Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe

Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe
Name	Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe
Native name	Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe
Formation	1935
Abolished	1945
Jurisdiction	Nazi Germany
Headquarters	Reichsluftfahrtministerium
First holder	Hermann Göring
Last holder	Hermann Göring

Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe was the formal title for the senior commander of the German Air Force during the Nationalsozialistische Zeit, established under the Reichsluftfahrtministerium and occupied primarily by Hermann Göring; the office influenced operations across the Luftwaffe, interacted with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and Adolf Hitler, and shaped campaigns including the Spanish Civil War, the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of Britain, and the Eastern Front.

History and Establishment

The position emerged during the Weimar Republic aftermath and the Nazi seizure of power, linked to the Treaty of Versailles controversies, the Reichswehr reorganization, and the formation of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium under Hermann Göring, with connections to the Sturmabteilung, Schutzstaffel, and Reichstag maneuvers that consolidated Adolf Hitler's control; early links included the Treaty of Rapallo, the Treaty of Versailles violations, and German rearmament programs associated with the Reichswehr rearmament and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement debates. The 1935 proclamation formalized Luftwaffe structures amid interwar diplomacy involving the Locarno Treaties, the Spanish Civil War where Condor Legion units tested doctrine alongside Francisco Franco's forces, and early World War II crises such as the Anschluss and Munich Conference which reshaped European alignments and the Sudeten Crisis.

Organization and Command Structure

The office oversaw the Reichsluftfahrtministerium bureaucracy, Luftwaffenführung, Fliegerkorps, Jagdgeschwader, Kampfgeschwader, and Sturzkampfgeschwader formations, interacting with the General Staff traditions of the Wehrmacht, the Heer, and the Kriegsmarine; subordinate commands included Luftflotten, Fliegerkorps, and Fernaufklärungsgruppen coordinated with units like Kampfgeschwader 26, Jagdgeschwader 52, and Stuka wings such as Sturzkampfgeschwader 2. Administrative linkages involved figures and institutions such as Erhard Milch, Walther Wever, Albert Kesselring, Hugo Sperrle, and the Luftwaffe High Command staff who coordinated logistics with firms like Messerschmitt, Junkers, Heinkel, and Focke-Wulf, and with ministries including the Ministry of Armaments under Albert Speer.

Office Holders

Hermann Göring served as the primary and most prominent office holder, with predecessors and deputies including Erhard Milch, Walther Wever, and later commanders such as Albert Kesselring and Hugo Sperrle exerting operational influence while reporting to Adolf Hitler and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht; other notable personalities associated with the office and its leadership circle included Ernst Udet, Günther Korten, Hans Jeschonnek, and Wolfram von Richthofen. During the Spanish Civil War and early World War II the office network encompassed Condor Legion leaders, Luftwaffe aces like Erich Hartmann, and operational planners who coordinated with the Generaloberst cadre and political patrons in the Nazi Party hierarchy.

Roles and Responsibilities

The office directed strategic air doctrine, aircraft procurement, pilot training, aerial reconnaissance, strategic bombing planning, close air support, and anti-shipping operations, interfacing with operations such as the Blitz, the Battle of Britain, the Siege of Malta, and the Eastern Front air campaigns around Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Kursk; it also managed technical development with firms like BMW, Daimler-Benz, and Heinkel while coordinating with institutions such as the Reich Ministry of Aviation, the Luftwaffe Technical Office, and the Zentralstelle für Flugsicherung. The holder exercised political authority over promotions, decorations like the Pour le Mérite precedent and the Knight's Cross network, and disciplinary measures involving the SS, Gestapo, and judicial organs tied to the Nazi legal framework.

Wartime Operations and Strategic Impact

Under the office, Luftwaffe operations shaped campaigns including the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa, the Siege of Leningrad, the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk, and the Defense of the Reich against Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces strategic bombing; these operations affected outcomes at El Alamein, Tobruk, Crete, and in the Mediterranean theater where coordination with the Regia Aeronautica, Italian High Command, and the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel was consequential. Strategic shortcomings attributed to the office included failures in sustained strategic bombing comparable to RAF Bomber Command and USAAF campaigns, logistical strains linked to the OKW, and contested decisions during the July 20 plot and later Allied air interdiction that undermined Wehrmacht operations.

Relationship with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and Nazi Leadership

The office maintained a complex, often competitive relationship with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the OKW under Wilhelm Keitel, and the Reichskanzlei under Adolf Hitler, mediated by political influence from Hermann Göring, the NSDAP leadership, and institutions such as the SS and the Gestapo; tensions over operational autonomy and resource allocation arose with the Heer, the Kriegsmarine, and the Waffen-SS, while interactions with foreign policy organs like the Auswärtiges Amt, economic planners in the Four Year Plan under Hjalmar Schacht and later Albert Speer, and diplomatic crises such as the Tripartite Pact reflected broader Nazi strategic priorities.

Legacy and Postwar Assessment

Postwar assessments by historians of the Nuremberg Trials, the London Charter, Allied occupation authorities, and scholars such as Richard Overy, Williamson Murray, and Ian Kershaw critique the office's strategic decisions, command culture, and complicity in Nazi crimes; the dissolution during Allied denazification led to trials involving Hermann Göring and others linked to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, while Cold War reorganizations produced successor institutions in the Bundesluftwaffe and NATO air command structures that examined lessons from Luftwaffe doctrine, interoperability debates involving SHAPE, and transatlantic defense planning. The office's technological legacy influenced postwar aviation through captured designs studied by the United States Army Air Forces, the Soviet Air Force, and aerospace firms that traced lineage to wartime research.

Category:Military of Nazi Germany Category:Luftwaffe