48-552: Sole legal party (from Jul 1933) The Hitler cabinet was the government of Nazi Germany between 30 January 1933 and 30 April 1945 upon the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of the German Reich by President Paul von Hindenburg . It was contrived by the national conservative politician Franz von Papen , who reserved the office of the Vice-Chancellor for himself. Originally, Hitler's first cabinet
96-554: A Reich Minister, which essentially made him the second most powerful person in the armed forces' hierarchy after Hitler. The next officer after Keitel was Lieutenant General Alfred Jodl , who served as the OKW's Chief of Operations Staff. However, despite this seemingly powerful hierarchy, the German military's officers mostly disregarded Keitel's position, deeming him nothing more than Hitler's lackey. Other officers often had direct access to
144-563: A US military court in the subsequent Ministries Trial ; all but Meissner were convicted and imprisoned. One (Schlegelberger) was tried in the Judges' Trial and imprisoned. One (Karl Hermann Frank) was tried by a Czech court and sentenced to death. Another five (Backe, von Blomberg, von Brauchitsch, Seldte, & Thierack) died in Allied custody before being brought to trial. Finally, the remaining cabinet members, including some of those acquitted in
192-484: A dominant role in decision making. This "divide and conquer" method helped put most military decisions in Hitler's own hands, which at times included even those affecting engagements at the battalion level, a practice which, due to bureaucratic delays and Hitler's worsening indecision as the war progressed, would eventually contribute to Germany's defeat. The OKW was established by executive decree on 4 February 1938, in
240-529: A local official is performing poorly in the eyes of the residents. This gives locals the opportunity to monitor local officials and communicate satisfaction with the local government. Throughout the country, members of the one party hold key political positions. In doing so, the party avoids committing outright fraud and rather sustains their power at the local level with strategic appointment of elites. Data on one-party regimes can be difficult to gather given their lack of transparency. As of 2024,
288-553: A lower rate than dominant-party dictatorships. While one-party states prohibit opposition parties, some allow for elections at the smallest local level. One-party states lack any legitimate competition. Therefore, they place elites and sympathetic candidates in key administrative races. For example, the Chinese Communist Party exercises political control by infiltrating village administrations. They view these positions as crucial for gathering information on
336-420: A mockery of the soldier's oath of obedience to military orders. When it suits their defence they say they had to obey; when confronted with Hitler's brutal crimes, which are shown to have been within their general knowledge, they say they disobeyed. The truth is, they actively participated in all these crimes, or sat silent and acquiescent, witnessing the commission of crimes on a scale larger and more shocking than
384-437: A single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or enjoy limited and controlled participation in elections . The term " de facto one-party state" is sometimes used to describe a dominant-party system that, unlike a one-party state, allows (at least nominally) multiparty elections, but the existing practices or balance of political power effectively prevent
432-710: The Führer , such as officers with the rank of field marshal, while other officers even outranked Keitel, an example being the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Hermann Göring . This position ideally meant Göring was subordinate to Keitel, but his alternate rank of Reichsmarschall made him the second most powerful person in Germany after Hitler, and he used this alternate power to circumvent Keitel and access Hitler directly whenever he wished. By June 1938,
480-544: The Führer Directives , and issuing them to the three services while having little control over them. However, as the war progressed, the OKW found itself exercising increasing amounts of direct command authority over military units, particularly in the west. This created a situation such that by 1942, the OKW held the de facto command of western forces while the Army High Command directly controlled
528-565: The Eastern Front . It was not until 28 April 1945 (two days before his suicide ) that Hitler placed the OKH directly under the OKW, finally giving the latter full command of Germany's armed forces. True to his strategy of setting different parts of the Nazi bureaucracy to compete for his favor in areas where their administration overlapped, Hitler ensured there was a rivalry between the OKW and
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#1732765060872576-774: The Nuremberg trials , the OKW was indicted but acquitted of being a criminal organization because of Article 9 of the charter of the International Military Tribunal. In the opinion of the Tribunal, the General Staff and High Command is neither an "organisation" nor a "group" Although the Tribunal is of the opinion that the term "group" in Article 9 must mean something more than this collection of military officers, it has heard much evidence as to
624-613: The African continent is marked by this political system. Below are just a few examples of governments that have been claimed to have single party rule due to political manipulation. establishment 1993 (Recognized state) Scientific socialism , Somali nationalism [REDACTED] Yemeni Socialist Party Oberkommando der Wehrmacht The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht ( German: [ˈoːbɐkɔˌmando deːɐ̯ ˈveːɐ̯ˌmaxt] ; abbreviated OKW German: [oːkaːˈveː] ; Armed Forces High Command)
672-435: The Allied trials, were brought before special German denazification courts which categorised their level of guilt and determined whether punishment was warranted. Among those convicted under this process were Hierl, von Papen, and Schacht. Informational notes Citations One-party state A one-party state , single-party state , one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only
720-763: The Armed Forces. In Berlin and Königsberg, the German Army had large Fernschreibstelle (teleprinter offices) which collected morning messages each day from regional or local centres. They also had a Geheimschreibstube or cipher room where plaintext messages could be encrypted on Lorenz SZ40/42 machines. If sent by radio rather than landline they were intercepted and decrypted at Bletchley Park in England, where they were known as Fish . Some messages were daily returns, and some were between Hitler and his generals; both were valuable to Allied intelligence. During
768-678: The Cabinet were individually indicted and tried for war crimes by the IMT along with Martin Bormann who was tried in absentia as he was thought to be still alive. Eight were sentenced to death (Bormann, Hans Frank, Frick, Göring, Keitel, von Ribbentrop, Rosenberg, & Seyss-Inquart) six were imprisoned (Dönitz, Funk, Hess, von Neurath, Raeder, & Speer) and two (Schacht & von Papen) were acquitted. An additional four Cabinet members (Darré, Lammers, Meissner, & Schwerin von Krosigk) were tried by
816-624: The Catholic Centre Party or the Social Democratic Party , which had been the mainstays of earlier parliamentary cabinets. Hindenburg turned to Papen, a former Chancellor himself, to bring such a body together, but blanched at appointing Hitler as Chancellor. Papen was certain that Hitler and the Nazi Party had to be included, but Hitler had previously turned down the position of Vice Chancellor. So Papen, with
864-568: The DNVP was dissolved and Gürtner stayed on without a party designation. There were originally several other independent politicians in the cabinet, mainly holdovers from previous governments. Gereke was the first of these to be dismissed when he was arrested for embezzlement on 23 March 1933. Papen was then dismissed in early August 1934. Then, on 30 January 1937, Hitler presented the Golden Party Badge to all remaining non-Nazi members of
912-573: The International Military Tribunal. It was ultimately adjudged at the conclusion of the Nuremberg trials not to be a criminal organisation. With regard to the individual members, by the fall of the Nazi regime in May 1945 five members of the Reich Cabinet had committed suicide (Hitler, Bormann, Himmler, Goebbels, & Rust). Six others had already died (von Eltz-Rübenach, von Fritsch, Gürtner, Kerrl, Röhm, & Todt). However, 15 surviving members of
960-615: The Nazi government was disintegrating at the end of the Second World War and following Hitler's death on 30 April 1945, it was succeeded by the short-lived Goebbels Cabinet , which was itself replaced on 2 May by the Cabinet of Schwerin von Krosigk commonly known as the Flensburg Government . As part of the Reichsregierung (Reich Government) the Reich Cabinet was indicted as a criminal organisation by
1008-406: The OKH. Since most German operations during World War II were army-controlled (with Luftwaffe support), the OKH demanded control over German military forces. Nevertheless, Hitler decided against the OKH in favor of the OKW overseeing operations in many land theaters, despite being the head of the OKH. As the war progressed, more and more influence moved from the OKH to the OKW, with Norway being
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#17327650608721056-629: The OKW and Oberbefehlshaber West (OBW, Commander in Chief West), who was Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt (succeeded by Field Marshal Günther von Kluge ). There was even more fragmentation since the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe operations had their own commands (the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM) and the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL)) which, while theoretically subordinate, were largely independent from
1104-660: The OKW comprised four departments: The WFA replaced the Wehrmachtsamt (Armed Forces Office) which had existed between 1935 and 1938 within the Reich War Ministry, headed by Keitel. Hitler promoted Keitel to Chief of the OKW ( Chef des OKW ), i.e. Chief of the Armed Forces High Command. As head of the WFA, Keitel appointed Max von Viebahn [ de ] although after two months he
1152-404: The OKW from becoming a unified German General Staff in an effective chain of command , though it did help coordinate operations among the three services. During the war, the OKW acquired more and more operational powers. By 1942, the OKW had responsibility for all theatres except for the Eastern Front . However, Adolf Hitler manipulated the system in order to prevent any one command from taking
1200-632: The OKW or the OBW. Further complications in OKW operations also arose in circumstances such as when, on 19 December 1941, Hitler dismissed Walther von Brauchitsch as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, after the failure of the Battle of Moscow , and assumed von Brauchitsch's former position, in essence reporting directly to himself, since the Commander-in-Chief of the Army reported to the Supreme Commander of
1248-685: The Organisation for Germans Abroad, Ernst Wilhelm Bohle , were authorised to participate in Reich cabinet meetings when issues within their area of jurisdiction were under discussion. As the Nazis consolidated political power, other parties were outlawed or dissolved themselves. Of the three original DNVP ministers, Franz Seldte joined the Nazi Party in April 1933, Hugenberg departed the cabinet in June when
1296-457: The Reich and Prussia, with the expectation that Hugenberg would be a counterweight to Hitler and would be useful in controlling him. Of the other significant ministers in the initial cabinet, Foreign Minister Konstantin von Neurath was a holdover from the previous administration, as were Finance Minister Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk , Post and Transport Minister Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach , and Justice Minister Franz Gürtner . The cabinet
1344-609: The War Ministry was abolished and replaced by the OKW . The cabinet was further enlarged by the addition of several Reichsministers without Portfolio and by other officials, such as the commanders-in-chief of the armed services, who were granted the rank and authority of Reichsministers but without the title. In addition, various officials – though not formally Reichsministers – such as Reich Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach , Prussian Finance Minister Johannes Popitz , and Chief of
1392-608: The aftermath of the Blomberg-Fritsch affair , which had led to the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and head of the Reich Ministry of War , Werner von Blomberg , as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army , Werner von Fritsch . Adolf Hitler, who had been waiting for an opportunity to gain personal control over the German military, quickly took advantage of the scandal, using
1440-458: The aggressive ambitions of Hitler and his fellow Nazis would have been academic and sterile. Although they were not a group falling within the words of the Charter, they were certainly a ruthless military caste. The contemporary German militarism flourished briefly with its recent ally, National Socialism, as well as or better than it had in the generations of the past. Many of these men have made
1488-455: The appointment of Hitler as Reich Chancellor, Papen had sought to control Hitler by limiting the number of Nazi ministers in the cabinet; initially Hermann Göring (without portfolio) and Wilhelm Frick (Interior) were the only Nazi ministers. Further, Alfred Hugenberg , the head of the DNVP, was enticed into joining the cabinet by being given the Economic and Agricultural portfolios for both
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1536-650: The cabinet (Blomberg, Eltz-Rübenach, Fritsch, Gürtner, Neurath, Raeder & Schacht) and enrolled them in the Party. Only Eltz-Rübenach, a devout Roman Catholic, refused and resigned. Similarly, on 20 April 1939, Brauchitsh and Keitel were presented with the Golden Party Badge. Dorpmüller received it in December 1940 and formally joined the Party on 1 February 1941. Dönitz followed on 30 January 1944. Thus, no independent politicians or military leaders were left in
1584-690: The cabinet. The actual power of the cabinet as a body was minimised when it stopped meeting in person and decrees were worked out between the ministries by sharing and marking-up draft proposals, which only went to Hitler for rejection, revision or signing when that process was completed. The cabinet was also overshadowed by the numerous ad hoc agencies – both of the state and of the Nazi Party – such as Supreme Reich Authorities and plenipotentiaries – that Hitler caused to be created to deal with specific problems and situations. Individual ministers, however, especially Göring, Goebbels, Himmler, Speer, and Bormann, held extensive power, at least until, in
1632-593: The case of Göring and Speer, Hitler came to distrust them. By the final years of World War II, Bormann had emerged as the most powerful minister, not because he was head of the Party Chancellery , which was the basis of his position in the cabinet, but because of his control of access to Hitler in his role as Secretary to the Führer . The Reich cabinet consisted of the following Ministers: The last meeting of Hitler's cabinet took place on 5 February 1938. As
1680-645: The first "OKW war theater ". More and more areas came under complete control of the OKW. Finally, only the Eastern Front remained the domain of the OKH. However, as the Eastern Front was by far the primary battlefield of the German military, the OKH was still influential. The OKW ran military operations on the Western front, in North Africa , and in Italy . In the west, operations were further split between
1728-434: The following countries are legally constituted as one-party states: A de facto one-party system is one that, while not officially linking a single political party to governmental power, utilizes some means of political manipulation to ensure only one party stays in power. Many different countries have been claimed to be de facto one-party states, with differing levels of agreement between scholars, although most agree that
1776-486: The help of Hindenburg's son Oskar , persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor. Initially, the Hitler cabinet, like its immediate predecessors, ruled through Presidential decrees written by the cabinet and signed by Hindenburg. However, the Enabling Act of 1933 , passed two months after Hitler took office, gave the cabinet the power to make laws without legislative consent or Hindenburg's signature. In effect,
1824-483: The opposition from winning power. Membership in the ruling party tends to be relatively small compared to the population. With such a small winning coalition, leaders in one-party states usually lack the incentive to care about the well-being of citizens. Rather, they give out private goods to fellow elites to ensure continued support. One-party, compared to dominant-party dictatorships, structure themselves unlike democracies. They also turn into democracies at
1872-425: The participation of these officers in planning and waging aggressive war, and in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. This evidence is, as to many of them, clear and convincing. They have been responsible, in large measure, for the miseries and suffering that have fallen on millions of men, women and children. They have been a disgrace to the honourable profession of arms. Without their military guidance,
1920-466: The population and maintaining a presence in the far reaches of their borders. One-party states recognize the trade-off between election victory and gathering valuable data. To account for this, the regimes have been observed placing local nobility in easy-to-win races. One-party states have also been observed using elections to ensure that only the most popular elites get chosen to office. They also gather data from elections to indicate if
1968-664: The power to rule by decree was vested in Hitler, and for all intents and purposes it made him a dictator. After the Enabling Act's passage, serious deliberations more or less ended at cabinet meetings. It met only sporadically after 1934, and last met in full on 5 February 1938. When Hitler came to power, the cabinet consisted of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and the heads of 10 Reich Ministries. Between 1933 and 1941 six new Reichsministries were established, but
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2016-470: The powers granted to him by the Enabling Act to do so. The decree dissolved the ministry and replaced it with the OKW. The OKW was directly subordinate to Hitler in his position as Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht (Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces), to the detriment of the existing military structure. The OKW was led by Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel as Chief of the OKW with the rank of
2064-771: The same duties. Commander-in-Chief of the OKW Chief of Operations Staff of the OKW Officially, the OKW served as the military general staff for the Third Reich, coordinating the efforts of the army, navy, and air force. With the start of World War II , tactical control of the Waffen-SS was exercised by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht . In practice, however, Hitler used OKW as his personal military staff, translating his ideas into military orders, such as
2112-471: The world has ever had the misfortune to know. This must be said. Despite this, both Keitel and Jodl were convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging . During the subsequent High Command Trial in 1947–48, fourteen Wehrmacht officers were charged with war crimes , especially for the Commissar Order to execute Soviet political commissars in occupied territories in the east,
2160-731: Was "presidential" and not "parliamentary", in that it governed on the basis of emergency powers granted to the President in Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution rather than through a majority vote in the Reichstag . This had been the basis for Weimar cabinets since Hindenburg's appointment of Heinrich Brüning as Chancellor in March 1930. Hindenburg specifically wanted a cabinet of the nationalist right, without participation by
2208-533: Was called the Reich Cabinet of National Salvation , which was a coalition of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and the national conservative German National People's Party (DNVP). The Hitler cabinet lasted until his suicide during the defeat of Nazi Germany . Hitler's cabinet was succeeded by the short-lived Goebbels cabinet , with Karl Dönitz appointed by Hitler as the new Reichspräsident . In brokering
2256-678: Was removed from command, and this post was not refilled until the promotion of Alfred Jodl. To replace Jodl at the Abteilung Landesverteidigungsführungsamt (WFA/L), Walther Warlimont was appointed. In December 1941 further changes took place with the Abteilung Landesverteidigungsführungsamt (WFA/L) being merged into the Wehrmacht-Führungsamt and losing its role as a subordinate organization. These changes were largely cosmetic however as key staff remained in post and continued to fulfill
2304-496: Was the supreme military command and control office of Nazi Germany during World War II . Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Reich Ministry of War and had oversight over the individual high commands of the country's armed forces : the army ( Heer ), navy ( Kriegsmarine ), and air force ( Luftwaffe ). Rivalry with the different services' commands, mainly with the Army High Command (OKH), prevented
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