Of the many attempts to kill Hilter the von Stauffenberg attempt came closest to not just killing Hitler but in toppling the Nazi Regime. Although the plot came toward the end of Hitler's reign it had it roots years earlier among the numerous disenchanted members of the Wehrmacht senior staff, the very leaders Hitler needed to carryout his plans for the conquest of Europe. An assassination plot was well underway immediately following Hitler's invasions of Eastern European countries. But a surge in Hitler's popularity and the imposition of the Fuhrer Oath, which German officers considered sacred even though it was imposed on them, lead the conspirators to abandon their scheme, at least for the foreseeable future.