Germany had a low-profile group of World War II heroes and heroines that the populace originally treated as traitors. Eventually, however, citizens began to understand what these people did on their behalf, and now these patriots, though belatedly, are being honored and appreciated.

During the war, there were some 15 attempts on the life of Adolf Hitler by people who realized the obscenity of his monstrous leadership and deeply believed changes had to be made. One of the “nearest misses” to obliterate “der Fuhrer” is the subject of a current film, “Valkyrie,” starring Tom Cruise as the courageous Army Col. Claus von Stauffenberg.

Von Stauffenberg and compatriots were incensed about what was happening under Hitler’s vicious reign. While they had been anti-Hitler for years, growing evidence of atrocities such as the Holocaust involving Jews and the killing of countless others in the name of Hitler and Germany had reached a point that demanded action. Particularly disgusted were proud military people such as von Stauffenberg and his close associates, who wanted to separate the deadly politics of the Nazis from the decency of many ordinary citizens.

So the von Stauffenberg group planned an elaborate scheme to murder Hitler during a July 1944 meeting with associates. The young colonel was one of the few who had access to Hitler and he was the point man for the plot.

Unfortunately, a briefcase bomb aimed at killing Hitler did not do its job. Von Stauffenberg was able to get out of the blast site in East Prussia on the ruse of answering a phone call. He heard the explosion and felt sure Hitler had been killed. He and his group inaugurated a takeover plan that would have succeeded if der Fuhrer had been killed.

But Hitler survived and as quickly as possible began to right his evil ship of state and trigger retaliation for the plotters. Von Stauffenberg and his closest aides were sent to a firing squad almost immediately; some 250 others were killed as brutally and shamefully as possible.

Immediately, there was a general public uprising about the “traitors” who had tried to kill the “beloved” Fuhrer. This attitude continued for years until more information about the assassination plots and their ideology began to come to the surface.

Eventually, Germans, even diehard Nazis began to accept these “traitors” as the heroes and heroines they were. Today, there are streets in Germany named for conspirators like Col. Claus von Stauffenberg and the only World War II statue of consequence in Berlin is one dedicated to those who tried to do away with Hitler.

We’re told that time heals all wounds, or at least some of them. In this case, time and research and basic German pride have removed the cloak of traitorism from the anti-Hitler group and replaced it with an atmosphere of appreciation.