Wehrmacht (Nazi Germany)
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| Wehrmacht (Nazi Germany) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Wehrmacht |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Disbanded | 1946 |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Heer; Kriegsmarine; Luftwaffe |
| Type | Armed forces |
| Garrison | Berlin |
| Commander in chief | Adolf Hitler |
| Notable commanders | Wilhelm Keitel; Alfred Jodl; Erwin Rommel; Gerd von Rundstedt; Karl Dönitz; Hermann Göring |
Wehrmacht (Nazi Germany) was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945, comprising the Heer, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe. It succeeded the Reichswehr under the Nazi Party and served as the principal instrument for Adolf Hitler's expansionist policies during the Second World War. The Wehrmacht operated across Europe, North Africa, and the Eastern Front, engaging in major campaigns such as the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa, and the Battle of Stalingrad.
Origins and Formation
The formation traced to clandestine rearmament after the Treaty of Versailles and the secret cooperation with the Soviet Union in the Treaty of Rapallo era, culminating in the public proclamation of rearmament by Adolf Hitler and the passage of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service era policies that reshaped institutions. The 1935 proclamation created the Wehrmacht to replace the Reichswehr and incorporated the nascent Luftwaffe under Hermann Göring and the expanding Kriegsmarine under leaders like Erich Raeder. Key doctrinal influences included thinkers such as Julius von Verdy du Vernois legacy and interwar German staff officers who studied Blitzkrieg tactics developed in part from lessons of the First World War.
Structure and Organization
The Wehrmacht consisted of three main branches: the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy), and the Luftwaffe (air force), each with distinct command hierarchies and specialized units such as the Panzerwaffe, Fallschirmjäger, and U-boat flotillas. The supreme command apparatus included the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) and the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), with senior officers like Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl coordinating strategic direction. The Wehrmacht integrated conscription following the Rearmament of Germany and expanded rapidly through mobilization directives, producing formations like panzer divisions, motorized corps, and coastal defense units during the Phoney War and subsequent campaigns.
Operations and Campaigns
Wehrmacht forces executed rapid campaigns across continental Europe, starting with the remilitarization of the Rhineland and culminating in the invasions of Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Battle of France. The Wehrmacht launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union in 1941, engaging in protracted battles including Siege of Leningrad, Battle of Moscow, and Battle of Stalingrad, while conducting combined operations with the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel in North Africa against British Army and United States Army forces. At sea the Kriegsmarine waged the Battle of the Atlantic with U-boat campaigns targeting Allied shipping, and the Luftwaffe contested air superiority in battles such as the Battle of Britain.
War Crimes and Complicity
Units and personnel of the Wehrmacht were implicated in war crimes, reprisal actions, and the facilitation of the Holocaust alongside organizations like the Schutzstaffel (SS) and Einsatzgruppen. Wehrmacht involvement included mass shootings, anti-partisan operations in the occupied Soviet territories, and enforcement of occupation policies in places such as Poland and the Baltic States. Trials such as the Nuremberg Trials and subsequent proceedings examined the roles of commanders including Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl for crimes against peace and war crimes, while scholarly debates have addressed concepts like the ″clean Wehrmacht″ myth versus documented complicity with Nazi atrocities.
Home Front and Economy
The wartime mobilization reshaped the German home front, with the Wehrmacht relying on the German economy's conversion through measures initiated in the Four Year Plan and directed by figures like Hermann Göring and Albert Speer. Conscription, labor deployment, and exploitation of occupied territories via institutions such as the Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories supported front-line needs. POW camps, forced labor from occupied populations including citizens of the Soviet Union and Poland, and coordination with the SS and Ordnungspolizei supplied manpower, while strategic bombing campaigns by the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces targeted German industry and logistics.
Leadership and Command
Strategic and operational direction came from leaders across political and military institutions, with ultimate political control exercised by Adolf Hitler supported by the OKW leadership of Wilhelm Keitel and the OKH chiefs such as Franz Halder (pre-1942) and later generals like Fedor von Bock and Gerd von Rundstedt. Branch heads including Hermann Göring for the Luftwaffe and Erich Raeder then Karl Dönitz for the Kriegsmarine shaped service policies. Field commanders such as Erwin Rommel, Heinz Guderian, Walther Model, and Friedrich Paulus gained prominence through campaigns in France, North Africa, and the Eastern Front.
Postwar Legacy and Dissolution
Following German Instrument of Surrender in 1945, the Wehrmacht was formally dissolved; senior figures were tried at Nuremberg Trials and denazification processes addressed personnel. The legacy influenced the formation of the Bundeswehr in the Federal Republic of Germany and debates in historiography involving scholars like Omer Bartov and Ben H. Shepherd over continuity and responsibility. Memorialization and legal reckonings occurred across Europe, with contemporary institutions such as the Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft engaging in restitution and research. The dissolution marked the end of Wehrmacht institutions but continued to shape postwar security, politics, and memory in Germany and beyond.