When the Second World War broke out, Philipp von Boeselager led a cavalry unit first in France and later on the Russian Front. But when he discovered what the SS were doing to Jews and Gypsies in the summer of 1942 his enthusiasm quickly turned to disgust. He joined a group of conspirators in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler. After several abortive assassination attempts, including one in which von Boeselager was supposed to shoot the Fuhrer with his own pistol, the plotters finally decided on a plan to blow Hitler up with a bomb. Von Boeselager transported the explosives and passed them on to Claus von Stauffenberg. He then moved his cavalry unit to Berlin to take control of the city. When the plot failed, the SS instituted a terrifying purge of senior army officers. In an attempt to disguise his part in the conspiracy, von Boeselager hurried back to the eastern front with his unit. One by one, fellow plotters were found out, tortured and executed, and it is a testimony to their fortitude that they never gave away von Boeselager. Philipp survived the war and outlived all his fellow conspirators.His family still owns the pistol with which he was supposed to shoot Hitler.