Filming has begun on Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie on location in Berlin where an army colonel was executed during World War II.

“We granted all permissions but the one, for the Bendler Block because the dignity of this place should not be violated,” said government spokesman Torsten Albig.
The building, which is known as Bendler Block, is currently a memorial for resistance fighters of the Third Reich.

“These circumstances show that the religious beliefs of the actor are without relevance,” he said.

Stauffenberg and the other plotters of the July 1944 attempt on Hitler’s life were apprehended and executed after Hitler survived the explosive charge of a suitcase bomb that had planted in his conference room.

The movie is named after Operation Valkyrie, the assassination plot’s codename - is directed by Bryan Singer and also stars Kenneth Branagh. It is to be released next year.

“I can’t imagine shooting it anywhere else but on location in Germany, and I’m thrilled that we were able to get Tom Cruise to play Colonel Stauffenberg,” said Singer in a statement.