The Blomberg–Fritsch affair, also known as the Blomberg–Fritsch crisis (German: Blomberg–Fritsch–Krise), was the name given to two related scandals in early 1938 that resulted in the subjugation of the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) to dictator Adolf Hitler. As documented in the Hossbach Memorandum, Hitler had been dissatisfied with the two high-ranking military officials concerned, Werner von Blomberg and Werner von Fritsch, regarding them as too hesitant with the war preparations he demanded. As a result, a marriage scandal and a manufactured accusation of homosexuality were used to remove Blomberg and Fritsch, respectively.
Left to right: General Gerd von Rundstedt, General Werner von Fritsch and Colonel General Werner von Blomberg; Neue Wache, Berlin, 1934
The Blomberg–Fritsch affair began soon after the marriage on 12 January 1938 of the War Minister Werner von Blomberg to Erna Gruhn, when the Berlin police discovered she had a long criminal record and had posed for pornographic photographs. According to testimony given much later, at the Nuremberg trials, information received by the Police Commissioner within days also indicated that "Marshal von Blomberg's wife had been a previously convicted prostitute who had been registered as a prostitute in the files of seven large German cities; she was in the Berlin criminal files. ... She had also been sentenced by the Berlin courts for distributing indecent pictures."[1]
Marriage to a person with such a criminal record violated the standard of conduct expected of officers, as defined by Blomberg himself, and came as a shock to Hitler, as Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring had been Blomberg's best man, and Hitler himself had served as a witness at the wedding. Hitler and Göring saw the development as an opportunity to dispose of Blomberg.[2]
Hitler ordered Blomberg to have the marriage annulled to avoid a scandal and to preserve the integrity of the army. Blomberg refused to annul the marriage but after Göring threatened to make his wife's past public knowledge, he resigned from his posts on 27 January 1938.
Fritsch affair
The events surrounding Blomberg's marriage inspired Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler to arrange a similar affair for Commander-in-Chief Werner von Fritsch. Göring did not want Fritsch to become the successor to Blomberg and thus his superior. Himmler wanted to weaken the Wehrmacht and its mainly-aristocratic generals to strengthen his Schutzstaffel (SS), as a competitor to the regular German Army (Heer). In 1936, Reinhard Heydrich had prepared a file on Fritsch that had allegations of homosexuality and had passed the information on to Hitler, but Hitler had rejected it and ordered Heydrich to destroy the file. However, Heydrich did not do so.[3] In 1938, Heydrich resurrected the old file on Fritsch, who was again accused of being a homosexual by Himmler.[4] It was reported that Fritsch had been encouraged by General Ludwig Beck to carry out a military putsch against the Hitler regime but that he declined and resigned on 4 February 1938, to be replaced by Walther von Brauchitsch, whom Fritsch had recommended for the post.[5]
Reorganisation of army
Hitler used the situation to transfer the duties of the Ministry of War (Reichskriegsministerium) to a new organisation, the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, or OKW), and Wilhelm Keitel, who became the new head of the OKW on 4 February 1938.[6] That weakened the traditional Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres, or OKH), which was now subordinated to the OKW.
Hitler took further advantage of the situation by replacing several generals and ministers with men even more loyal to him and took more effective de facto control of the Wehrmacht, which de jure, he already commanded. Some senior officers of the Wehrmacht protested against the changes, most notably Colonel General Ludwig Beck, who circulated a petition signed by Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt and others.[citation needed]
After the defeat outside Moscow in December 1941, Hitler took personal command of the armed forces through the OKW and appointed himself as commander of the OKH after Walther von Brauchitsch was relieved and transferred to the leadership reserve (Führerreserve). Hitler then began participating at OKW, where Keitel never dared to oppose him.
Disproving of charges against Fritsch
It became known that the charges against Fritsch were false. The information in the file was, in fact, about a Rittmeister (cavalry captain), called Achim von Frisch. Himmler and Heydrich still pursued the case, conveniently discovering an individual, called Hans Schmidt, to serve as a witness in support of the charge. The Wehrmacht demanded a court of honour of officers to examine the Blomberg–Fritsch Affair, as it had come to be known. The proceedings were presided over by Hermann Göring. Schmidt claimed to recognise Fritsch as an officer whom he had witnessed in a homosexual act in a public lavatory with a man, known in translation as "Bavarian Joe".[7] However, Schmidt was exposed as a notorious criminal whose Berlin gang had specialized in the blackmail of homosexuals.[8]
Members of the German officer corps were appalled at the mistreatment of Fritsch, and at the next meeting, Himmler, Göring and even Hitler might have come under pressure from them, as the case against Fritsch was seen as weak.[9] The successful annexation (Anschluss) of Austria shortly thereafter, however, silenced the critics. Colonel General Beck resigned on 18 August 1938 and Colonel General von Rundstedt obtained permission to retire in October 1938.
Schmidt withdrew his accusations against Fritsch and he was formally acquitted on 18 March, but the damage to his reputation had been done. Although the army demanded he be restored to his former position as Commander-in-Chief, Hitler would only make him honorary colonel of an artillery regiment.[10] Just after the German invasion of Poland, Fritsch was inspecting front-line troops when he was shot by a Polish bullet (either a machine gun or a sharpshooter) in the leg and died.[11]
^Nuremberg Trial Proceedings, Volume 12. One hundred and fourteenth day, 25 April 1946, Morning Session—via Avalon Project. Yale Law School. Accessed 4 June 2020.
^Gerwarth, Robert, Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich, Yale University Press, 2011, p. 116, ISBN978-0-300-11575-8
^Gerwarth, Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich, p. 116
^Gerwarth, Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich, pp. 116-117
^Keitel, according to his memoirs, had met Hitler on 26 January 1938 to discuss Blomberg's successor. At the meeting, Keitel records that Hitler showed him the indictment against Fritsch under Paragraph 175 of the penal code and explained that despite his efforts to suppress the matter, it had now come to a head. See Irving, In the Service of the Reich, p. 51
^Gerwarth, Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich, p. 117
^Deutsch, Harold Charles, Hitler and His Generals: The Hidden Crisis, January–June 1938, University of Minnesota Press, 1974, p. 248. ISBN978-0-8166-0649-8
^Richard Hargreaves (2008). Blitzkrieg Unleashed: The German Invasion of Poland, 1939. Stackpole Books. p. 245. ISBN978-0-8117-0724-4.
^DER SPIEGEL 34/1948 – 21 August 1948, page 18 – original official protocol written by Leutnant Rosenhagen, his adjutant and eyewitness
Sources
Faber, David, Munich, 1938: Appeasement and World War II (2008) pp. 46–75
blomberg, fritsch, affair, also, known, blomberg, fritsch, crisis, german, blomberg, fritsch, krise, name, given, related, scandals, early, 1938, that, resulted, subjugation, german, armed, forces, wehrmacht, dictator, adolf, hitler, documented, hossbach, memo. The Blomberg Fritsch affair also known as the Blomberg Fritsch crisis German Blomberg Fritsch Krise was the name given to two related scandals in early 1938 that resulted in the subjugation of the German Armed Forces Wehrmacht to dictator Adolf Hitler As documented in the Hossbach Memorandum Hitler had been dissatisfied with the two high ranking military officials concerned Werner von Blomberg and Werner von Fritsch regarding them as too hesitant with the war preparations he demanded As a result a marriage scandal and a manufactured accusation of homosexuality were used to remove Blomberg and Fritsch respectively Left to right General Gerd von Rundstedt General Werner von Fritsch and Colonel General Werner von Blomberg Neue Wache Berlin 1934 Contents 1 Blomberg marriage 2 Fritsch affair 3 Reorganisation of army 4 Disproving of charges against Fritsch 5 See also 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksBlomberg marriage EditThe Blomberg Fritsch affair began soon after the marriage on 12 January 1938 of the War Minister Werner von Blomberg to Erna Gruhn when the Berlin police discovered she had a long criminal record and had posed for pornographic photographs According to testimony given much later at the Nuremberg trials information received by the Police Commissioner within days also indicated that Marshal von Blomberg s wife had been a previously convicted prostitute who had been registered as a prostitute in the files of seven large German cities she was in the Berlin criminal files She had also been sentenced by the Berlin courts for distributing indecent pictures 1 Marriage to a person with such a criminal record violated the standard of conduct expected of officers as defined by Blomberg himself and came as a shock to Hitler as Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goring had been Blomberg s best man and Hitler himself had served as a witness at the wedding Hitler and Goring saw the development as an opportunity to dispose of Blomberg 2 Hitler ordered Blomberg to have the marriage annulled to avoid a scandal and to preserve the integrity of the army Blomberg refused to annul the marriage but after Goring threatened to make his wife s past public knowledge he resigned from his posts on 27 January 1938 Fritsch affair EditThe events surrounding Blomberg s marriage inspired Hermann Goring and Heinrich Himmler to arrange a similar affair for Commander in Chief Werner von Fritsch Goring did not want Fritsch to become the successor to Blomberg and thus his superior Himmler wanted to weaken the Wehrmacht and its mainly aristocratic generals to strengthen his Schutzstaffel SS as a competitor to the regular German Army Heer In 1936 Reinhard Heydrich had prepared a file on Fritsch that had allegations of homosexuality and had passed the information on to Hitler but Hitler had rejected it and ordered Heydrich to destroy the file However Heydrich did not do so 3 In 1938 Heydrich resurrected the old file on Fritsch who was again accused of being a homosexual by Himmler 4 It was reported that Fritsch had been encouraged by General Ludwig Beck to carry out a military putsch against the Hitler regime but that he declined and resigned on 4 February 1938 to be replaced by Walther von Brauchitsch whom Fritsch had recommended for the post 5 Reorganisation of army EditHitler used the situation to transfer the duties of the Ministry of War Reichskriegsministerium to a new organisation the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW and Wilhelm Keitel who became the new head of the OKW on 4 February 1938 6 That weakened the traditional Army High Command Oberkommando des Heeres or OKH which was now subordinated to the OKW Hitler took further advantage of the situation by replacing several generals and ministers with men even more loyal to him and took more effective de facto control of the Wehrmacht which de jure he already commanded Some senior officers of the Wehrmacht protested against the changes most notably Colonel General Ludwig Beck who circulated a petition signed by Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt and others citation needed After the defeat outside Moscow in December 1941 Hitler took personal command of the armed forces through the OKW and appointed himself as commander of the OKH after Walther von Brauchitsch was relieved and transferred to the leadership reserve Fuhrerreserve Hitler then began participating at OKW where Keitel never dared to oppose him Disproving of charges against Fritsch EditIt became known that the charges against Fritsch were false The information in the file was in fact about a Rittmeister cavalry captain called Achim von Frisch Himmler and Heydrich still pursued the case conveniently discovering an individual called Hans Schmidt to serve as a witness in support of the charge The Wehrmacht demanded a court of honour of officers to examine the Blomberg Fritsch Affair as it had come to be known The proceedings were presided over by Hermann Goring Schmidt claimed to recognise Fritsch as an officer whom he had witnessed in a homosexual act in a public lavatory with a man known in translation as Bavarian Joe 7 However Schmidt was exposed as a notorious criminal whose Berlin gang had specialized in the blackmail of homosexuals 8 Members of the German officer corps were appalled at the mistreatment of Fritsch and at the next meeting Himmler Goring and even Hitler might have come under pressure from them as the case against Fritsch was seen as weak 9 The successful annexation Anschluss of Austria shortly thereafter however silenced the critics Colonel General Beck resigned on 18 August 1938 and Colonel General von Rundstedt obtained permission to retire in October 1938 Schmidt withdrew his accusations against Fritsch and he was formally acquitted on 18 March but the damage to his reputation had been done Although the army demanded he be restored to his former position as Commander in Chief Hitler would only make him honorary colonel of an artillery regiment 10 Just after the German invasion of Poland Fritsch was inspecting front line troops when he was shot by a Polish bullet either a machine gun or a sharpshooter in the leg and died 11 See also EditHossbach MemorandumReferences Edit Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Volume 12 One hundred and fourteenth day 25 April 1946 Morning Session via Avalon Project Yale Law School Accessed 4 June 2020 Gerwarth Robert Hitler s Hangman The Life of Heydrich Yale University Press 2011 p 116 ISBN 978 0 300 11575 8 Gerwarth Hitler s Hangman The Life of Heydrich p 116 Gerwarth Hitler s Hangman The Life of Heydrich pp 116 117 Wheeler Bennett Nemesis p 369 Keitel according to his memoirs had met Hitler on 26 January 1938 to discuss Blomberg s successor At the meeting Keitel records that Hitler showed him the indictment against Fritsch under Paragraph 175 of the penal code and explained that despite his efforts to suppress the matter it had now come to a head See Irving In the Service of the Reich p 51 Gisevius Hans To the Bitter End p 229 Gerwarth Hitler s Hangman The Life of Heydrich p 117 Deutsch Harold Charles Hitler and His Generals The Hidden Crisis January June 1938 University of Minnesota Press 1974 p 248 ISBN 978 0 8166 0649 8 Richard Hargreaves 2008 Blitzkrieg Unleashed The German Invasion of Poland 1939 Stackpole Books p 245 ISBN 978 0 8117 0724 4 DER SPIEGEL 34 1948 21 August 1948 page 18 original official protocol written by Leutnant Rosenhagen his adjutant and eyewitnessSources EditFaber David Munich 1938 Appeasement and World War II 2008 pp 46 75External links Edithttp www dhm de lemo html nazi innenpolitik fritschblom http avalon law yale edu imt 04 25 46 asp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Blomberg Fritsch affair amp oldid 1084522441, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
