Germany marks 75th anniversary of plot to kill Hitler

Germany is marking the 75th anniversary of the most famous plot to kill Adolf Hitler, paying tribute to the conspirators who were executed for trying to assassinate the Nazi dictator.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is on Saturday attending the annual swearing-in ceremony for some 400 troops before addressing a memorial event being held in the courtyard of the building where plot leader Col. Claus von Stauffenberg was executed.

Von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a briefcase bomb on July 20, 1944, but a table blocked the full force of the blast and Hitler survived.

Von Stauffenberg and his fellow plotters were executed within hours.

Painted as traitors by the Nazis, they are now seen as heroes.