Ministry of the Reichswehr

Reichswehrministerium (German)
Entrance to the Bendlerblock.
Ministry overview
Formed	October 1919 (1919-10)
Dissolved	4 February 1938 (1938-02-04)
Jurisdiction	Government of Weimar Republic Government of Nazi Germany
Headquarters	Bendlerblock
Minister responsible	Defence minister

The Ministry of the Reichswehr (German: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919 Weimar Constitution provided for a unified, national ministry of defence to coordinate the new Reichswehr, and that ministry was set up in October 1919, from the existing Prussian War Ministry and Reichsmarineamt. It was based in the Bendlerblock building. The Wehrgesetz (Defence Law) of 21 May 1935^[1] renamed it the Reich Ministry of War (German: Reichskriegsministerium), which was then abolished in 1938 and replaced with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht.

History

Within the framework of the Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen Reichswehr ("Law on the formation of a provisional national defence force") of March 1919, the Reichspräsident was commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with the Reichswehrminister (Reich Minister of Defence) exercising command. These arrangements left out the Prussian armed forces, which remained under the command of the Prussian Minister of War. After the Weimar Constitution came into force, the war ministries of Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg and Prussia were dissolved, and command authority was concentrated in the hand of the national Reichswehrminister. Power of command for each branch was given to the head of the Army Command (Heeresleitung) and the head of the Navy Command (Marineleitung). The Ministeramt was established as a third office within the ministry in 1929, with the Ministeramt′s head acting as the Reichswehrminister′s political deputy. The innocuous Troop Office (Truppenamt) functioned as a covert general staff, which was banned by the Treaty of Versailles.

The "Verkündung der Wehrhoheit" (proclamation of military sovereignty) of 1935 created a new Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL), under the Air Ministry, and turned the Heeresleitung into the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) and the Marineleitung into the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM). The Ministeramt was renamed the Wehrmachtsamt. As a result of the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair in 1938, the Reichskriegsminister and Wehrmachtsamt were abolished by Adolf Hitler and their duties transferred to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW).

Lists of officials

Defence Ministers

See also: List of German defence ministers

Flag of the Minister of Defence from 1933 to 1935

Flag for the minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht (23 June 1935 – 5 October 1935)

Minister of Defence

No.	Portrait	Minister of Defence	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	Cabinet
1		Noske, GustavGustav Noske (1868–1946)	13 February 1919	22 March 1920	1 year, 38 days	SPD	Scheidemann Bauer
2		Gessler, OttoOtto Gessler (1875–1955)	27 March 1920	19 January 1928	7 years, 298 days	DDP	Müller I Fehrenbach Wirth I − II Cuno Stresemann I − II Marx I − II Luther I − II Marx III − IV
3		Groener, WilhelmWilhelm Groener (1867–1939)	19 January 1928	30 May 1932	4 years, 132 days	Independent	Marx IV Müller II Brüning I − II
4		Schleicher, KurtKurt von Schleicher (1882–1934)	1 June 1932	28 January 1933	243 days	Independent	von Papen von Schleicher
5		Blomberg, WernerWerner von Blomberg (1878–1946)	29 January 1933	21 May 1935	2 years, 113 days	Independent	Hitler

Minister of War

Flag for the minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht

No.	Portrait	Minister of War	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Party	Cabinet
1		Blomberg, WernerWerner von Blomberg (1878–1946)	21 May 1935	27 January 1938	2 years, 251 days	Independent	Hitler

Ministerial office heads

Heads of the Ministeramt (Chefs des Ministeramtes)

No.	Portrait	Chefs des Ministeramtes	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Schleicher, KurtGeneral der Infanterie Kurt von Schleicher (1882–1934)	1 February 1929	1 June 1932	3 years, 121 days
2		Bredow, FerdinandGeneralmajor Ferdinand von Bredow (1884–1934)	1 June 1932	30 January 1933	243 days
3		Reichenau, WalterOberst Walter von Reichenau (1884–1942)	1 February 1933	1 February 1934	1 year, 0 days

Heads of the Wehrmachtamt (Chefs des Wehrmachtamtes)

No.	Portrait	Chefs des Wehrmachtamtes	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Reichenau, WalterGeneralmajor Walter von Reichenau (1884–1942)	1 February 1934	30 September 1935	1 year, 243 days
2		Keitel, WilhelmGeneralmajor Wilhelm Keitel (1882–1946)	1 October 1935	4 February 1938	2 years, 127 days

Army heads

Heads of the Army Command (Chefs der Heeresleitung)

Flag of the Chef der Heeresleitung from 1925–1927.

Flag of the Chef der Heeresleitung from 1927–1933.

Flag of the Chef der Heeresleitung from 1927–1933.

No.	Portrait	Chefs der Heeresleitung	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Reinhardt, WaltherGeneralmajor Walther Reinhardt (1872–1930)	13 September 1919	22 March 1920	191 days
2		Seeckt, HansGeneraloberst Hans von Seeckt (1866–1936)	26 March 1920	9 October 1926	6 years, 197 days
3		Heye, WilhelmGeneraloberst Wilhelm Heye (1869–1947)	9 October 1926	31 October 1930	4 years, 22 days
4		Hammerstein-Equord, KurtGeneral der Infanterie Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord (1878–1943)	1 November 1930	31 January 1934	3 years, 91 days
5		Fritsch, WernerGeneral der Artillerie Werner von Fritsch (1880–1939)	1 February 1934	1 June 1935	1 year, 120 days

Commander-in-chief of the Army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres)

Flag of the Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres from 1935–1941.

No.	Portrait	Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Fritsch, WernerGeneraloberst Werner von Fritsch (1880–1939)	1 June 1935	4 February 1938	2 years, 248 days

Navy heads

Chief of the Admiralty (Chef der Admiralität)

No.	Portrait	Chefs der Admiralität	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Trotha, AdolfVizeadmiral Adolf von Trotha (1868–1940)	26 March 1919	22 March 1920	362 days
–		Michaelis, WilliamKonteradmiral William Michaelis (1871–1948) Acting	22 March 1920	1 September 1920	163 days
2		Behncke, PaulVizeadmiral Paul Behncke (1869–1937)	1 September 1920	14 September 1920	13 days

Heads of the Naval Command (Chefs der Marineleitung)

No.	Portrait	Chefs der Marineleitung	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Behncke, PaulVizeadmiral Paul Behncke (1869–1937)	14 September 1920	1 October 1924	4 years, 17 days
2		Zenker, HansVizeadmiral Hans Zenker (1870–1932)	1 October 1924	30 September 1928	3 years, 365 days
3		Raeder, ErichVizeadmiral Erich Raeder (1876–1960)	1 October 1928	1 June 1935	6 years, 243 days

Commander-in-chief of the Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine)

No.	Portrait	Oberbefehlshaber der Marine	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Raeder, ErichGroßadmiral Erich Raeder (1876–1960)	1 June 1935	30 January 1943	7 years, 243 days

References

External links

• (in German) Article on adlexikon.de