Chief of Staff of the German High Command
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convicted and executed by the Nuremberg Tribunal
Wilhelm Bodevin Johann Gustav Keitel(German) Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel ; September 22, Helmscherode, Duchy of Brunswick (now Lower Saxony) - October 16, Nuremberg, Bavaria) - German military leader, chief of staff of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) - OKW (-), Field Marshal General (). Signed the Instrument of Surrender of Germany, ending the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in Europe. He was accused of crimes against humanity by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg and, as one of the main war criminals of the Wehrmacht, was executed by hanging on October 16, 1946.
Biography
Wilhelm was born on the wealthy estate of Helmscherode (near Gandersheim, Duchy of Brunswick) in the family of landowner Karl Wilhelm August Louis Keitel (1854-1934) and Apollonia Keitel, née Vissering (1855-1888). The estate was purchased by his grandfather, district royal councilor Karl Wilhelm Ernst Keitel in 1871. For a long time, the Keitels had to pay off creditors and therefore the family lived poorly. His parents got married in September 1881, and in September of the following year their first-born Wilhelm was born. When he was 6 years old, Apollonia died of puerperal fever, giving birth to her second son, Bodevin Keitel, who in the future also became a military leader.
Until the age of 9, young Wilhelm studied with home teachers, and at Easter 1892 his father sent him to the Royal Gymnasium of Göttingen (now the Max Planck Gymnasium). Wilhelm studied averagely, not standing out from other students. While studying at the gymnasium, he dreamed of becoming an officer. He wanted to serve in the cavalry, but he could not afford the maintenance of a horse, and he had to join the field artillery. At Easter 1900, his father enlisted him in the 46th Lower Saxon Artillery Regiment, stationed in Wolfenbüttel and Celle, in relative proximity to Helmscherode. As a volunteer, Keitel had privileges: compulsory service lasted not 3 years, but a year, and the volunteer could choose the type of military service and place of service. However, he had to live on personal funds, and not on government funds. Soon after this, William's father married for the second time to Anne Grégoire, Bodevin's home teacher.
After the war
Four days after Germany's surrender, Keitel was arrested and soon appeared before the International Military Tribunal, where he was charged with conspiracy against peace, preparation and waging of war, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The tribunal rejected Keitel's excuse that he was merely following Hitler's orders and found him guilty on all charges.
The sentence was carried out on October 16, 1946. After Ribbentrop's execution, Keitel ascended the scaffold. He climbed onto the platform himself without the help of guards, saying his name. Keitel's last words were:
With a noose around his neck, he shouted: “Deutschland über alles!” ("Germany above all").
Family
He was married to Lisa Fontaine and had three sons and three daughters. The sons became officers in the German army.
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Notes
Literature
- Zalessky K. A. Who was who in the Third Reich. - M.: AST, 2002. - 944 p. - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-271-05091-2.
- Gordienko A. N. Commanders of the Second World War. T. 1. - Minsk: Literature, 1997. - ISBN 985-437-268-5
- Mitcham S., Mueller J. Commanders of the Third Reich. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1995. - 480 p. - (Tyranny). - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-88590-287-9.
- Correlli Barnett.. - New York, NY: Grove Press, 1989. - 528 p. - ISBN 0-802-13994-9.
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Excerpt characterizing Keitel, Wilhelm
The Mason smiled his gentle, fatherly smile.“The highest wisdom and truth are like the purest moisture that we want to absorb into ourselves,” he said. – Can I receive this pure moisture into an unclean vessel and judge its purity? Only by internal purification of myself can I bring the perceived moisture to a certain purity.
- Yes, yes, that's true! – Pierre said joyfully.
– The highest wisdom is not based on reason alone, not on those secular sciences of physics, history, chemistry, etc., into which mental knowledge is divided. There is only one highest wisdom. The highest wisdom has one science - the science of everything, the science that explains the entire universe and the place of man in it. In order to embrace this science, it is necessary to purify and renew one’s inner man, and therefore, before knowing, one must believe and improve. And to achieve these goals, the light of God, called conscience, is embedded in our soul.
“Yes, yes,” Pierre confirmed.
– Look with spiritual eyes at your inner man and ask yourself if you are satisfied with yourself. What have you achieved with your mind alone? What are you? You are young, you are rich, you are smart, educated, my sir. What have you made of all these blessings given to you? Are you satisfied with yourself and your life?
“No, I hate my life,” Pierre said, wincing.
“You hate it, so change it, cleanse yourself, and as you cleanse yourself you will learn wisdom.” Look at your life, my lord. How did you spend it? In violent orgies and debauchery, receiving everything from society and giving nothing to it. You have received wealth. How did you use it? What have you done for your neighbor? Have you thought about the tens of thousands of your slaves, have you helped them physically and morally? No. You used their works to lead a dissolute life. That's what you did. Have you chosen a place of service where you can benefit your neighbor? No. You spent your life in idleness. Then you got married, my lord, took on the responsibility of leading a young woman, and what did you do? You did not help her, my sir, to find the path of truth, but plunged her into the abyss of lies and misfortune. A man insulted you and you killed him, and you say that you don't know God and that you hate your life. There is nothing fancy here, my sir! – After these words, the Mason, as if tired from a long conversation, again leaned his elbows on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. Pierre looked at this stern, motionless, senile, almost dead face, and silently moved his lips. He wanted to say: yes, a vile, idle, depraved life - and did not dare to break the silence.
The Mason cleared his throat hoarsely and senilely and called to the servant.
- What about horses? – he asked, without looking at Pierre.
“They brought the change,” answered the servant. -Aren't you going to rest?
- No, tell me to lay it down.
“Will he really leave and leave me alone, without finishing everything and without promising me help?” thought Pierre, standing up and lowering his head, occasionally glancing at the Freemason, and starting to walk around the room. “Yes, I didn’t think so, but I led a despicable, depraved life, but I didn’t love it and didn’t want it,” thought Pierre, “but this man knows the truth, and if he wanted, he could reveal it to me.” . Pierre wanted and did not dare to tell this to the Mason. The person passing by, having packed his things with the usual, old hands, buttoned up his sheepskin coat. Having finished these matters, he turned to Bezukhy and indifferently, in a polite tone, told him:
-Where do you want to go now, my sir?
“Me?... I’m going to St. Petersburg,” Pierre answered in a childish, hesitant voice. - Thank you. I agree with you on everything. But don't think I'm so stupid. I wished with all my soul to be what you would have me to be; but I never found help in anyone... However, I myself am primarily to blame for everything. Help me, teach me and maybe I will... - Pierre could not speak further; he sniffled and turned away.
The Mason was silent for a long time, apparently thinking about something.
“Help is given only from God,” he said, “but the measure of help that our order has the power to give, he will give to you, my lord.” You are going to St. Petersburg, tell this to Count Villarsky (he took out his wallet and wrote a few words on a large sheet of paper folded in four). Let me give you one piece of advice. Having arrived in the capital, devote the first time to solitude, discussing yourself, and do not take the old path of life. Then I wish you a happy journey, my lord,” he said, noticing that his servant had entered the room, “and success...
The person passing was Osip Alekseevich Bazdeev, as Pierre learned from the caretaker’s book. Bazdeev was one of the most famous Freemasons and Martinists back in Novikov’s time. Long after his departure, Pierre, without going to bed and without asking for horses, walked around the station room, pondering his vicious past and, with the delight of renewal, imagining his blissful, impeccable and virtuous future, which seemed so easy to him. He was, it seemed to him, vicious only because he had somehow accidentally forgotten how good it was to be virtuous. There was no trace of the former doubts left in his soul. He firmly believed in the possibility of a brotherhood of men united for the purpose of supporting each other in the path of virtue, and this was how Freemasonry seemed to him.
Arriving in St. Petersburg, Pierre did not notify anyone of his arrival, did not go anywhere, and began to spend whole days reading Thomas a à Kempis, a book that was delivered to him by an unknown person. Pierre understood one thing and one thing while reading this book; he understood the still unknown pleasure of believing in the possibility of achieving perfection and in the possibility of brotherly and active love between people, opened to him by Osip Alekseevich. A week after his arrival, the young Polish Count Villarsky, whom Pierre knew superficially from the St. Petersburg world, entered his room in the evening with the official and solemn air with which Dolokhov’s second entered his room and, closing the door behind him and making sure that there was no one in the room There was no one except Pierre, he turned to him:
“I came to you with an order and a proposal, Count,” he told him without sitting down. – A person very highly placed in our brotherhood petitioned for you to be accepted into the brotherhood ahead of schedule, and invited me to be your guarantor. I consider it a sacred duty to fulfill the will of this person. Would you like to join the brotherhood of free stonemasons on my guarantee?
The cold and stern tone of the man whom Pierre almost always saw at balls with an amiable smile, in the company of the most brilliant women, struck Pierre.
“Yes, I wish,” said Pierre.
Villarsky bowed his head. “One more question, Count,” he said, to which I ask you not as a future Freemason, but as an honest man (galant homme) to answer me with all sincerity: have you renounced your previous convictions, do you believe in God?
Pierre thought about it. “Yes... yes, I believe in God,” he said.
“In that case...” Villarsky began, but Pierre interrupted him. “Yes, I believe in God,” he said again.
“In that case, we can go,” said Villarsky. - My carriage is at your service.
Villarsky was silent the whole way. To Pierre's questions about what he needed to do and how to answer, Villarsky only said that brothers more worthy of him would test him, and that Pierre needed nothing more than to tell the truth.
Having entered the gate of a large house where the lodge was located, and walking along a dark staircase, they entered a lighted, small hallway, where, without the help of a servant, they took off their fur coats. From the hall they went into another room. Some man in a strange attire appeared at the door. Villarsky, coming out to meet him, said something quietly to him in French and went to a small closet, in which Pierre noticed clothes he had never seen before. Taking a handkerchief from the closet, Villarsky placed it over Pierre's eyes and tied it in a knot from behind, painfully catching his hair in the knot. Then he bent him towards him, kissed him and, taking him by the hand, led him somewhere. Pierre was in pain from the hair being pulled in by the knot; he winced in pain and smiled from shame for something. His huge figure with his arms down, with a wrinkled and smiling face, moved with uncertain timid steps behind Villarsky.
After walking him ten steps, Villarsky stopped.
“No matter what happens to you,” he said, “you must endure everything with courage if you firmly decide to join our brotherhood.” (Pierre answered in the affirmative by bowing his head.) When you hear a knock on the door, you will untie your eyes,” Villarsky added; – I wish you courage and success. And, shaking Pierre’s hand, Villarsky left.
Left alone, Pierre continued to smile the same way. Once or twice he shrugged his shoulders, raised his hand to the handkerchief, as if wanting to take it off, and lowered it again. The five minutes he spent with his eyes tied seemed like an hour. His hands were swollen, his legs were giving way; he thought he was tired. He experienced the most complex and varied feelings. He was afraid of what would happen to him, and even more afraid of not showing fear. He was curious to know what would happen to him, what would be revealed to him; but most of all he was joyful that the moment had come when he would finally embark on that path of renewal and actively virtuous life, which he had dreamed of since his meeting with Osip Alekseevich. Strong knocks were heard on the door. Pierre took off the bandage and looked around him. The room was black and dark: only in one place was a lamp burning, in something white. Pierre came closer and saw that the lamp stood on a black table, on which lay one open book. The book was the Gospel; that white thing in which the lamp was burning was a human skull with its holes and teeth. Having read the first words of the Gospel: “In the beginning was the word and the word was to God,” Pierre walked around the table and saw a large open box filled with something. It was a coffin with bones. He was not at all surprised by what he saw. Hoping to enter into a completely new life, completely different from the previous one, he expected everything extraordinary, even more extraordinary than what he saw. The skull, the coffin, the Gospel - it seemed to him that he expected all this, expected even more. Trying to evoke a feeling of tenderness in himself, he looked around him. “God, death, love, brotherhood of people,” he said to himself, associating with these words vague but joyful ideas of something. The door opened and someone entered.
In the dim light, which Pierre had already managed to take a closer look at, a short man entered. Apparently entering the darkness from the light, this man stopped; then, with careful steps, he moved towards the table and placed his small hands, covered with leather gloves, on it.
This short man was dressed in a white leather apron that covered his chest and part of his legs; he had something like a necklace on his neck, and from behind the necklace protruded a tall, white frill that framed his elongated face, lit from below.
– Why did you come here? - asked the newcomer, following the rustle made by Pierre, turning in his direction. - Why do you, who do not believe in the truths of the light and do not see the light, why did you come here, what do you want from us? Wisdom, virtue, enlightenment?
At that moment the door opened and an unknown man entered, Pierre experienced a feeling of fear and reverence, similar to the one he experienced in confession as a child: he felt face to face with a complete stranger in terms of living conditions and with someone close to him, in the brotherhood of people, person. Pierre, with a breathless heartbeat, moved towards the rhetorician (that was the name in Freemasonry for the brother who prepares the seeker for entry into the brotherhood). Pierre, coming closer, recognized in the rhetorician a familiar person, Smolyaninov, but it was insulting to him to think that the person who entered was a familiar person: the person who entered was only a brother and a virtuous mentor. Pierre could not utter the words for a long time, so the rhetorician had to repeat his question.
“Yes, I... I... want an update,” Pierre said with difficulty.
“Okay,” said Smolyaninov, and immediately continued: “Do you have any idea about the means by which our holy order will help you achieve your goal?...” said the rhetorician calmly and quickly.
“I... hope... guidance... help... in renewal,” said Pierre with a trembling voice and difficulty in speaking, arising both from excitement and from the unfamiliarity of speaking in Russian about abstract subjects.
– What concept do you have about Freemasonry?
– I mean that Frank Freemasonry is a fraterienité [brotherhood]; and the equality of people with virtuous goals,” said Pierre, ashamed as he spoke of the inconsistency of his words with the solemnity of the moment. I mean…
“Okay,” the rhetorician said hastily, apparently quite satisfied with this answer. – Have you been looking for means to achieve your goal in religion?
“No, I considered it unfair and did not follow it,” Pierre said so quietly that the rhetorician did not hear him and asked what he was saying. “I was an atheist,” answered Pierre.
The death sentence of the Nuremberg court, pronounced against the main war criminals, was carried out on October 16, 1946. Immediately after German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop, the Chief of Staff of the Wehrmacht High Command, Wilhelm Keitel, ascended the scaffold. When the noose was already tightening his neck, he managed to shout out the words: “Germany above all!”
Where do field marshals come from?
Apollonia Keitel, the wife of a large landowner Karl Keitel, on September 22, 1882, made her husband happy with the birth of her first child, who was named Wilhelm. Their magnificent wedding, which took place a year before, was a notable event in the life of the Duchy of Brunswick, since Charles was the son of the district royal adviser, which distinguished him from the local burghers and made him a very enviable groom.
Despite? that the Helmscherole estate, which the newlyweds owned, was very extensive and distinguished by exquisite luxury; they themselves were strapped for money, as they were forced to repay the loan taken out for its purchase. However, this did not stop them from inviting the most expensive teachers to give their son an excellent education at home.
A mediocre student at the Göttingen Gymnasium
When Wilhelm was six years old, his mother died of puerperal fever, giving life to her second son Bodevin, who, following the example of his older brother, also became a major military leader. This tradition was subsequently continued by the three sons of Wilhelm himself, who at different times became officers in the German army.
When the boy was ten years old, his father placed him in the Göttingen Royal Gymnasium, a privileged educational institution from which many political and public figures in Germany emerged. According to the memoirs of his classmates, young Wilhelm Keitel was not particularly successful and always remained among the diligent, but very mediocre students. The exception was fencing and drill training, which were also part of the course of study and were his favorite disciplines.
The beginning of the military career of the future field marshal
After graduation and the traditional ball, held in 1900, Wilhelm's military career began. The young man's dream was to serve in the cavalry. He was attracted by the romance that was undoubtedly inherent in these troops, but the trouble was that maintaining a horse required significant funds, which his family did not have at his disposal. As a result, he took his first steps in a new field as a volunteer artillery regiment stationed in Lower Saxony.
This position gave him a number of significant advantages over his peers called up for active military service in those days. In particular, the period of compulsory stay in the army was limited to a year instead of the required three. In addition, he had the right to choose the type of military service and place of service. But in exchange for this, each volunteer had to live on his own material support, which not everyone could afford.
The situation was complicated by the fact that by this time Wilhelm's father had married a second time, marrying Anna Gregoire, the home teacher of his second son Bodevin. The creation of a new family caused many extraordinary expenses, which greatly limited the young man’s funds.
Service in an artillery regiment
His first step to the epaulets of a field marshal was the officer school in Göttingen, after graduating from which Wilhelm Keitel was enrolled in an artillery regiment stationed not far from Helmscherode. It should be noted that one of the batteries of this regiment in those years was commanded by another future major military leader, Field Marshal of the German Army Gunther von Kluge. In his letters, he called Keitel a complete zero. He, however, did not remain in debt and characterized his colleague as a person with a large number of negative qualities.
Years of the First World War
Keitel entered the First World War with the rank of lieutenant. The news of the murder of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo caught him on his way from Switzerland, where Wilhelm was vacationing with his young wife, the daughter of a major Hanoverian industrialist and landowner, Lisa Fontaine. The marriage took place shortly before the start of the war, and subsequently the couple had six children: three girls and three boys.
During the years of a hitherto unheard-of world massacre, the young officer’s career took off sharply. Starting with the post of regimental adjutant, he graduated as captain, head of the operational department of the General Staff. By that time, Keitel's chest was decorated with Iron Crosses of both degrees, as well as ten German orders and one Austrian.
Between two wars
After Germany's defeat in World War I and the creation of the Weimar Republic, the country's armed forces underwent significant reform. Captain Keitel managed to take his rightful place in this newly created structure. But the decisive rise of his career was facilitated by Hitler’s rise to power in 1933.
As a result, during the period between the two largest wars in the history of mankind, Wilhelm Keitel went from a captain, heading the regimental quartermaster service, to a colonel general, head of the Wehrmacht High Command. In August 1931, as part of the German delegation, he visited Moscow.
"Nodding Donkey"
Wilhelm Keitel, whose nickname was Lakeitel, which translated means “nodding donkey,” as history shows, was in fact not a stupid person and, moreover, not inclined to grovel before his superiors. Suffice it to remember that he was among those few who, soberly weighing the balance of world forces, dissuaded Hitler from attacking France and from war with the Soviet Union.
Desperate to keep the Fuhrer from this disastrous step, he twice resigned, and twice his request was rejected. He found the courage to openly stand up for Field Marshal List, who suffered a crushing defeat on the Eastern Front.
Fanatic in a marshal's uniform
However, along with manifestations of qualities that are undoubtedly worthy of respect, extreme cruelty and inhumanity coexisted in him, reducing him to the level of a medieval fanatic.
For example, he is the author of the order, according to which all Jews and political workers captured were subject to immediate destruction. In addition, without his complicity, Himmler would hardly have been able to fully carry out ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories, which cost the lives of millions of people. It is also known that as a result of Keitel’s directives, the pilots of the Normandy-Niemen regiment captured by the Germans were not considered prisoners of war and were shot on the spot. He has many other similar actions on his account, because of which he deserved a place on the scaffold.
Failed Plot
In 1944, when the outcome of the war became obvious, a conspiracy was hatched among the German generals, the goal of which was to overthrow Hitler. During a meeting held on June 20 at the Fuhrer’s main headquarters, which bore the very appropriate name “Wolfsschanz”, which translated means “wolf’s lair,” an explosion occurred. Hitler then escaped with only a slight injury, and the conspirators, after a detailed investigation of the case, were executed.
Wilhelm Keitel, who was present at the meeting that day, according to eyewitnesses, despite the concussion he received, was the first to rush to assist the wounded Fuhrer and helped him get out of the destroyed room. Subsequently, he proved himself to be an active participant in suppressing the rebellion and bringing all its participants to trial.
Signing of the German surrender
Having served until the end of the war and holding the post of chief of staff of the Wehrmacht High Command, on May 8, 1945, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany. On the Soviet side, the signature was signed by Marshal Zhukov. Nowadays, when discussing the role of each of the states of the anti-Hitler coalition, Western politicians deliberately omit the words that Wilhelm Keitel said to Zhukov immediately after signing the historical document. But in vain, they put a lot of things in their places.
As is clear from the memoirs of eyewitnesses, Zhukov was the first to sign the document, then Wilhelm Keitel. “We were defeated too?” - the German asked with bitter irony, nodding towards the representatives of England and the USA who were present here. They didn't answer him.
High-ranking defendant
Shortly after the signing of the surrender, Keitel, like a number of senior leaders of the Reich, was arrested and then brought before the Nuremberg Tribunal. He was charged with crimes against humanity, as well as a conspiracy against peace, expressed in preparing and starting a war. The justifications of the accused, which boiled down to the fact that they were only executors of the Fuhrer's orders, were considered untenable, and as a result, the vast majority of them were convicted. Among those sentenced to death was Wilhelm Keitel.
The execution took place on October 16, 1946. As already mentioned, he climbed to the scaffold after Ribbentrop and ended his life with a pathetic exclamation taken from the Nazi anthem. After spending a year and a half behind prison bars, he had plenty of time to reflect on his life and the fate that befell Germany. Many of his thoughts have become the property of historians and biographers.
Thoughts in anticipation of death
What conclusion did Wilhelm Keitel come to? He expressed his thoughts before his execution in words spoken on the scaffold. In several phrases, the condemned man asked for God's mercy towards Germany and those two million German soldiers who died in the last war. Amazingly, the field marshal did not feel any personal guilt for their deaths and for the tragedy that the war brought to Germany, although he made efforts to unleash it.
In addition to the already quoted words that Wilhelm Keitel said to Zhukov after signing the surrender, his other statements are widely circulated. They became especially popular among supporters of neo-fascism that originated in the West. As a rule, in them Keitel tries to reduce his role in what happened to the blind execution of orders, which is the responsibility of every disciplined soldier. Wilhelm Keitel, whose quotes are akin to the statements of most Nazi figures, among other things, regrets that fate did not send him a death more worthy of a soldier than a rope noose.
After the death of the field marshal, many of his notes and oral statements were summarized and published in a separate book, the author, as you might guess, is Wilhelm Keitel. “Reflections before Execution” was translated into Russian in 2012, and soon this book appeared on Russian shelves without causing a noticeable stir.
Germany Germany
Germany Germany
The Second World War
Wilhelm Bodevin Johann Gustav Keitel(German) Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel; September 22, Helmscherode, Duchy of Brunswick (now Lower Saxony) - October 16, Nuremberg, Bavaria) - German military leader, head of the High Command of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) - OKW (-), Field Marshal General (). Signed the Act of Surrender of Germany, indicating the complete and unconditional defeat of Germany in the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in Europe. The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg was accused of crimes against humanity and, as one of the main war criminals of the Wehrmacht, was executed by hanging on October 16, 1946.
Biography
Wilhelm was born on the wealthy estate of Helmscherode (near Gandersheim, Duchy of Brunswick) in the family of landowner Karl Wilhelm August Louis Keitel (1854-1934) and Apollonia Keitel, née Vissering (1855-1888). The estate was purchased by his grandfather, district royal councilor Karl Wilhelm Ernst Keitel in 1871. For a long time, the Keitels had to pay off creditors and therefore the family lived poorly. His parents got married in September 1881, and in September of the following year their first-born Wilhelm was born. When he was 6 years old, Apollonia died of childbed fever, giving birth to her second son, Bodevin Keitel, who in the future also became a military leader.
Until the age of 9, young Wilhelm studied with home teachers, and at Easter 1892 his father sent him to the Royal Gymnasium of Göttingen (now the Max Planck Gymnasium). Wilhelm studied averagely, not standing out from other students. While studying at the gymnasium, he dreamed of becoming an officer. He wanted to serve in the cavalry, but he could not afford the maintenance of a horse, and he had to join the field artillery. At Easter 1900, his father enlisted him in the 46th Lower Saxon Artillery Regiment, stationed in Wolfenbüttel and Celle, in relative proximity to Helmscherode. As a volunteer, Keitel had privileges: compulsory service lasted not 3 years, but a year, and the volunteer could choose the type of military service and place of service. However, he had to live on personal funds, and not on government funds. Soon after this, William's father married for the second time to Anne Grégoire, Bodevin's home teacher.
In October 1935, on the recommendation of the commander of the ground forces, Colonel General Werner von Fritsch, Keitel was appointed head of the armed forces department (German: Wehrmachtamt). From January 1, 1936 - Lieutenant General, from August 1937 - General of Artillery.
On February 4, 1938, Keitel headed the High Command of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) - OKW. Since November 1938 - Colonel General.
During World War II
On July 20, 1944, he attended a meeting at Wolfschanz and was concussed when a bomb planted by the organizers of the assassination attempt on Hitler exploded. Having regained consciousness, he was the first to rush to the wounded Hitler, picked him up and led him out of the room, after which he actively participated in the suppression of the “Plot of July 20” and participated in the meetings of the Court of Honor, which handed over many senior officers, including Field Marshal von Witzleben, to the “People’s Judiciary.” ward."
On the night of May 8–9, 1945, Keitel signed the repeated act of surrender of Germany.
After the war
Four days after Germany's surrender, Keitel was arrested and soon appeared before the International Military Tribunal, where he was charged with conspiracy against peace, preparation and waging of war, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The tribunal rejected Keitel's lawyer's arguments that he was merely following Hitler's orders and found him guilty on all charges. Keitel himself responded like this:
| As a German officer, it goes without saying that I consider it my duty to answer for everything I did, even if it was wrong. It is not always possible to clearly distinguish whether it was my fault or the interweaving of life circumstances. But one thing is impossible for me: to place the blame on the soldier in the front line or on the non-commissioned officer, thereby removing responsibility from those who occupied the highest positions. This would not only not correspond to the truth, but it would also be unworthy... |
KEITEL, WILHELM
(Keitel), [Baudwin Johann] (1882-1946), Field Marshal of the German Army, Chief of Staff of the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces (OKW). Born September 22, 1882 on the Helmsherode estate, Brunswick. In 1901 he enlisted in the 46th Field Artillery Regiment with the rank of Fanenjunker. On August 18, 1902, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant and entered an instructor course at the artillery school in Jüterbog. In 1909, Keitel married Lise Fontaine, the daughter of a wealthy estate and brewery owner. In 1910 he received the rank of Oberleutnant, and in 1914 - Hauptmann. During World War I, Keitel took part in battles in Belgium, was wounded in the arm, and after treatment returned to his 46th Artillery Regiment as a battery commander. In March 1915 he received an appointment to the General Staff. After the end of World War I, when, under the terms of the Versailles Treaty of 1919, the German General Staff was dissolved, and the army was reduced to 100 thousand people and had only 4 thousand officers, Keitel was included in the officer corps of the Weimar Republic and served for three years as a cavalry instructor school in Hanover, and then was enlisted in the headquarters of the 6th Artillery Regiment. In 1923 he was awarded the rank of major. In 1925-27 he was part of the organizational directorate of troops, which was essentially the secret General Staff. In the summer of 1931, Keitel, as part of a delegation of German military personnel, visited the USSR on an exchange program. In October 1933, Keitel was appointed commander of the 11th Infantry Division in Potsdam. In July 1934 he was transferred to the 12th Infantry Division stationed in Leibniz, and on October 1, 1934 he was appointed commander of the 22nd Infantry Division in Bremen. In August 1935, on the advice of the Minister of War and closest friend Werner von Blomberg, Keitel accepted the appointment to the post of head of the military-political department of the War Ministry. After the resignation of Blomberg and the commander of the ground forces, General von Fritsch (see Blomberg-Fritsch, case), the Wehrmacht High Command (OKW) was created, and all power over the armed forces was concentrated in the hands of Hitler. On February 4, 1938, Hitler appointed Keitel chief of staff of the OKW. According to the memoirs of General Walter Warlimont, Keitel was “sincerely convinced that his appointment required him to identify himself with the wishes and instructions of the Supreme Commander [Hitler], even in cases where he personally did not agree with them, and to honestly communicate them to all subordinates ". Keitel created three departments in the OKW: the operational department headed by Alfred Jodl, the Abwehr headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris and the economic department headed by Major General Georg Thomas. All these three departments waged a bitter struggle with each other, and the number of problems and conflicts was constantly growing. In November 1938, Keitel was awarded the rank of general, and on July 19, 1940, after the fall of France, he became a field marshal. Trying to dissuade Hitler from attacking the Soviet Union, Keitel drew up a memorandum addressed to the Fuhrer, in which he substantiated his objections in detail and even submitted his resignation. Field Marshals Keitel (left) and Rommel. The photo was taken during a meeting with Rommel in Germany after his unprecedented campaign in North Africa
Hitler gave Keitel a wild scolding and declared that he himself had the right to decide who he should leave as head of the OKW. From that moment on, Keitel absolutely submitted to Hitler’s will and began to blindly carry out the Fuhrer’s orders, for which he received the nickname “Lakeitel” among the generals. In March 1941, he signed the notorious “order on commissars,” according to which all political workers of the Red Army were subject to unconditional physical destruction. In July 1941, by order of Keitel, all power in the occupied territories in the East passed into the hands of Reichsführer SS Himmler, which was the prelude to genocide. On December 7, 1941, an order was issued under his signature to exterminate persons “posing a threat to the security of the Reich” - “Darkness and Fog.” Despite his position, Keitel took virtually no part in the development and conduct of purely military operations and was only an obedient instrument in the hands of Hitler, who, with the help of an obliging field marshal, pursued his own policy. After the failure of the July 1944 plot, Keitel led the measures to eliminate the participants in the assassination attempt on the Fuhrer as part of the “officers' court”, issued orders for their arrest, without showing the slightest pity. In the last days of the Third Reich, having completely lost a sense of reality and not realizing that the war was lost, Keitel unleashed brutal repressions against the “terrorist activities of the enemy” - he issued orders for the destruction of partisans and saboteurs. On May 8, 1945, Keitel, in the presence of representatives of the Soviet Union, signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany. He then traveled to Flensburg-Mürwik, to the headquarters of Karl Dönitz, where he was arrested a few days later by the British military police. During the Nuremberg trials, Keitel pleaded guilty to following Hitler's orders. He was found guilty of crimes against humanity, against peace and war crimes and sentenced to death. On October 16, 1946, he was hanged in Nuremberg prison. His last words were: “Germany above all!”
Encyclopedia of the Third Reich. 2012
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- KEITEL WILHELM in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
(Keitel) Wilhelm (22.9.1882, Helmsherode, - 16.10.1946, Nuremberg), fascist German field marshal general (1940). In the army since 1901, participant in the 1st World War 1914-18, later... - WILLIAM in the Dictionary of Russian Railway Slang:
electric locomotive... - WILLIAM
Wilhelm I of Hohenzollern (1797-1888) - King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871. In 1862 ... - KEITEL in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(Keitel) Wilhelm (1882-1946) German Field Marshal (1940). In 1938-45, Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces. The culprit of the mass destruction of prisoners of war and peaceful... - WILLIAM
(German Wilhelm; French Guillaume; English William; Italian Gulielmo) - the name of many sovereigns and princes. See acc. ... - WILLIAM in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- WILLIAM in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
I Conqueror (William the Conqueror) (about 1027 - 87), English king from 1066 from the Norman dynasty. From 1035 Duke of Normandy. ... - KEITEL
KEYTEL Harvey (b. 1947), American. actor. In films since 1968. Starred in films: “Who’s knocking on my door?”, “Street... - KEITEL in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
Wilhelm Keitel (1882-1946), German. general-feldm. (1940). In 1938-45 beginning. headquarters top. Armed Forces High Command forces. The culprit of the mass extermination of prisoners of war and... - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
WILLIAM TELL, see Tell... - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
William III of Orange (1650-1702), stadtholder (ruler) of the Netherlands from 1674, English. king since 1689. Called to English. throne during the state ... - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
WILLEM I OF ORANJE (Willem van Oranje) (William of Nassau) (1533-84), prince, leader of the Netherlands. revolution, leader of the anti-sp. noble opposition. Killed by Spanish ... - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
William the Conqueror (c. 1027-87), English. king since 1066; from the Norman dynasty. From 1035 Duke of Normandy. IN … - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
WILLIELM II (Willem) Frederik Georg Lodewijk (1792-1849), King of the Netherlands from 1840, led. Duke of Luxembourg. Team Netherlands troops at Waterloo (1815). ... - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
WILLIAM I, Willem (Willem) Frederik (1772-1843), king of the Netherlands in 1815-40 (before 1830 - Dutch-Belgian kingdom), leader. Duke of Luxembourg; from … - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
WILLIELM II of Hohenzollern (1859-1941), German. Emperor and Prussian king in 1888-1918, grandson of William I. Overthrown by the November Revolution of 1918 ... - WILLIAM in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
WILLIELM I (Wilhelm) Hohenzollern (1797-1888), Prussian. king since 1861 and german. Emperor since 1871. The government of the country was actually in ... - WILLIAM
(German Wilhelm; French Guillaume; English William; Italian Gulielmo) ? the name of many sovereigns and princes. See acc. ... - WILLIAM in Collier's Dictionary:
(English William, Dutch Willem, German Wilhelm), the name of many European emperors and kings. (The rulers whose names are preceded by an asterisk are dedicated... - WILLIAM in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
- WILLIAM in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
Wilhelm, (Vilhelmovich, ... - KEITEL in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
(Keitel) Wilhelm (1882-1946), German Field Marshal (1940). In 1938-45, Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command of the Armed Forces. The culprit of the mass extermination of prisoners of war and... - WILHELM III in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
King of the Netherlands from the Orange-Nassaug dynasty, who reigned in 1849-1890. Son of William II and Anna of Russia. J.: 1) Sofia, daughter of the king... - WILHELM II in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
King of the Netherlands from the Orange-Nassau dynasty, who reigned from 1840 to 1849. Son of William I and Wilhelmina of Prussia. J.: since 1816 Anna, ... - WILLIAM I THE CONQUEROR in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
- WILHELM I in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
- WILHELM III in biographies of Monarchs:
King of England and Scotland 1689-1702 J.: from 1677 Mary, daughter of King James II of England (b. 1662 ... - WILHELM II in biographies of Monarchs:
King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany from 1888 to 1918. Son of Frederick III and Victoria of England. J.: 1) from February 27. 1881 ... - WILLIAM I THE CONQUEROR in biographies of Monarchs:
King of England, reigned 1066-1087. Founder of the Norman dynasty J.: 1056 Matilda, daughter of Count Baldwin of Flanders (Died... - WILHELM I in biographies of Monarchs:
From the Hohenzollern family. King of Prussia in 1861 - 1888 it. Emperor of Germany 1871 - 1888 Friedrich Wilhelm's son... - FRIEDRICH WILHELM, ELECTOR OF BRANDENBURG in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
Elector of Brandenburg, nicknamed the Great Elector, son of Elector George William and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian state. Genus. in 1620 He was... - FRIEDRICH WILHELM, ELECTOR OF BRANDENBURG in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
? Elector of Brandenburg, nicknamed the Great Elector, son of Elector George William and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian state. Genus. in 1620 He... - WILHELM: KINGS in Collier's Dictionary:
To the article WILHELM Albania. Wilhelm, Prince of Wied (1876-1945), third son of Prince Wilhelm of Wied, nephew of Queen Elizabeth of Romania, was born in Neuwied... - WILHELM III in Collier's Dictionary:
I (Willem III) (1817-1890), King of the Netherlands, was born on February 19, 1817 in Brussels. In 1849 he inherited the throne of his father, William II. ... - WILHELM II in Collier's Dictionary:
I (Willem II, prins van Oranje) (1626-1650), Stadtholder of Holland, son of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, was born in The Hague on May 27, 1626. ... - William I of Orange in Collier's Dictionary:
(Dutch Willem, prins van Oranje) (1533-1584), also known as William the Silent (Zwijger, Latin Taciturnus), the first Stadtholder of Holland, Count of Nassau and ... - STAUFFENBERG, KLAUS SCHENCK VON
(Stauffenberg), (1907-1944), Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff of the German Army, Count, key figure in the July 1944 Plot. Born on November 15, 1907 in Greifenstein Castle, ... - SPEIDEL, HANS in the Encyclopedia of the Third Reich:
Speidel, (1897-?), Wehrmacht general, chief of staff of the occupation forces in France. Born October 28, 1897 in Metzingen, Württemberg. Together with... - FÜHRERBUNKER in the Encyclopedia of the Third Reich:
(Fuehrerbunker), an underground bunker located under the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, in which Hitler spent the last days of his life, April 20-30, 1945. It was located ... - TERBOVEN, JOSEPH in the Encyclopedia of the Third Reich:
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(Geheimer Kabinettsrat), a special cabinet of ministers established by Hitler on February 4, 1938, which was entrusted with foreign policy issues. Having fired the Minister of Foreign Affairs...
Rudenko (R. A. Rudenko - Chief prosecutor from the USSR at the Nuremberg trials. - Compilers.): Defendant Keitel, please clarify when you received your first officer rank?
Rudenko: What kind of military education did you receive?
Keitel: I entered the army as a candidate officer and served first as a common soldier and, then passing through all subsequent ranks - corporal, non-commissioned officer - became a lieutenant.
Rudenko: I asked you about your military background.
Keitel: I was an army officer until 1909, then a regimental adjutant for about six years, during the First World War I was a battery commander, and from the spring of 1915 I served on the general staff.
Rudenko: Did you graduate from a military or other academy?
Keitel: I never attended a military academy. Twice, as a regimental adjutant, I took part in the so-called large business trips of the General Staff; in the summer of 1914 I was seconded to the General Staff and at the beginning of the 1914 war I returned to my regiment.
Rudenko: What military training and military rank did Hitler have?
Keitel: Only a few years ago I learned from Hitler himself that after the end of the First World War he allegedly was a lieutenant in one of the Bavarian infantry regiments. During the war he was a simple soldier, then he received the rank of corporal, it is very possible that recently he received the rank of non-commissioned officer.
Rudenko: Shouldn't we conclude that you, having solid military training and extensive experience, had the opportunity to exert significant influence on Hitler in resolving military-strategic and other issues relating to the armed forces? You will not deny that, due to your experience and military training, you were Hitler’s adviser on a number of important issues?
Keitel: I belonged to his closest military circle.
Rudenko: When do you think your collaboration with Hitler began?
Rudenko: So, you worked in contact with Hitler throughout the entire period of preparation and implementation of the aggressive war?
Keitel: Yes, it seems to me that I have already given all the necessary explanations regarding how, for me, who found myself in this situation, events developed that prepared many surprises for me.
Rudenko: Who, besides you, among the leading military officials of the OKW and OKH was equated to the rank of Minister of the Reich?
Keitel: The rank of Reich Minister was held by three commanders-in-chief of the constituent units of the armed forces, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Reichsmarschall Goering, was, in addition, the Reich Minister of Aviation, in the same way I, as I showed yesterday, was equal in rank to the Reich Minister, but I did not have powers of a minister and was not called a minister.
Rudenko: Which body, starting in February 1938, performed the functions of the War Ministry?
Keitel: Until the last days of January or the first days of February, the then Reich Minister of War von Blomberg. After February 4, as is known, there was no longer a Ministry of War or a Minister of War.
Rudenko: That’s why I’m asking you, what body replaced and performed the functions of the War Ministry, knowing that this ministry did not exist?
Keitel: I, together with the Directorate of the Armed Forces, the then headquarters of the War Ministry, of which I was at the head, carried on matters further, distributing them as I indicated, that is, transferring all the highest powers to the commanders-in-chief of the constituent units of the armed forces. But this was not my order, but Hitler’s order.
Rudenko: From the diagram you presented to the court, it is clear that the OKB was the central unifying and highest military link in the Reich, directly subordinate to Hitler. Is it correct to draw this conclusion?
Keitel: Yes. This was the headquarters, the military headquarters of Hitler.
Rudenko: Who directly in the OKW led the development of military strategic plans? I am referring to plans to attack Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Belgium, Holland, France, Norway, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union.
Keitel: All operational and strategic plans were developed on Hitler's instructions by the commanders-in-chief of the constituent units of the armed forces, for example, in the ground forces - OKH and the General Staff of the Ground Forces. After which these plans were reported to Hitler and then appropriate decisions were made.
Rudenko: I want to ask you about the following in connection with Yugoslavia. Do you recognize that the directive issued with your signature on the preliminary division of Yugoslavia is a document of great political and international significance, which provides for the actual destruction of Yugoslavia as a state?
Keitel: I did nothing other than formalize Hitler’s written order and forwarded it to the authorities who were interested and concerned. I could not have any personal or political influence on the resolution of this issue.
Rudenko: Do you agree that with the direct participation of the OKW, provocative actions were organized to create a pretext for German aggression and to justify this aggression in the eyes of public opinion?
Keitel: I did not take part in the preparation of any incidents, and the military authorities, at the request of Hitler, never took part in the discussion, preparation, development or execution of such incidents. An incident means a provocation.
Rudenko: What participation did the OKW take in providing armament to the Freikorps in the Sudetenland?
Keitel: I am not aware that any military authority, so to speak, supplied or sent weapons there secretly. I don't know about this.
Rudenko: Who and why issued the order for the occupation of Moravian Ostrava and Vitkovice by German military units on March 14, 1939, in the afternoon, when President Haha was still on his way to Berlin for negotiations with Hitler?
Keitel: In the end, the Fuhrer decided to issue this order. Preparations were made to suddenly, before the previously planned entry into Czechoslovakia, occupy this area, where there was a famous large modern steel mill located in Moravian Ostrava, I cannot now remember what it is called.
Hitler told me that the reason for this decision was to prevent the Poles from suddenly attacking from the north and, in addition, to take possession of the most modernized rolling mill, just in case. He gave all this to me as the reason for the operation.
Rudenko: But at the same time, President Haha was traveling to Berlin to negotiate with Hitler?
Keitel: Yes this is correct.
Rudenko: This is treachery!
Keitel: I don't think I should give my assessment of these events. It is correct that this occupation took place on the evening in question. Moreover, I have already indicated that President Gakha found out about this only when he arrived in Berlin.
Rudenko: I have several questions for you in connection with the aggression against the Soviet Union. Yesterday you already gave evidence to the Tribunal on this matter. You have stated your position on the attack on the Soviet Union. But you told the Tribunal that the order to prepare the Barbarossa variant came in early December 1940?
Keitel: Yes.
Rudenko: Do you remember and confirm this exactly?
Keitel: I don’t know how to put it more precisely, I don’t remember any specific order from the high command of the armed forces, which would issue the appropriate orders for the plan simply called “Barbarossa”. True, in September an instruction was issued that spoke about transport and railways and similar things. I don’t remember now whether I signed such an instruction. At that time, such a preparatory instruction was indeed issued, which aimed to improve the means of communication between the West and the East.
Rudenko: Did you first learn about Hitler's plans to attack the Soviet Union in the summer of 1940?
Keitel: No. The conversation recorded in Jodl's diary dates back to the summer of 1940. You are obviously now referring to the conversation recorded in Jodl's diary, but I was not present at this obviously very brief and cursory conversation. The reflections that I had at that time confirm the fact that I did not hear this conversation, because at that time I was constantly traveling, flying by plane and was not present at meetings where martial law was discussed.
Rudenko: When did you have a conversation with Ribbentrop?
Keitel: This was obviously in the last days of August or early September. However, I cannot give the exact date. I reconstruct this period in my memory, based on the fact that approximately August 10th I again arrived in Berchtesgaden and subsequently drew up the memorandum of which I spoke.
Rudenko: So, you say that you first learned about Hitler's plans to attack the Soviet Union from a conversation with Ribbentrop?
Keitel: No, the fact is that after I had been absent from Berchtesgaden for 14 days, being partly on leave and partly on official duties in Berlin, I returned to the main headquarters and then on one of the days following my arrival, approximately in the middle August, I heard for the first time about these plans of Hitler. After this, I drew up a memorandum.
Rudenko: Thus, I am correct in asking you the question, what did you learn about Hitler’s plans in the summer of 1940? Keitel: Yes.
Rudenko: I would like to remind you of the testimony of witness Paulus, which he gave here before the Tribunal on February 11 of this year. Paulus, as you recall, told the Tribunal that when he joined the OKH on September 3, 1940, he found, among other plans, the still unfinished preliminary operational plan for an attack on the Soviet Union, known as Barbarossa. Do you remember this testimony of Paulus?
Keitel: All I remember is that he said that there was a plan for conducting maneuvers, and that when he was transferred to a position in the OKH in the General Staff, he found a corresponding document there. This document is unknown to me and could not have been known, since the documents and materials of the General Staff were never in my possession, and I have never seen them.
Rudenko: Therefore, I want to establish one circumstance: do you deny that in September 1940, development was already underway at the OKH in connection with the Barbarossa variant?
Keitel: If there is the testimony of Field Marshal Paulus, then I cannot say that it is incorrect, because I cannot know whether it was so in reality. I can neither dispute nor affirm this.
Rudenko: Did you tell the Tribunal that you were opposed to war with the Soviet Union?
Keitel: Yes.
Rudenko: You stated that you specifically proposed to Hitler that he change his plans regarding the Soviet Union?
Keitel: Yes, not only change this plan, but abandon this plan altogether and not wage war against the Soviet Union. This was the point of my memorandum.
Rudenko: Now I want to ask you about a meeting that you obviously knew about, which took place three weeks after Germany attacked the Soviet Union, about the meeting on July 16, 1941. Do you remember this meeting, which was devoted to the question of the tasks of the war against the Soviet Union?
Keitel: No, I don't remember now.
Rudenko: I do not intend to present this document to you now. If you remember, I presented it to the defendant Goering when we were talking about the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, do you remember?
Keitel: Yes, I know this document. I am already here, during my interrogation, I characterized this document as the recording of Reichsleiter Bormann.
Rudenko: Right.
Keitel: I then also testified that I was invited to participate only in the second half of this meeting, I was not present at the first half of the meeting. I also showed that this document is not a protocol, but a free dictated note from Reichsleiter Bormann.
Rudenko: But do you remember that even then, on July 16, the question of annexing Crimea, the Baltic states, the Volga regions, Ukraine, Belarus and other territories to Germany was raised.
Keitel: No, it seems to me that this was discussed during the first half of the meeting. I remember that part of the meeting when the issue of personnel was discussed, about certain persons who were to be appointed. This is what I remember. I saw this recording only here, I did not know about it before, I was not present at the first half of this meeting.
Rudenko: Then let me ask you differently. What were the final goals of Hitler and his entourage in the war against the Soviet Union?
Keitel: I believed, based on the statements Hitler made to me, that the deeper reasons for this war were that he was convinced that within the next few years a war would somehow break out between the great Slavic Communist Empire and the great German Empire of National Socialism and if a clash between these two peoples is inevitable, then it is much better that it happens now rather than later. This is how I can roughly formulate it all.
Rudenko: And you claim under oath that you were unaware of Hitler’s plans to seize the territories of the Soviet Union and colonize them?
Keitel: No, it was not said in that form. I, of course, was aware that it was intended to make the Baltic provinces dependent on Germany, to establish close economic relations between Ukraine and Germany in the field of food supplies, but I was not aware of the specific objects that were to be conquered, and if these issues would ever and were touched upon, I did not take them seriously.
Rudenko: Did you know that at this meeting on July 16, Hitler announced the need to wipe Leningrad off the face of the earth?
Keitel: I do know the document issued by the Navy. I also know the 2nd document, which contained a brief directive, it seems to me, on behalf of Jodl, regarding Leningrad. I have already been interrogated on these two documents. In this regard, I can only state that neither the actions of German aviation nor the shelling of siege artillery caused the destruction that occurred later in other places. It didn't come to that; it didn't really happen. As far as I know, there was no systematic shelling of Leningrad. Therefore, we can only state what I said then under oath to the representatives of the Soviet delegation.
Rudenko: Are you saying that Leningrad was never shelled?
Keitel: Of course, artillery operated in the Leningrad area. But the shelling did not aim to destroy the city; it did not come to that.
Rudenko: And do you know that the order signed by the defendant Jodl also speaks of the destruction of the city of Moscow?
Keitel: Now I don’t know this for sure, because then, as I saw for myself, it was only about Leningrad. If this is in the protocol, then I do not want to dispute it.
Rudenko: I ask you: are orders issued through the OKW in order to be executed?
Keitel: Firstly, the directive or instruction issued by the naval forces is not an order emanating from the OKW, and its origin is unknown to me, and the short Jodl order emanating from the OKW was drawn up while I was away, as I have already said. If I had been there at that moment, I probably would have signed it, but I was not there then and I do not know the background and discussions that led to this instruction.
Rudenko: You did not answer my question. I ask: are orders issued in order to be followed?
Keitel: What we are talking about now is an instruction, not an order. An order can only be issued by the commanding authority of the ground forces in a given sector. It was a directive that stated purpose and intent.
Rudenko: Are the instructions emanating from the OKW subject to execution?
Keitel: Of course they must be followed.
Rudenko: As for your statement that no one shelled Leningrad, it does not need to be refuted, because the destruction of Leningrad is a well-known fact.
Keitel: Let me point out that I did not issue this order. That's why I don't know this.
Rudenko: You know that before the start of the war with the Soviet Union. Defendant Goering published the so-called “Green Folder” containing directives for managing the economy of the regions of the USSR subject to occupation?
Keitel: Yes, I know that.
Rudenko: Do you confirm that by your order of June 16, 1941, you instructed all German armed forces to strictly implement these directives?
Keitel: Yes, there is an instruction that brings to the attention of all military units which organizations are used to carry out large tasks and what kind of responsibility there is. It was further stated that all military authorities of the ground forces must act in full accordance with the instructions. I forwarded this instruction to all relevant authorities; I did not issue it, but forwarded it to other authorities.
Rudenko: Was this your order or were you just carrying out the Fuhrer's orders?
Keitel: I was only conveying the instructions given to me by the Fuhrer. I could not give orders to Reichsmarschall Goering in this direction at all.
Rudenko: You did not give an order to Reichsmarschall Goering, but an order to the armed forces.
Keitel: I could not give him orders; I could only bring the Fuhrer’s order to the attention of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, who in turn had to inform his troops about it further.
Rudenko: Did you disagree with this wish of the Fuhrer?
Keitel: I did not object, since here we were talking about the tasks of the OKW.
Rudenko: Do you confirm that in this order you set the task of immediate and complete exploitation of the occupied regions of the Soviet Union in the interests of the German war economy?
Keitel: I did not issue this kind of order, which spoke about the goals and objectives that were to be carried out by the economic organization Oldenburg. I conveyed only the main contents of the “Green Folder” to the OKH, so that further orders could be given later.
Rudenko: Do you accept that the directives contained in Goering's "Green File" were aimed at plundering the material assets of the Soviet Union and the property of its citizens?
Keitel: No, in my opinion, nothing was said about the looting in the Green Folder. Instead of plunder, it should be said the use of surplus products, mainly in the field of nutrition, and the raw materials were to be used for the German war economy, and not destroyed.
Rudenko: Don't you consider this robbery?
Keitel: The words: spoils of war, the use of supplies discovered during hostilities, robbery and the like, are concepts that, it seems to me, should not be defined here.
Rudenko: Okay, let's not argue.
I have one last question for you regarding the attack on the Soviet Union. Do you agree that the way the German army conducted the war in the East was most sharply at odds with the elementary idea of the military honor of the army and with the concept of military necessity and expediency?
Keitel: No, I cannot admit it in this form.
Rudenko: What tasks were set by the German High Command for the German armed forces in the event of a successful end of the war against the Soviet Union for Germany?
You are obviously familiar with the document “Management of Naval Warfare”, which was already drafted on August 8, 1941 on the issues of the further conduct of the war after the end of the Eastern campaign. We are talking about developing plans for invasion of Iran, Syria, Egypt. Do you know this document?
Keitel: I see this document for the first time here at the trial. It begins with the sentence: “Naval Headquarters has a draft directive regarding future plans after the end of the Eastern campaign.” I have never seen this instruction or this order from the naval forces and could not see it. This draft directive was obviously supposed to come from the OKB, whose operational headquarters included officers from the army, navy and air force. It may very well be that here, in the form of draft directives, thoughts are set out that at one time were brought to the attention of the officers of the operational leadership headquarters. I don’t remember such a directive from the operational leadership headquarters now. Maybe Jodl will give information about this.
Rudenko: But have you seen that this document plans the seizure of Gibraltar with the active participation of Spain, it plans an attack on Syria, Palestine in the direction of Egypt, etc. Are you saying that you have no idea about this document?
Keitel: I will gladly give an explanation on this matter, namely: the capture of Gibraltar, which is the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, was planned for the previous winter of 1939-40, but this plan was not carried out. It seems to me that there was nothing new in that either. But the rest of what was mentioned in the project was only an expression of ideas that arose in connection with the situation that was created during the operation north of the Caucasus. I am by no means going to say that these were ideas that did not occupy minds. But I just don’t remember this, I didn’t read all the documents and pieces of paper that came from the operational headquarters in the form of projects.
Rudenko: If documents such as the issue of taking over countries are considered pieces of paper, then what are considered important documents among you?
Keitel: I can only say the following, which is completely sincere and true. During the war, some plans are drawn up, various possibilities are considered, which are not realized in harsh reality, and sometimes cannot be realized, and therefore, from a historical point of view, these pieces of paper cannot be considered as an expression of the will of the entire operational and strategic military command.
Rudenko: I agree that from a historical point of view this document has no significance now. But in terms of the German General Staff, which believed that it would defeat the Soviet Union, this document then acquired a different meaning.
I turn to the issues of atrocities and your attitude towards these crimes. Your lawyer Nelte presented you with the main documents of the prosecution on the issues of atrocities. Therefore, I do not intend to present them or dwell on them in detail. I will only ask about the main documents that were presented during questioning by your defense lawyer.
First of all, I turn to the document: “Order on the application of military jurisdiction in the Barbarossa area and on special military measures.” Do you remember this document? It was compiled on May 13, 1941. This is more than a month before the start of the war with the Soviet Union. You will remember that this document, drawn up before the outbreak of the war, stated that suspected elements should be immediately brought before an officer and the latter would decide whether they should be shot. Do you remember this position? Did you sign this document?
Keitel: Yes. I never disputed this.
Rudenko: Are you now declaring that an officer’s right to shoot people without trial is unacceptable?
Keitel: The German army has long had military courts (Standgerichte) for both its own soldiers and enemy soldiers, which always consisted of one officer and one or two soldiers, the three of whom acted as judges. We call this a court-martial (standgericht). In this court there must always be a senior officer present.
Rudenko: But this document eliminated the trial of cases against suspected persons and granted the right of execution to an officer of the German army? Is this correct?
Keitel: Yes. If German soldiers were suspected, this was so and this was allowed. There is a court-martial, which consists of judicial officials, and there is a court-martial, which consists of soldiers. The latter have the right, as a result of a hearing in a military court, to pronounce a sentence against any soldier of the German army and carry it out.
Chairman: You are not answering the question. The question was asked: what right does this document give, and not what are the general orders in the German army.
Rudenko: Can you answer this question for me? This document eliminated judicial proceedings and granted the right to shoot suspects, as they say here, to an officer of the German army?
Keitel: This was the order that was given to me by Hitler. Hitler gave this order to me, and I signed it.
Rudenko: You, Field Marshal, considered this order to be incorrect and still signed it?
Keitel: I cannot tell you more than that I signed this order and that by doing so I took upon myself a certain share of responsibility.
Rudenko: This order is dated May 13, 1941, that is, issued more than a month before the war. So, you planned to kill people in advance?
Keitel: It is true that this order was actually issued four weeks before the Barbarossa campaign began, and that it was communicated to the generals four weeks before. They knew about this already several weeks before the start of the war.
Rudenko: Did this order actually establish a climate of impunity for German soldiers and officers for arbitrariness and lawlessness?
Keitel: Within certain limits, and the limit was established in oral orders intended for the generals and demanding the strictest discipline from their own units.
Rudenko: I think you, Defendant Keitel, saw these “certain boundaries” from the documents presented here at the trial and from the film documents. I pose the following question. On May 12, 1941, the issue of the treatment of captured Russian political and military workers was developed. Do you remember this document?
Keitel: I currently cannot know which document you are referring to.
Rudenko: I mean the document of May 12, 1941, which established that the political leaders of the Red Army should not be recognized as prisoners of war, but destroyed.
Keitel: I have only seen preliminary comments on this matter. I don't remember the document now. The circumstances of the case are unknown to me. I cannot remember the contents of the document at the moment.
Rudenko: This is a document dated May 12, 1941. It is entitled “On the issue of the treatment of captured Russian political and military workers.”
Keitel: This is not an order. This is simply a memo from the country's defense department with the remark that the relevant decisions of the Fuhrer are still missing. The memo is based on a proposal made in one order. I remember this now. I then saw this memorandum, but the results of the report are not recorded, it only speaks of a proposal to resolve this issue in the spirit of the mentioned proposal, which was then communicated to the ground forces when the Fuhrer approved it, or, after discussing it with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, resolved this issue .
Rudenko: So, you don’t deny that back in May, more than a month before the war, a document was already drafted on the extermination of Russian political and military workers? You don't deny this?
Keitel: No, I do not deny this, it was the result of those orders that were brought to the attention and written by the generals in this document.
Rudenko: Defendant Keitel, I am asking you about the order issued to suppress the liberation movement in the occupied areas. This is an order dated September 16, 1941 (number USSR-98). Yesterday your lawyer showed you this order. I will remind you of one place from this order. It says:
“In order to completely stifle discontent, it is necessary, on the first occasion, to immediately take the most stringent measures in order to establish the authority of the occupation authorities and prevent further spread...” And further: “It should be borne in mind that human life in countries where this is concerning, is worth absolutely nothing and that its deterrent effect is possible only through the use of extraordinary cruelty.”
You remember this provision, the main provision of the order, that “human life is worth absolutely nothing.” Do you remember this phrase?
Keitel: Yes.
Rudenko: Did you sign this order with this statement?
Keitel: Yes... These words are not in the order, but the fact is that in the southeast and partly in the territories of the Soviet regions, human life was not taken into account to the extent that it should have been. This opinion was known from facts that date back many years.
Rudenko: Are you saying that these words are not in the order?
Keitel: As far as I know, it doesn't say that there. It says that “human life is worth little.” This is according to my memories.
Rudenko: I'll remind you. When you were interrogated by General Aleksan-. Drov January 9, 1946, when asked about the essence of this phrase, you answered: “I must recognize this phrase as genuine, but the Fuhrer himself personally included it here.” Now do you remember? Is that what you answered?
Keitel: This is true.
Yesterday I did not read all the points of this order, I only admitted that it really existed.
Rudenko: Mr. Chairman, I will now present this order to the defendant.
Defendant Keitel, have you read it?
Keitel: Yes, the text in German is as follows:
“In the countries concerned, human life is often worthless.”
Keitel: That's right, right now. "And frightening actions can be achieved through extraordinary cruelty, as atonement for the lives of German soldiers."
Rudenko: Clear. The same order in paragraph “B” states:
“The atonement for the life of a German soldier in these cases, as a rule, should be the death penalty of 50-100 communists. The method of execution must increase the degree of deterrence." Right?
Keitel: The German text is slightly different. “In these cases, it is generally necessary to establish the death penalty for 50-100 people.” This is a German text.
Rudenko: For one German soldier?
Keitel: This I know, and this I saw here.
Rudenko: I ask you: by signing this order, did you thereby express your opinion about these cruel events, that is, did you agree with Hitler?
Keitel: I signed this order, but the numbers indicated there are personal changes in the order, namely Hitler’s personal changes.
Rudenko: What numbers did you present to Hitler?
Keitel: Five to ten people. This is the figure that I indicated in the original.
Rudenko: So, your differences with Hitler were only in numbers, and not in substance?
Keitel: The idea was that to achieve a deterrent effect on the life of one German soldier, it was necessary to require several human lives.
Chairman: This is not an answer to the question. The question was: did the difference between you and Hitler in drawing up this document really lie in the numbers, and this question can well be answered “yes” or “no”. Did you really disagree only on the issue of numbers?
Keitel: Then I must say that there was a fundamental disagreement, which, however, in the final analysis cannot be justified, since I signed this order, this was required by the position I held. There was a fundamental difference in how the whole issue was resolved.
Rudenko: I want to remind you of one more order. This is an order dated December 16, 1942. The document was presented to the court under the number USSR-16. I will also not ask you in detail about this order. This order was presented to you yesterday by your defense here.
Keitel: I don't remember this document. I don't remember that it was presented yesterday.
Rudenko: Fine. I will present this document to refresh your memory.
I will ask you, Defendant Keitel, on just one question in connection with this order. In paragraph one of this order (third paragraph), pay attention to the following phrase:
“The troops therefore have the right and obligation to use any means in this struggle without limitation, also against women and children, if this only contributes to success.”
Have you found this place?
Keitel: Yes.
Rudenko: Have you found a place that gives instructions to use any means without restriction against women and children?
Keitel:“Without restrictions in relation to women and children, use any means if necessary.” I found this place.
Rudenko: That's exactly what I'm asking you about. I ask you, defendant Keitel, field marshal of the former German army, do you think this order is correct - to use any means against women and children?
Keitel: The measures were applied insofar as it was necessary to remove women and children from the area of combat operations or the area of \u200b\u200boperations of partisan gangs, but cruelty or murder of women and children was never meant. Never.
Rudenko: Eliminate (German term) - does this mean kill?
Keitel: No. It seems to me that there was never a need to tell German soldiers not to kill women and children.
Rudenko: You did not answer my question. Do you think this order regarding measures against women and children is right or wrong? Will you answer - yes or no? Right or wrong?
Keitel: I thought these events were correct and I admit that they were carried out, but they were in no way events to kill people. It would be a crime.
Rudenko: Does any means involve murder?
Keitel: Yes, but not in relation to women and children.
Rudenko: But the order says: any means against women and children?
Keitel: No, it says “...do not stop before measures against women and children.” The idea of killing women and children could never have occurred to a German soldier or a German officer.
Rudenko: But in reality?
Keitel: I cannot confirm this in each individual case, since I do not know this and since I could not be in all places and did not receive reports about this.
Rudenko: But there were millions of such cases.
Keitel: This is unknown to me, but I don't believe this has happened in millions of cases.
Rudenko: Now I want to turn to the question of the treatment of Soviet prisoners of war. I do not intend to interrogate you on the issue of the branding of Soviet prisoners of war and other facts; they are well known to the Tribunal. I want to ask you about one document - the Canaris report dated September 15, 1941. It is registered under the number EC-338. As you remember, even a German officer drew attention to the exceptional arbitrariness and lawlessness allowed in relation to Soviet prisoners of war. In this report, Canaris pointed out the massacres of Soviet prisoners of war and spoke of the need to decisively eliminate this arbitrariness.
Did you agree with the positions that Canaris put forward in his report to you?
Keitel: I already answered my defender yesterday...
Rudenko: Can you answer my question briefly - did you agree?
Keitel: I will answer briefly that upon receipt of this letter I immediately reported it to the Fuehrer, especially in connection with the two notes of the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the beginning of July, and asked for a decision to be made again on this issue. I shared Canaris’s doubts in general...
Rudenko: Did you share? Very good. I will now show you the original of Canaris’s report, which contains your resolution.
Mr. Chairman, I now present the defendant with a document containing his resolution.
Chairman: Do you have the original of this document?
Rudenko: Yes, I gave it to the defendant. So, watch out, Defendant Keitel.
Keitel: I know this document with notes in the margins.
Rudenko: You are following the resolution. This is the Canaris document that you think is correct. Your resolution is as follows: “These provisions correspond to the soldier’s ideas about the knightly way of waging war. We are talking about the destruction of an entire worldview here, which is why I approve of these events and cover them. Keitel."
Keitel: Yes, I wrote this as a decision after the report to the Fuhrer... I wrote this.
Rudenko: It doesn’t say that it was the Fuhrer who said so, it says: “I... am covering up” - Keitel, therefore.
Keitel: This I admit here under oath, and I have already said this before, before I read this.
Rudenko: So you accept this resolution? There is one more place in this document that I draw attention to, on page 2. The Canaris report states:
“The identification of civilians and politically undesirable prisoners of war, as well as the decision on their fate, is carried out by the operational teams of the security police and SD, according to instructions that are unfamiliar to the armed forces and the implementation of which they are not able to verify.”
This is written by Canaris, and in the margins of the document opposite this text is your resolution, Defendant Keitel: “It is entirely appropriate.” Right? Did you find this resolution?
Keitel: Yes, this is what “expediently” refers to when parts of the armed forces have nothing to do with or know anything about the operational commands. It says that they are unfamiliar to them.
Rudenko: And to the fact that the security police and SD are cracking down on these civilians and prisoners of war?
Do you think this is appropriate?
Keitel: No, I thought it was appropriate that parts of the armed forces should not know anything about the activities of these commands. That's what I wanted to say with this note. In the text I underlined the word “unknown”.
Rudenko: I ask you, in connection with this resolution, you, the defendant Keitel, called Field Marshal, repeatedly here, before the Tribunal, calling himself a soldier, did you, with your bloody resolution in September 1941, confirm and sanction the murder of unarmed soldiers who were captured by you? This is right?
Keitel: I signed both orders and thereby bear responsibility in connection with my position. I take this responsibility upon myself.
Rudenko: You have repeatedly spoken here about a soldier's duty. I want to ask you, is the issuance of such orders on reprisals against prisoners of war and civilians compatible with the concepts of “soldier’s duty” and “officer’s honor”?
Keitel: To the extent that this concerns the repressions in August and September.
Rudenko: Defendant Keitel, we established yesterday that back in May 1941, before the start of the war, you signed a directive on the execution of political and military workers of the Red Army.
Keitel: Yes, I signed these orders before the start of the war, but they do not contain the word “murder.”
Rudenko: I do not intend to argue, since this means arguing against the documents, and the documents speak for themselves. I have a few final questions for you. Did you tell the Tribunal that the generals of the German army only blindly followed Hitler's orders?
Keitel: I stated that I did not know which generals or whether the generals had even declared protests. As far as I remember, this did not happen in my presence when Hitler proclaimed the main provisions about the struggle of worldviews.
Rudenko: Do you know that generals, on their own initiative, issued orders about atrocities, violations of the laws and customs of war, and these orders were approved by Hitler?
Keitel: I know that the highest authorities of the army, for example, in connection with the issue of jurisdiction, issued an order in March and carried out other measures, and also issued orders softening and canceling these measures, since they were discussed with me.
Rudenko: You pretend that you did not understand me and want to avoid answering. I asked whether the generals issued orders for violations of the laws and customs of warfare on their own initiative?
Keitel: This is unknown to me. I don't know what orders you're talking about, Mr. General.
Rudenko: Is this unknown to you?
Keitel: I don't know what orders you're talking about, Mr. General. But perhaps that was the case.
Rudenko: I will only refer to one order. I mean the order of Field Marshal von Reichenau on the conduct of troops in the East. This document, Mr. Chairman, was presented by the Soviet prosecution under the number USSR-12. I will only read one quote from this order: “supplying food to local residents and prisoners of war is unnecessary humanitarianism.”
Keitel: I know this order. It was presented to me during the preliminary investigation.
Rudenko: This order was issued on the initiative of Reichenau and approved by Hitler and was sent out to all front commanders as an exemplary one?
Keitel: I only learned this here. I don’t think I’ve read this order before.
Rudenko: Of course, such orders were obviously considered of little significance by you, because how could the head of the OKW be interested in the fate of Soviet prisoners of war or Soviet citizens? Was their life worth nothing?
Keitel: I had no contact on official matters with the commanders at the front. Only the commander of the ground forces dealt with them.
Rudenko: You are here, giving evidence to the Tribunal, very often, and before you, your accomplices, the defendants Goering and Ribbentrop, did this, talking about the Treaty of Versailles. I ask you: did Vienna, Prague, Belgrade, Crimea belong to Germany before the Treaty of Versailles?
Keitel: No.
Rudenko: You stated here that in 1944, after a change in the law, you received an offer to become a member of the Nazi Party. You accepted this offer, provided your personal information to the party leadership and paid the entry fee. Tell me, shouldn’t the proposals you accepted to join the Nazi Party be considered as your agreement with the party’s program, with its goals and methods?
Keitel: I considered the requirement to send my personal details after wearing the party's gold badge for three and a half years only as a formal registration and complied with the requirement to pay party dues. I did both.
Rudenko: So, before this formal proposal, you essentially considered yourself a Nazi?
Keitel: I have always looked at myself as a soldier, not as a politician.
Rudenko: Should we not conclude, after all that has been said here, that you were Hitler’s general not out of duty, but out of conviction?
Keitel: I have already shown here that I was a loyal, faithful and obedient soldier of my Fuhrer...
Dodd ( The US prosecution representative continued questioning Keitel on April 8. - Compilers.): I have just one question.
On the morning of April 3, when you were subjected to direct questioning, we understood from your words that you believed that you should accept responsibility for the orders issued in your name - for orders that you issued, but which came from Hitler. When you were interrogated, you said, as we understood you, that you, as an old professional soldier, of course understood the traditions and even the principles of this profession, which oblige the soldier not to carry out any order that, in his opinion, is of a criminal nature.
Did we understand you correctly?
Keitel: Yes.
Dodd: So, is it fair to admit that, in accordance with the obligations imposed on you by oath, you admit that you carried out criminal orders?
Keitel: This cannot be said in this form. It must be said that the state form and the powers of the head of state, which he possessed then, combined legislative powers, which gave the executive bodies the consciousness that these actions were not illegal if they were carried out by an authority that had such powers. I, of course, was aware that actions were also committed that could not be reconciled with legal concepts.
Dodd: So, I understood you that, knowing this, you carried out and issued criminal or illegal orders. This is right?
Keitel: Let me say that I had no inner conviction that these orders were criminal, since the head of the government himself combined the functions of legislation, and as a result I myself was not convinced that I had committed criminal acts.
Dodd: I don't want to waste any more time questioning you, but I feel it necessary to point out that your answer is not an answer to my question.
You told us that some of these orders were in violation of existing international law. An order issued in such a form and on such a basis is a criminal order, an illegal order, is it not?
Keitel: Yes this is correct.
Dodd: So, when you enforced these orders, you enforced criminal orders, regardless of who issued them?
Keitel: Yes this is correct.
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