Berlin, Sept. 24 (AP): Tom Cruise and the crew of his new film, Valkyrie, held a minute of silence for German anti-Nazi heroes as the team prepared to film at the site where they were executed, a fellow cast member said in comments published yesterday.

In the movie, Cruise plays Colonel Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg — the aristocratic army officer who was among those executed after a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944.

The German government initially declined permission to film at the so-called Bendlerblock — part of the defence ministry grounds and now a memorial to the anti-Nazi resistance — citing concerns over “the dignity of the place”. However, it reversed course this month. On Friday night, the movie makers gathered at the site to start filming scenes.

“Shortly before we started filming, screenplay writer Christopher McQuarrie, director Bryan Singer and Tom Cruise made short remarks and then asked for a minute of silence — out of respect for the place and out of respect for the life achievement of these people.