenberg, to assassinating Hitler.

    Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1976-130-51%2C_Rudolf-Christoph_v__Gersdorff.jpg

    Von Gersdorff grew up in a military family. His father was a Generalmajor and von Gersdorff began his career in 1923 with the family regiment, the 1. Schlesisches Leibkürassier Regiment or“Großer Kurfürst,” later Reiter Regiment 7. He was a Rittmeister when he entered the Prussian Military Academy and joined the General Staff in 1938. He served in Poland and France as a staff officer and, prior to the attack on Russia, von Gersdorff was assigned to Heeresgruppe Mitte as 1c (Senior Staff Officer - Intelligence), where he served with his cousin Oberleutnant Fabian von Schlabrendorff.

    On March 13, 1943, Oberst Henning von Tresckow and his ADC Oberleutnant von Schlabrendorff carried out their assassination attempt on Hitler by secreting a bomb on his plane disguised as a wrapped gift of liqueur. It failed to detonate and Hitler landed safely. Following this failure, Oberst Von Gersdorff volunteered to kill Hitler should the opportunity arise. The perfect chance presented itself eight days later when, on March 21, 1943, the annual “Heroes Memorial Day” was scheduled. Hitler was due to give a speech and then tour an exhibit of captured Russian war materiel at the baroque Zeughaus armoury building on the Unter Den Linden.

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    The exhibition was put on by Heeresgruppe Mitte and, von Gersdorff, in his capacity as 1c of the Heeresgruppe, was quickly recruited to guide Hitler and his senior commanders through the exhibit. This was recognized as a one in a lifetime opportunity to remove the “head of the snake” at one stroke as Hitler, Göring, Himmler, Dönitz, Keitel and Jodl could all be expected to be present in physical proximity to each other in a relatively confined indoor space. As a result, von Gersdorff opted for a mobile suicide bomb attack as he recognized that his only option was to make the attack as the Führer and his escort worked their way through the exhibit. Von Gersdorff’s wife died in early 1943 and this was a significant factor in motivating him to make a suicide attempt.

    Following Hitler’s speech, von Gersdorff activated two 10-minute British acid time pencil fuses in two plastic explosive bombs carried in his overcoat pockets. He did his best to interest Hitler in the various items and photographs on display and to stay as close as possible to ensure that Hitler and his senior commanders all died as the bombs exploded.The following photo is thought to show Gersdorff standing with Hitler and his party on March 21 in the exhibit. He stands at the rear between Doenitz and Keitel. One can only imagine what was going though his head as he was waiting for his bombs to explode.

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    Contrary to his behaviour in prior years, Hitler literally bolted through the exhibit, showed little or no interest in the display. Possibly as a result of his famous sixth sense for danger, he veered from his programmed course and exited via a side door so quickly that he caught the announcer and awaiting review guard unprepared. Von Gersdorff was left to quickly and quietly find his way to a public toilet where he managed to pull the fuses and disarm the bombs prior to detonation. This was one of Hitler’s last public appearances of the war and it represented a last chance for the conspirators.

    In April 1943, soon after the failure of his Zeughaus attempt, von Gersdorff was once again a witness to history when he discovered the buried evidence of Stalin’s 1940 massacre of over 4,000 Polish officer POWs at Katyn Forest in Poland.

    Later in 1944, he was involved indirectly in the July Plot when he acted as custodian of the resisters’ explosives before passing them via Wessel von Freytag-Loringhoven to Claus von Stauffenberg.

    On August 26, 1944, Oberst i.G. von Gersdorff, who had already been awarded the Iron Cross first class, was awarded the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross for his services in extracting a significant portion of 7. Armee from the Falaise Gap. He finished the war as a Generalmajor and was captured by the Americans in 1945. He attempted to continue his military career by joining the newly formed Bundeswehr in 1947 but he was obstructed by government officials and soldiers who did not want to serve with a “traitor.”

    After the war, von Gersdorff founded the German arm of St. John’s Ambulance before becoming paralyzed in a riding accident and dying in Munich in 1980. In 1981, he was posthumously honoured when the former Belgian "Loncin-Kaserne" in Euskirchen was renamed after him by the Bundeswehr.

    I had the good fortune to find a signed copy of his memoirs on eBay for 5 pounds. Here is the title page from his autobiography “Soldat im Untergang,” signed in Munich and dated less than a year before his death.

    Image1.jpg

    The model is sculpey firm as usual. Scale is about 1/6. I have just started establising his face. I am working from the portrait at the top of this post and from several screen captures of Gersdorff being interviewed later in life.

    Colin
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    pmfs, NickM, Grod and 10 others like this.
  2. Wings5797 A Fixture

    Country:
    France
    Good subject Colin..
    Steady as you go with this project and most of all enjoy your work.
    You have a super skill in this field so don'tbe too harsh on your self.
    All the very best, I am locked into this one, good luck,
    Keith
    crf likes this.
  3. ChaosCossack A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Off to a solid start... I think you've got all the proportions of the face down pat on this one.

    Interesting backstory, well presented, as usual. Research is more than half the fun of our hobby I think, otherwise it's just squeezing putty or splashing paint without the "whys" and "whens" of the subject.

    Cheers

    Colin
    Jamie Stokes, crf and Wings5797 like this.
  4. Ferris A Fixture

    Likeness is already getting there Colin.

    If you don't mind some comments: Maybe the 'dents' at the corner of the mouth could be more pronounced? And I think the nose needs more volume, to make it more rounded.
    Early days anyway, I'm sure you're on it already...

    Nice background story. Remember seeing a documentary about this.
    Sometimes I wonder why the plots were so focused on hiding bombs with slow detonators when a pistol could have done the job instantaneously. How the world could have been a different place...

    Cheers
    Adrian
    ChaosCossack and crf like this.
  5. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Thanks Adrian. I agree with your observations.

    Bombs with slow detonators were used because it was virtually impossible to get a firearm into Hitler's presence and, if you did, it was virtually impossible to draw and fire without being shot by SS guards. There is also the cold blooded murder aspect of shooting an unarmed man that did not appeal to the mostly aristocratic conspirators. There were a few planned attempts with pistol - Generaloberst Franz Halder (Chief of Staff) took a small pistol to many briefings with Hitler in 1939 but could not muster the nerve to use it; Lt. Eberhard von Breitenbuch planned to shoot Hitler in a briefing but was refused entry by the SS; and Tresckow planned a mass shooting at lunch in 1943 but von Kluge forbade it to be carried out.

    Silent British chemical time pencils were used in preference to German hand grenade fuses because the latter hissed and still took some time to trigger. In WWII there were no electronic or immediate ignition detonators for plastic explosive.

    Colin
    ChaosCossack likes this.
  6. Ferris A Fixture

    Interesting Colin, thanks. I knew you knew about this!

    The whole episode has a lot of moral ambiguities in my view: The other thing that struck me about the history you presented was that Von Gersdorff first tried to assassinate Hitler (but only in the right way ;-) and after that failed continued to serve his army, and effectively.
    I'm not blaming him here, just wondering how complex life must have been in that period for Germans that had heart and mind in the right place. Morals and loyalties were a lot easier for the Allies.
    As said, interesting history.

    Cheers
    Adrian
    crf likes this.
  7. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    A couple of more photos of Gersdorff and some progress. His chin needs work for sure - too narrow. He is second from left in the group shot.

    gersdorff.jpg 974.jpg

    Adrian - you are quite right about the moral ambiguities facing those who conspired against Hitler. To make matters worse they ranged from honourable Christian men like Beck and Bonhoeffer to war criminals and recent Nazis like Nebe and Helldorf.

    Colin

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  8. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Some photos of gersdorff at an advanced age but nevertheless useful. And his own description of his assassination attempt from an autograph book in my collection (Charles Hamilton vol. 2).

    Colin

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  9. ChaosCossack A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    I gotta say this is starting out to become one of your best yet.
    The geography around the eyes has great depth and character... much less flat than some of your other pieces that drew critiques about the eyes. The heavy upper lids and the folds of the lower lids working down to the lines in the cheeks. Dead on!

    Looking forward to the continuation of this one. Will he be wearing his cap (at a rakish tilt) like the above photo? That would look great IMO.

    Cheers

    Colin
    crf and Wings5797 like this.
  10. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Thanks Colin. I think I have proved it pays to slow down. Yes I am going to have him wearing his schirmmuetze, set at the rakish angle shown in the first picture. Can you tell he is a cavalryman? Here's the beginning of his headgear.

    Colin

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  11. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    A bit more progress and a start on his schirmmuetz. I put it at a bit of an angle but not at the tilt that the photo shows...a bit too suave. Schirmmuetz still needs piping, national symbol and laurel decoration around cockade.

    Colin

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  12. ChaosCossack A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Nicely done. Just enuff tilt to look like he can hang with the cool kids but not so much as to look like a hoodlum. A difficult balance... one I could never master. That's my excuse for all the trouble I got in... over-tilted my hat.

    Good work

    Colin
    crf likes this.
  13. Wings5797 A Fixture

    Country:
    France
    Hi Colin,
    I totally agree with the other one, this is right up there with your best.
    The last shots show that this is brilliant from any angle, not easy to achieve.
    All the very best,
    Keith
    crf and ChaosCossack like this.
  14. Ferris A Fixture

    The eyes are on a new level now Colin. Master Mike will be pleased!

    Cheers
    Adrian
    crf and ChaosCossack like this.
  15. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Thanks Adrian - I am pretty sure Mike will say still way too small :)

    Here is the finished head and schirmmuetz.

    Colin

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  16. Jamie Stokes Well-Known Member

    Country:
    Australia
    I've got to admit, this is a nice sculpt, and it's very generous of you to share the history, research and your inspirations!!

    Too often it seems we (the modelling community) are presented with another generic machine gunner/ tank officer/ Sniper of the latter war period.

    To see the character and gain an insight is more instructive and engaging than another stamp out (which sell, yes, and money helps)

    Good luck and enjoy the project!

    Cheers

    Jamie
  17. ACCOUNT_DELETED A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Thanks Jamie. You can see why I like to do personalities....they come with a story. Appreciated the feedback.

    Colin
  18. swralph A Fixture

    Great sculpting as usual.
    crf likes this.

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