Stalin scuttled two Hitler assassination bids fearing Nazi pact with West: Russian general

MOSCOW - Former Soviet Union Premier Josef Stalin had blocked two attempts to kill former German dictator Adolf Hiter during the Second World War, a top Russian general said.

General Anatoly Kulikov said plans to attack Hitler’s bunker in 1943 and 1944 were cancelled on Stalin’s orders, who feared that Hitler’s replacement as the Nazi leader would make peace with the Western Allies.

“A plan to assassinate Hitler in his bunker was developed, but Stalin suddenly cancelled it in 1943 over fears that after Hitler’s death his associates would conclude a separate peace treaty with Britain and the United States,” The Telegraph quoted General Kulikov, as saying.

“A detailed assassination plan was prepared, but Stalin cancelled it again,” he added.

He further said that the Club of Military Leaders, which he heads, would include details of the assassination attempts in a forthcoming book on the Second World War.

General Kulikov was Russian Interior Minister from 1995 to 1998 under President Boris Yeltsin. (ANI)