192-762: Albert Kesselring The Luftwaffe ( German pronunciation: [ˈlʊftvafə] ) was the aerial-warfare branch of the Wehrmacht before and during World War II . Germany 's military air arms during World War I , the Luftstreitkräfte of the Imperial Army and the Marine-Fliegerabteilung of the Imperial Navy , had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with
384-746: A balloon observer in 1912. During World War I , he served on both the Western and Eastern fronts and was posted to the Army Staff , despite not having attended the War Academy . Kesselring served in the Reichswehr after the war, but was discharged in 1933 to become head of the Department of Administration at the Ministry of Aviation , where he became involved in the re-establishment of
576-495: A "dual strategy of publicity and secrecy", the regime directed terror both at the direct victim as well as the entire society in order to eliminate its opponents and deter resistance. Beginning in March 1933, detailed reports on camp conditions were published in the press. Nazi propaganda demonized the prisoners as race traitors, sexual degenerates, and criminals and presented the camps as sites of re-education. After 1933, reports in
768-683: A bomber Geschwader was about 80–90 aircraft. The peacetime strength of the Luftwaffe in the spring of 1939 was 370,000 men. After mobilisation in 1939 almost 900,000 men served, and just before Operation Barbarossa in 1941 personnel strength had reached 1.5 million men. The Luftwaffe reached its largest personnel strength during the period November 1943 to June 1944, with almost three million men and women in uniform; 1.7 million of these were male soldiers, 1 million male Wehrmachtsbeamte and civilian employees, and almost 300,000 female and male auxiliaries ( Luftwaffenhelfer ). In October 1944,
960-415: A call for assistance from Student and demands for the bombing of the city by Georg von Küchler , commanding the 18th Army , Kesselring ordered the bombing of Rotterdam city centre. Fires raged out of control, destroying much of the city. An estimated 800 civilians were killed and 78,000 made homeless. Wartime Allied newspapers predicted that Kesselring "will go down in history as the man who directed
1152-514: A consequence of these death marches . Many prisoners died after liberation due to their poor physical condition. The liberation of the camps – documented by the Western Allies in 1945 – has played a prominent part in perception of the camp system as a whole. Since their liberation, the Nazi concentration camp system has come to symbolize violence and terror in the modern world. After
1344-624: A cumulative figure that counts all the subcamps that existed at one point; historian Karin Orth estimates the number of subcamps to have been 186 at the end of 1943, 341 or more in June 1944, and at least 662 in January 1945. The camps were concentrated in prewar Germany and to a lesser extent territory annexed to Germany. No camps were built on the territory of Germany's allies that enjoyed even nominal independence. Each camp housed either men, women, or
1536-640: A feature of the later phases of the Blitz. The air fleet played a large role in the Birmingham and Coventry Blitz , with support from Luftflotte 3 , which provided 304 of the 448 bombers in the attack. Surviving German records suggest that the aim of the Coventry raid was to disrupt production and reconstruction critical to the automotive industry, but also to dehouse workers. In the area of operations of Luftflotte 2 were two other armament hubs—both
1728-399: A fixed daily cost. This decision paved the way for the establishment of many subcamps located near workplaces. More workers were obtained through transfers from prisons and forced labor programs, causing the prisoner population to double twice by mid-1944. Subcamps where prisoners did construction work had significantly higher death rates than those that worked in munitions manufacture. By
1920-462: A high mortality rate during the first half of the war. In contrast, Reich Germans enjoyed favorable treatment compared to other nationalities. A minority of prisoners obtained substantially better treatment than the rest because they were prisoner functionaries (mostly Germans) or skilled laborers. Prisoner functionaries served at the whim of the SS and could be dismissed for insufficient strictness. As
2112-488: A lack of understanding of doctrine and technical issues in aerial warfare which he left to others more competent. The Commander-in-Chief left the organisation and building of the Luftwaffe, after 1936, to Erhard Milch. However Göring, as a part of Hitler's inner circle, provided access to financial resources and materiel for rearming and equipping the Luftwaffe. Another prominent figure in German air power construction this time
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#17327662521432304-417: A leading role in the buildup of the Luftwaffe in 1933–36, but had little further involvement in the development of the force after 1936, and Milch became the " de facto " minister until 1937. The absence of Göring in planning and production matters was fortunate. Göring had little knowledge of current aviation, had last flown in 1922, and had not kept himself informed of the latest events. Göring also displayed
2496-478: A million died during their imprisonment. Historian Adam Tooze counts the number of survivors at no more than 475,000, calculating that at least 1.1 million of the registered prisoners must have died. According to his estimate, at least 800,000 of the murdered prisoners were not Jewish. In addition to the registered prisoners who died, a million Jews were gassed upon arriving in Auschwitz; including these victims,
2688-489: A mixed population. Women's camps were mostly for armaments production and located primarily in northern Germany, Thuringia , or the Sudetenland , while men's camps had a wider geographical distribution. Sex segregation decreased over the course of the war and mixed camps predominated outside of Germany's prewar borders. About 1.65 million people were registered prisoners in the camps, of whom, according to Wagner, nearly
2880-529: A monument to the glory of the Junkers Ju 52. It is the aircraft which the Spanish revolution has to thank for its victory." Poor accuracy from level bombers in 1937 led the Luftwaffe to grasp the benefits of dive-bombing. The latter could achieve far better accuracy against tactical ground targets than heavier conventional bombers. Range was not a key criterion for this mission. It was not always feasible for
3072-545: A one-sided technician, but learn to think and lead in terms of all three services. Albert Kesselring Although earmarked for operations against the Soviet Union, Luftflotte 2 remained in the west until May 1941. The maintenance of pressure on British cities was a deception measure to mask the eastward deployment of the Luftwaffe. German airfield construction had also fallen behind schedule and they could not host combat units until May, although they were ready for
3264-553: A peak in the first week of September 1940. On the third day, Göring met with Sperrle and Kesselring. Göring was convinced Fighter Command was exhausted and favoured attacking London to draw out the last of the British fighter reserves. Kesselring enthusiastically agreed; Sperrle did not. Kesselring urged Göring to carry out an all-out attack, based on the unproven assertion that Fighter Command had been virtually destroyed. Sperrle dismissed Kesselring's optimism and put British strength at
3456-720: A powerful Polish counter-attack created a crisis, he contributed Fliegerdivision 1 to the Battle of the Bzura . The division contained 70 per cent of his dive-bombers and was assigned to Löhr on 6 September. The air attacks assisted in the destruction of two Polish armies. On 16/17 September the air fleets were notified of the Soviet invasion of Poland . Luftflotte 1 support operations against troop concentrations ceased in central and southern Poland to avoid friendly-fire incidents. Kesselring attempted to crush Polish resistance by making
3648-637: A proper evaluation was made. The Ju 86 was poor while the He 111 showed the most promise. The Spanish Civil War convinced Udet (along with limited output from the German munitions industry) that wastage was not acceptable in munition terms. Udet sought to build dive-bombing into the Junkers Ju 88 and conveyed the same idea, initiated specifically by the OKL for the Heinkel He 177 , approved in early November 1937. In
3840-447: A result, sociologist Wolfgang Sofsky emphasizes that "They took over the role of the SS in order to prevent SS encroachment" and other prisoners remembered them for their brutality. Hard labor was a fundamental component of the concentration camp system and an aspect in the daily life of prisoners. However, the forced labor deployment was largely determined by external political and economic factors that drove demand for labor. During
4032-555: A series of air attacks against Warsaw in the final week of September. With the military campaign virtually over, Polish resistance was confined to the Hel Peninsula , Warsaw, and Modlin . Kesselring's air fleet was assigned to the north of the city. In the ensuing attacks , approximately 10 per cent of the city's buildings were destroyed and 40 per cent damaged. The bombing killed between 20,000 and 25,000 civilians. Kesselring insisted that only military targets were attacked, but
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#17327662521434224-535: A serviceman (not a pilot) in the Luftstreitkräfte during World War I, and later an experienced pilot with Lufthansa , was a prominent theorist of air power. Knauss promoted the Giulio Douhet theory that air power could win wars alone by destroying enemy industry and breaking enemy morale by "terrorising the population" of major cities. This advocated attacks on civilians. The General Staff blocked
4416-470: A special close air support commander. By 26 July, Kesselring had reported the destruction of 165 tanks, 2,136 vehicles and 194 artillery pieces. His fleet also claimed 915 aircraft destroyed (823 on the ground) and 60 locomotives in 1,574 sorties . Kesselring's air fleet provided support in the battle of Białystok–Minsk and Smolensk . Minsk was devastated by German air raids. A sudden transfer of his air power north to Luftflotte 1 , bad weather, and
4608-502: A strategic air war (although the British and French were in a much weaker position), and Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe be expanded to five times its earlier size. The OKL badly neglected the need for transport aircraft; even in 1943, transport units were described as Kampfgeschwadern zur besonderen Verwendung (Bomber Units on Special Duties, KGzbV). and only grouping them together into dedicated cargo and personnel transport wings ( Transportgeschwader ) during that year. In March 1938, as
4800-411: A successful radio navigation system. The Luftwaffe was not pressured into ground support operations due to demands from the army, or because it was led by ex-army personnel. Interdiction and close air support were operations that suited the Luftwaffe's existing approach to warfare: a culture of joint inter-service operations rather than independent strategic air campaigns. Moreover, many officers in
4992-569: A wave of protests from abroad. It has been suggested that the bombing of Guernica was carried out for military tactical reasons, in support of ground operations, but the town was not directly involved in any fighting at that point in time. It was not until 1942 that the Germans started to develop a bombing policy in which civilians were the primary targets, although the Blitz on London and many other British cities involved indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, 'nuisance raids' which could even involve
5184-455: Is considered the climax of the battle. In staging a two-pronged, predictable set-piece attack, he played into Fighter Command's hands. As one analyst wrote, Kesselring was "back where he started" before the battle. The consequences for Luftwaffe airmen were severe on 15 September 1940 . German aviators met a prepared enemy and lost 5.5 per cent of the committed force. In the afternoon loss rates of German bomber crews reached 18 per cent of
5376-714: Is difficult to determine; historian Jane Caplan estimated it at 50,000, with arrests perhaps exceeding 100,000. Eighty per cent of prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany and ten per cent members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . Many prisoners were released in late 1933, and after a Christmas amnesty , there were only a few dozen camps left. About 70 camps were established in 1933, in any convenient structure that could hold prisoners, including vacant factories, prisons, country estates, schools, workhouses , and castles. There
5568-511: The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe organised Nazi human experimentation , and Luftwaffe ground troops committed massacres in Italy, Greece, and Poland. The Imperial German Army Air Service was founded in 1910 with the name Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , most often shortened to Fliegertruppe . It was renamed the Luftstreitkräfte on 8 October 1916. The air war on
5760-634: The Fliegertruppe's initial, 1914–15 era Feldflieger Abteilung observation/reconnaissance air units, each with six two-seater aircraft apiece, had been attached to specific army formations and acted as support. Dive bomber units were considered essential to Truppenführung , attacking enemy headquarters and lines of communications. Luftwaffe "Regulation 10: The Bomber" ( Dienstvorschrift 10: Das Kampfflugzeug ), published in 1934, advocated air superiority and approaches to ground attack tactics without dealing with operational matters. Until 1935,
5952-478: The Kriegsmarine and Heer in the invasion of Norway . Flying in reinforcements and winning air superiority, the Luftwaffe contributed decisively to the German conquest. In May and June 1940, the Luftwaffe contributed to the unexpected German success in the Battle of France . It destroyed three Allied Air Forces and helped secure the defeat of France in just over six weeks. However, it could not destroy
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6144-533: The Luftwaffe gained air superiority and held it. Kesselring's air fleet spent June attempting to prevent a second evacuation . Kesselring's bombers ranged further afield and contributed to Fliegerdivision 9 's (Flying Division 9) minelaying operations in the English Channel and Bay of Biscay —one of his bomber wings attacked shipping an hour after the armistice came into effect. For his role in
6336-758: The Luftwaffe on 3 June 1936. In that post, he oversaw the expansion of the Luftwaffe , the acquisition of new aircraft types such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter and Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive-bomber , and the development of paratroops . Kesselring's main operational task during this time was the support of the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War . His tenure was marred by personal and professional conflicts with his superior, General der Flieger Erhard Milch , and Kesselring asked to be relieved. His conflict with Milch
6528-624: The Luftwaffe was rapid; Kesselring was promoted to Generalmajor on 1 October 1934, and Generalleutnant on 1 April 1936. Like other generals of Nazi Germany , he received personal monthly payments from Adolf Hitler , in Kesselring's case 6,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ , a considerable sum at the time. At the age of 48, Kesselring learned to fly, following the old military doctrine that officers should not ask their men to do anything they would not do themselves. He later stated that first-hand knowledge of all aspects of aviation
6720-651: The Anschluss was taking place, Göring ordered Felmy to investigate the prospect of air raids against Britain. Felmy concluded it was not possible until bases in Belgium and the Netherlands were obtained and the Luftwaffe had heavy bombers. It mattered little, as war was avoided by the Munich Agreement, and the need for long-range aircraft did not arise. These failures were not exposed until wartime. In
6912-627: The Einsatzgruppen death squads and massacred Polish Jews as well as Soviet prisoners of war. Older general SS personnel, and those wounded or disabled, replaced those assigned to combat duties. As the war progressed, a more diverse group was recruited to guard the expanding camp system, including female guards (who were not part of the SS). During the second half of the war, army and air force personnel were recruited, making up as many as 52 per cent of guards by January 1945. The manpower shortage
7104-717: The 1934 purge of the SA , the concentration camps were run exclusively by the SS via the Concentration Camps Inspectorate and later the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office . Initially, most prisoners were members of the Communist Party of Germany , but as time went on different groups were arrested, including "habitual criminals", " asocials ", and Jews . After the beginning of World War II , people from German-occupied Europe were imprisoned in
7296-725: The Armenian genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire , Ottoman Armenians were held in camps during their deportation into the Syrian Desert . In postwar Germany , "unwanted foreigners" – mainly Eastern European Jews – were confined at Cottbus-Sielow and Stargard . On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany after striking a backroom deal with the previous chancellor, Franz von Papen . The Nazis had no plan for concentration camps prior to their seizure of power. The concentration camp system arose in
7488-476: The Battle of Britain and devastated many British cities during the subsequent Blitz , it failed to force the British into submission. From 1942, Allied bombing campaigns gradually destroyed the Luftwaffe's fighter arm. From late 1942, the Luftwaffe used its surplus ground support and other personnel to raise Luftwaffe Field Divisions . In addition to its service on the Western front , the Luftwaffe operated over
7680-537: The Disciplinary and Penal Code , a manual which specified draconian punishments for disobedient prisoners. He also created a system of prisoner functionaries , which later developed into the camp elders, block elders, and kapo of later camps. In May 1934, Lichtenburg was taken over by the SS from the Prussian bureaucracy, marking the beginning of a transition set in motion by Heinrich Himmler , then chief of
7872-569: The Gestapo ( secret police ). Following the purge of the SA on 30 June 1934, in which Eicke took a leading role, the remaining SA-run camps were taken over by the SS. In December 1934, Eicke was appointed the first inspector of the Concentration Camps Inspectorate (IKL); only camps managed by the IKL were designated "concentration camps". In early 1934, the number of prisoners was still falling and it
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8064-526: The Mechelen Incident , in which an aircraft made a forced landing in Belgium with copies of the German invasion plan, Göring relieved the commander of Luftflotte 2 , General der Flieger Hellmuth Felmy , of his command and appointed Kesselring in his place on 15 January 1940. Arriving in the west, Kesselring found Luftflotte 2 assigned to support Bock's Army Group B . Kesselring
8256-710: The Ministry of the Reichswehr in Berlin. He remained at this post until 1929 when he returned to Bavaria as commander of Wehrkreis VII in Munich. In his time with the Reichswehr Ministry, Kesselring was involved in the organisation of the army, trimming staff overheads to produce the best possible army with the limited resources available. He helped re-organise the Ordnance Department, laying
8448-589: The North African campaign . Kesselring conducted a defensive campaign against Allied forces in Italy , being involved in ordering several massacres, until he was injured in an accident in October 1944. In his final campaign of the war, he commanded German forces on the Western Front . During the war, he won the respect of his Allied opponents for his military accomplishments. After the war, Kesselring
8640-548: The Polish campaign that began World War II, Kesselring's Luftflotte 1 operated in support of Army Group North , commanded by Generaloberst Fedor von Bock . Kesselring had 1,105 aircraft in comparison to Alexander Löhr 's 729 with Luftflotte 4 in support of Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt 's Army Group South . Kesselring gave a high priority to attacks on airfields . Strategic targets like aircraft and aircraft-related armament factories were attacked during
8832-566: The SS Main Command Office and the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA) took on the responsibility of detaining and releasing concentration camp prisoners. In 1942, the IKL was subordinated to the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office (SS-WVHA) to improve the camps' integration into the war economy. Despite changes in the structure, the IKL remained directly responsible to Himmler. The camps under
9024-535: The Wehrmacht were targeted and detained in concentration camps. In Western Europe, arrests focused on resistance fighters and saboteurs, but in Eastern Europe arrests included mass roundups aimed at the implementation of Nazi population policy and the forced recruitment of workers. This led to a predominance of Eastern Europeans, especially Poles, who made up the majority of the population of some camps. By
9216-467: The Western Front received the most attention in the annals of the earliest accounts of military aviation, since it produced aces such as Manfred von Richthofen , Ernst Udet , Oswald Boelcke , and Max Immelmann . After the defeat of Germany, the service was dissolved on 8 May 1920 under the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, which also mandated the destruction of all German military aircraft. Since
9408-430: The air superiority mission and formed part of it. Once the air battle was won, only then did the Luftwaffe direct its attention to close air support and air interdiction. The tactical and operational focus of the Luftwaffe in the first days of the campaign was not a repudiation of strategic bombardment. The planned strategic bombing of Warsaw (Operation Wasserkante ), scheduled to commence on 1 September,
9600-589: The death marches . Museums commemorating the victims of the Nazi regime have been established at many of the former camps and the Nazi concentration camp system has become a universal symbol of violence and terror. Concentration camps are conventionally held to have been invented by the British during the Second Boer War , but historian Dan Stone argues that there were precedents in other countries and that camps were "the logical extension of phenomena that had long characterized colonial rule". Although
9792-545: The port of Hull and industrial city of Sheffield were heavily bombed by units under the air fleet's command. Many of the fleet's units were involved in the attack known as the Second Great Fire of London , on 29/30 December 1940. Results will demonstrate an officer's fitness to be a field marshal, and no one will then ask about his origins, whether he came from the army or the air force. But one piece of advice I will give to all airfield marshals: do not become
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#17327662521439984-546: The racial policy of Nazi Germany did not apply to him. Wilberg remained in the air staff, and under Walther Wever helped draw up the Luftwaffe's principle doctrinal texts, "The Conduct of the Aerial War" and "Regulation 16". The German officer corps was keen to develop strategic bombing capabilities against its enemies. However, economic and geopolitical considerations had to take priority. The German air power theorists continued to develop strategic theories, but emphasis
10176-419: The "criminal" prisoners at concentration camps needed to be isolated from society because they had committed offenses of a sexual or violent nature. In fact, most of the criminal prisoners were working-class men who had resorted to petty theft to support their families. Nazi raids of perceived asocials, including the arrest of 10,000 people in June 1938, targeted homeless people and the mentally ill, as well as
10368-576: The 1926 manual "Directives for the Conduct of the Operational Air War" continued to act as the main guide for German air operations. The manual directed OKL to focus on limited operations (not strategic operations): the protection of specific areas and support of the army in combat. With an effective tactical-operational concept, the German air power theorists needed a strategic doctrine and organisation. Robert Knauss [ de ] ,
10560-519: The Aerial Air War in 1935, Wever rejected the theory of Douhet and outlined five key points to air strategy: Wever began planning for a strategic bomber force and sought to incorporate strategic bombing into a war strategy. He believed that tactical aircraft should only be used as a step to developing a strategic air force. In May 1934, Wever initiated a seven-year project to develop the so-called " Ural bomber ", which could strike as far as into
10752-523: The Bf 110. The Luftwaffe also greatly expanded its aircrew training programmes by 42%, to 63 flying schools. These facilities were moved to eastern Germany, away from possible Allied threats. The number of aircrew reached 4,727, an increase of 31%. However, the rush to complete this rapid expansion scheme resulted in the deaths of 997 personnel and another 700 wounded. 946 aircraft were also destroyed in these accidents. The number of aircrew completing their training
10944-817: The Blitz of 1940–1941, but failed to break British morale, and the RAF shot down German planes by over a two to one ratio. Hitler had already ordered preparations for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. In spring 1941 the Luftwaffe helped its Axis partner, Italy, secure victory in the Balkans Campaign and continued to support Italy or the Italian Social Republic in the Mediterranean, Middle East and African theaters until May 1945. Albert Kesselring World War II Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960)
11136-619: The British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk despite intense bombing. The BEF escaped to continue the war. During the Battle of Britain in summer 1940, the Luftwaffe inflicted severe damage on Britain's Royal Air Force , but did not achieve the air superiority that Hitler had demanded for the proposed invasion of Britain , which was postponed and then canceled in December 1940. The Luftwaffe ravaged British cities during
11328-415: The British advance. For his services on the Western Front , he was decorated with the Iron Cross , 1st Class. In 1917, he was posted to the General Staff , despite not having attended the Bavarian War Academy . He served on the Eastern Front on the staff of the 2nd Bavarian Landwehr Division . His experience here shaped his subsequent anti-communist political outlook. In January 1918, he returned to
11520-436: The German aviation industry and the laying of the foundations for the Luftwaffe , serving as its chief of staff from 1936 to 1938. During World War II, he commanded Luftwaffe forces in the German invasions of Poland and France , the Battle of Britain and the invasion of the Soviet Union . As Wehrmacht Commander-in-Chief South, he was the overall German commander in the Mediterranean theatre , which included
11712-793: The Great Depression lowered the unemployment rate, so " work-shy " elements would be arrested to keep others working harder. At the same time, Himmler was also focusing on exploiting prisoners' labor within the camp system. Hitler's architect, Albert Speer , had grand plans for creating monumental Nazi architecture . The SS company German Earth and Stone Works (DEST) was set up with funds from Speer's agency for exploiting prisoner labour to extract building materials. Flossenbürg and Mauthausen had been built adjacent to quarries, and DEST also set up brickworks at Buchenwald and Sachsenhausen. Political prisoners were also arrested in larger numbers, including Jehovah's Witnesses and German émigrés who returned home. Czech and Austrian anti-Nazis were arrested after
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#173276625214311904-443: The Hague operation and viewed the capture of the Dutch government as nothing more than a bonus. He preferred the seizure of the Moerdijk bridges to breach Fortress Holland. Kesselring promised his air fleet would prevent the French Army advancing from Antwerp and intervening. The Battle of the Netherlands commenced on 10 May 1940. Kesselring's air operation was successful against the small Belgian Aviation Militaire , which
12096-469: The He 177A until September 1942. By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had ready for combat nine Jagdgeschwader (fighter wings) mostly equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E , four Zerstörergeschwader (destroyer wings) equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters, 11 Kampfgeschwader (bomber wings) equipped mainly with the Heinkel He 111 and the Dornier Do 17Z, and four Sturzkampfgeschwader (dive bomber wing") primarily armed with
12288-455: The Heinkel and Dornier, which fulfilled the Luftwaffe's requirements for bombers that were faster than 1930s-era fighters, many of which were biplanes or strut-braced monoplanes. Despite the participation of these aircraft (mainly from 1938 onward), it was the venerable Junkers Ju 52 (which soon became the backbone of the Transportgruppen ) that made the main contribution. During the Spanish Civil War Hitler remarked, "Franco ought to erect
12480-436: The IKL were guarded by members of the SS-Totenkopfverbande ("death's head"). The guards were housed in barracks adjacent to the camp and their duties were to guard the perimeter of the camp as well as work details. They were officially forbidden from entering the camps, although this rule was not followed. Towards the end of the 1930s, the SS-Totenkopfverbande expanded its operations and set up military units, which followed
12672-416: The Last Day"), in 1953. Kesselring accepted the honorary presidency of three veterans' organisations: the Luftwaffenring , consisting of Luftwaffe veterans; the Verband Deutsches Afrikakorps , the veterans' association of the Afrika Korps ; and, most controversially, the right-wing Der Stahlhelm before dying in 1960. Albert Kesselring was born in Marktsteft , Bavaria , on 30 November 1885,
12864-433: The Luftwaffe command believed medium bombers to be sufficient in power for use in strategic bombing operations against Germany's most likely enemies; Britain and France. The cancellation of Wever's long-range Ural bomber project in April 1937 was opposed by Kesselring. On 2 June the RLM relented and ordered a better-performing design, which became the Heinkel He 177 . The project took shape as Kesselring left office. In
13056-707: The Luftwaffe. Kesselring also had to contend with Göring appointing "yes men" to positions of importance. Udet realised his limitations, and his failures in the production and development of German aircraft would have serious long term consequences. The failure of the Luftwaffe to progress further towards attaining a strategic bombing force was attributable to several reasons. Many in the Luftwaffe command believed medium bombers to be sufficient power to launch strategic bombing operations against Germany's most likely enemies; France, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The United Kingdom presented greater problems. General der Flieger Hellmuth Felmy , commander of Luftflotte 2 in 1939,
13248-403: The Ministry of the Reichswehr , Kesselring was promoted to Oberstleutnant ( lieutenant colonel ) in 1930 and spent two years in Dresden with the 4th Artillery Regiment. Kesselring was discharged from the Reichswehr in 1933 against his wishes, and appointed head of the Department of Administration at the Reich Commissariat for Aviation ( Reichskommissariat für die Luftfahrt ),
13440-425: The Netherlands on 14 May 1940, Luftflotte 2 attempted to move forward to new airfields in Belgium while still providing support for the fast-moving ground troops. The Battle of France was going well, with General der Panzertruppe Heinz Guderian forcing a crossing of the River Meuse at Sedan on 13 May 1940. To support the breakthrough, Generalleutnant Wolfram von Richthofen 's Fliegerkorps VIII
13632-420: The Netherlands, Belgium, and France north of the Seine . Kesselring was initially responsible for the bombing of southeastern England and the London area, but as the battle progressed, command responsibility shifted, with Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle's Luftflotte 3 assuming responsibility for the night-time "blitz" attacks while Luftflotte 2 conducted the main daylight operations. Kesselring
13824-624: The RLM would not gamble on developing a heavy bomber which would also take time. Göring remarked, "the Führer will not ask how big the bombers there are, but only how many there are." The premature death of Wever, one of the Luftwaffe's finest officers, left the Luftwaffe without a strategic air force during World War II, which eventually proved fatal to the German war effort. The lack of strategic capability should have been apparent much earlier. The Sudeten Crisis highlighted German unpreparedness to conduct
14016-513: The SS to exert absolute power. Prisoners, who previously wore civilian clothes, were forced to wear uniforms with Nazi concentration camp badges . The number of prisoners began to rise again, from 4,761 on 1 November 1936 to 7,750 by the end of 1937. By the end of June 1938, the prisoner population had expanded threefold in the previous six months, to 24,000 prisoners. The increase was fueled by arrests of those considered habitual criminals or asocials . According to SS chief Heinrich Himmler ,
14208-462: The SS used Zyklon B to kill Soviet prisoners in improvised gas chambers . In 1942, the emphasis of the camps shifted to the war effort; by 1943, two-thirds of prisoners were employed by war industries. The death rate skyrocketed with an estimated half of the 180,000 prisoners admitted between July and November 1942 dying by the end of that interval. Orders to reduce deaths in order to spare inmate productivity had little effect in practice. During
14400-665: The Soviet Union, North Africa, and Southern Europe. Despite its belated use of advanced turbojet and rocket-propelled aircraft for the destruction of Allied bombers, the Luftwaffe was overwhelmed by the Allies' superior numbers and improved tactics, and a lack of trained pilots and aviation fuel. In January 1945, during the closing stages of the Battle of the Bulge , the Luftwaffe made a last-ditch effort to win air superiority , and met with failure. With rapidly dwindling supplies of petroleum, oil, and lubricants after this campaign, and as part of
14592-792: The Soviet Union, which was also isolated in Europe. A secret training airfield was established at Lipetsk in 1924 and operated for approximately nine years using mostly Dutch and Soviet, but also some German, training aircraft before being closed in 1933. This base was officially known as the 4th squadron of the 40th wing of the Red Army . Hundreds of Luftwaffe pilots and technical personnel visited, studied, and were trained at Soviet Air Force schools in several locations in Central Russia. Roessing, Blume, Fosse, Teetsemann, Heini, Makratzki, Blumendaat, and many other future Luftwaffe aces were trained in
14784-787: The Spanish Civil War. It helped the Falange under Francisco Franco to defeat the Republican forces. Over 20,000 German airmen gained combat experience that would give the Luftwaffe an important advantage going into the Second World War. One infamous operation was the bombing of Guernica in the Basque country . It is commonly assumed this attack was the result of a "terror doctrine" in Luftwaffe doctrine. The raids on Guernica and Madrid caused many civilian casualties and
14976-455: The Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany to have an air force, German pilots trained in secret. Initially, civil aviation schools within Germany were used, yet only light trainers could be used in order to maintain the façade that the trainees were going to fly with civil airlines such as Deutsche Luft Hansa . To train its pilots on the latest combat aircraft, Germany solicited the help of
15168-576: The USSR in joint Soviet-German schools that were set up under the patronage of Ernst August Köstring . The first steps towards the Luftwaffe's formation were undertaken just months after Adolf Hitler came to power. Hermann Göring , a World War I ace, became National Kommissar for aviation with former Luft Hansa director Erhard Milch as his deputy. In April 1933 the Reich Aviation Ministry ( Reichsluftfahrtministerium or RLM)
15360-456: The USSR. Udet realised that the upcoming war with the USSR might cripple Germany. Udet, torn between truth and loyalty, suffered a psychological breakdown and even tried to tell Hitler the truth, but Göring told Hitler that Udet was lying, then took Udet under control by giving him drugs at drinking parties and hunting trips. Udet's drinking and psychological condition became a problem, but Göring used Udet's dependency to manipulate him. Throughout
15552-517: The Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion , a Luftwaffe detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War , provided the force with a valuable testing ground for new tactics and aircraft. Partially as a result of this combat experience, the Luftwaffe had become one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced, and battle-experienced air forces in
15744-636: The Western Front as a staff officer with the II and III Royal Bavarian Corps . After the war, Kesselring was involved in the demobilisation of III Royal Bavarian Corps in the Nuremberg area, as mandated by the Treaty of Versailles . A dispute with the leader of the local right-wing paramilitary Freikorps led to the issuance of an arrest warrant for his alleged involvement in a putsch against
15936-558: The annexation of their countries in 1938 and 1939. Jews were also increasingly targeted, with 2,000 Viennese Jews arrested after the Nazi annexation. After the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938, 26,000 Jewish men were deported to concentration camps following mass arrests , overwhelming the capacity of the system. These prisoners were subject to unprecedented abuse leading to hundreds of deaths – more people died at Dachau in
16128-562: The anti-aircraft units had 600,000 soldiers and 530,000 auxiliaries, including 60,000 male members of the Reichsarbeitsdienst , 50,000 Luftwaffenhelfer (males age 15–17), 80,000 Flakwehrmänner (males above military age) and Flak-V-soldaten (males unfit for military service), and 160,000 female Flakwaffenhelferinnen and RAD-Maiden , as well as 160,000 foreign personnel ( Hiwis ). The Luftwaffe's Condor Legion experimented with new doctrine and aircraft during
16320-422: The area of aerial doctrine, Kesselring has been described by James Corum as a "worthy successor" to Wever. Like many ex-Army officers, Kesselring saw the importance of air power in the tactical role, providing support to land operations. In the historiography of the Luftwaffe, Kesselring and Hans-Jürgen Stumpff are usually blamed for neglecting strategic bombing while over-focusing on close air support for
16512-528: The army and navy to develop a joint strategy. Kesselring, in particular, did not understand how the RAF fighter defences worked, and even after the war held the naïve assumption Fighter Command could simply have been destroyed in dogfights . The first phase of the battle—the Kanalkampf (Channel Battles) was marginally successful. Operation Eagle and the 18 August battles failed to break British air defences. The German attacks on RAF airfields reached
16704-471: The army to move heavy artillery over recently captured territory to bombard fortifications or support ground forces, and dive bombers could do the job faster. Dive bombers, often single-engine two-man machines, could achieve better results than larger six or seven-man aircraft, at a tenth of the cost and four times the accuracy. This led to Udet championing the dive bomber, particularly the Junkers Ju 87 . Udet's "love affair" with dive-bombing seriously affected
16896-406: The army, mopping up pockets of resistance. Göring was delighted with the performance. Command and control problems occurred, but flexibility and improvisation in both the army and the Luftwaffe solved these problems. The Luftwaffe was to have in place a ground-to-air communication system, which played a vital role in the success of 1940's Fall Gelb . In the spring of 1940 the Luftwaffe assisted
17088-712: The army. However, the two most prominent enthusiasts for the focus on ground-support operations (either close air support or air interdiction ) were Hugo Sperrle and Hans Jeschonnek . These men were long-time professional airmen involved in German air services since their early careers. Kesselring strongly supported the program to produce a long-range heavy bomber. As chief of staff he supported new technologies and training for bomb aimers and navigators to carry out effective long-range bombing missions and at high altitudes. In March 1939 Kesselring expressed his doubt this could be done accurately at night or in bad weather. German scientists succeeded in proving otherwise , and developed
17280-481: The bombing of the helpless Dutch city of Rotterdam, and slaughtered thousands of civilians." Under the Hague Convention of 1907 , bombardment itself was not forbidden since Rotterdam was not an undefended city , but other aspects of the bombardment may have violated the laws of war. Historians are divided as to whether the bombing was an act of terror or served a tactical purpose. After the surrender of
17472-410: The camp system, and aspects such as forced labor. As late as the 1990s, German local and economic history omitted mention of the camps or presented them as exclusively the responsibility of the SS. Two scholarly encyclopedias of the concentration camps have been published: Der Ort des Terrors and Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos . According to Caplan and Wachsmann, "more books have been published on
17664-534: The campaign in the west, Kesselring was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall ( field marshal ) during the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony . Following the campaign in France, Kesselring's Luftflotte 2 was committed to the Battle of Britain . Luftflotte 2 's headquarters was located in Brussels . Kesselring's air fleet was numerically the strongest in the Luftwaffe in mid–1940. He controlled formations in
17856-400: The camps because Germans saw the prisoners rather than the guards as criminals. She writes that demand for SS construction brigades "points to general acceptance of the concentration camps". In Cologne some construction brigade prisoners were shot in broad daylight. There were 27 main camps and, according to historian Nikolaus Wachsmann 's estimate, more than 1,100 satellite camps. This is
18048-445: The camps has often been depicted as a Darwinian struggle for survival, although some mutual aid existed. Individual efforts to survive, sometimes at others' expense, could hamper the aggregate survival rate. The influx of non-German prisoners from 1939 changed the previous hierarchy based on triangle to one based on nationality. Jews, Slavic prisoners, and Spanish Republicans were targeted for especially harsh treatment which led to
18240-522: The camps to be murdered in euthanasia centers . By April 1942, when the operation finished, at least 6,000 and as many as 20,000 people had been killed – the first act of systematic killing in the camp system. Beginning in August 1941, selected Soviet prisoners of war were killed within the concentration camps, usually within a few days of their arrival. By mid-1942, when the operation finished, at least 34,000 Soviet prisoners had been murdered. At Auschwitz,
18432-407: The camps where they worked, often engaging prisoners for domestic labor. Perpetration by this leadership was based on their tight social bonds, a perceived common sense that the aims of the system were good, as well as the opportunity for material gain. Before World War II, most prisoners in the concentration camps were Germans. After the expansion of Nazi Germany, people from countries occupied by
18624-576: The camps. These subcamps, often established in town centers in such locations as schools, restaurants, barracks, factory buildings, or military camps, were joint ventures between industry and the SS. An increasing number of German civilians interacted with the camps: entrepreneurs and landowners provided land or services, doctors decided which prisoners were healthy enough to continue working, foremen oversaw labor deployments, and administrators helped with logistics. SS construction brigades were in demand by municipalities to clear bomb debris and rebuild. For
18816-460: The case of the Ju 88, 50,000 modifications had to be made. The weight was increased from seven to twelve tons. This resulted in a speed loss of 200 km/h. Udet merely conveyed the OKL's own dive-bombing capability request to Ernst Heinkel concerning the He 177, who vehemently opposed such an idea, which ruined its development as a heavy bomber. Göring was not able to rescind the dive-bombing requirement for
19008-537: The close working relationship between the two. Kesselring's mission was to gain air superiority, and if possible air supremacy , as soon as possible while still supporting ground operations. For this, he had a fleet of 1,223 aircraft, which made up half of the Luftwaffe's commitment. Kesselring later remarked he "instructed my air force and flak generals to consider the wishes of the Army as my orders." The German attack caught large numbers of Soviet Air Force aircraft on
19200-488: The command of III Bavarian Corps, and Kesselring was thrown into prison. He was soon released, but his superior, Major Hans Seyler, censured him for having "failed to display the requisite discretion". From 1919 to 1922, Kesselring served as a battery commander with the 24th Artillery Regiment. He joined the Reichswehr on 1 October 1922 and was posted to the Military Training Department at
19392-429: The commencement of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941. Kesselring arranged with Göring for Luftflotte 2 to be allocated additional transport to allow it to keep up with fast-moving armoured columns. The failure of German logistics left only 15 per cent of the Luftwaffe's 100,000 vehicles operational by the end of 1941. Luftflotte 2 operated in support of Army Group Centre , commanded by Bock, continuing
19584-425: The concentration camp system after being deported to Auschwitz. Despite many deaths, as many as 200,000 Jews survived the war inside the camp system. Conditions worsened after the outbreak of war due to reduction in food, worsening housing, and increase in work. Deaths from disease and malnutrition increased, outpacing other causes of death. However, the food provided was usually sufficient to sustain life. Life in
19776-457: The concentration camps. About 1.65 million people were registered prisoners in the camps, of whom about a million died during their imprisonment. Most of the fatalities occurred during the second half of World War II, including at least a third of the 700,000 prisoners who were registered as of January 1945. Following Allied military victories, the camps were gradually liberated in 1944 and 1945, although hundreds of thousands of prisoners died in
19968-549: The end of 1914, when he was transferred to the 1st Bavarian Foot Artillery , which formed part of the Sixth Army . On 19 May 1916, he was promoted to Hauptmann ( captain ). In 1916 he was transferred again, to the 3rd Bavarian Foot Artillery . He distinguished himself in the Battle of Arras in 1917, "by his tireless and assiduous work, and by the preparation of clear and carefully constructed orders", despite being on duty for over twenty hours, and succeeded in halting
20160-569: The end of the war, main camps were functioning more and more as transfer stations from which prisoners were redirected to subcamps. At their peak in 1945, concentration camp prisoners made up 3 per cent of workers in Germany. Historian Marc Buggeln estimates that no more than 1 per cent of the labor for Germany's arms production came from concentration camp prisoners. Arrests of Germans in 1933 were often accompanied by public humiliation or beatings. If released, prisoners might return home with visible marks of abuse or psychological breakdown. Using
20352-693: The end of the war, only 5 to 10 per cent of the camp population was "Reich Germans" from Germany or Austria. More than 100,000 Soviet prisoners of war and smaller groups from other nationalities were transferred to the concentration camps in direct violation of the Geneva Convention . Most Jews who were persecuted and killed during the Holocaust were never prisoners in concentration camps. Significant numbers of Jews were imprisoned beginning in November 1938 because of Kristallnacht , after which they were always overrepresented as prisoners. During
20544-568: The entire combined Wehrmacht military forces as a whole, the Luftwaffe ceased to be an effective fighting force. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe was disbanded in 1946. During World War II, German pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories, while over 75,000 Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed or significantly damaged. Of these, nearly 40,000 were lost entirely. The Luftwaffe had only two commanders-in-chief throughout its history: Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and later Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim for
20736-521: The entry of Douhet's theory into doctrine, fearing revenge strikes against German civilians and cities. In December 1934, Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff Walther Wever sought to mold the Luftwaffe's battle doctrine into a strategic plan. At this time, Wever conducted war games (simulated against France) in a bid to establish his theory of a strategic bombing force that would, he thought, prove decisive by winning
20928-557: The fighter and dive-bombers would be forced to operate at their maximum range. Neither man was confident of gaining air superiority. The protests were disregarded. It left the burden of preventing the Allied evacuation of Dunkirk to Kesselring's air fleet. Hampered by poor flying weather and staunch opposition from the Royal Air Force (RAF), the German operation failed. Kesselring and his air commanders turned their attention to
21120-406: The figures could be directly confirmed and were found to be too low. Kesselring wrote that within days, he was able to fly over the front in his Focke-Wulf Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft to observe the terrain and advance. With air supremacy attained, Luftflotte 2 concentrated on ground operations, particularly guarding the flanks of the armoured spearheads, without which the rapid advance
21312-429: The final phase of the battle for France; Case Red . On 3 June, in a prelude to Red, the Luftwaffe conducted Operation Paula , a strategic air offensive against factories and airfields in and around Paris. Though German losses were minimal, the results were disappointing. The Luftwaffe high command ( Oberkommando der Luftwaffe ) (OKL) wrongly perceived the operation a success. The campaign proceeded rapidly;
21504-566: The first of the five times he was shot down during World War II. Although not under Bock's command, Kesselring's purpose was to support Army Group North in closing the Polish Corridor from the third day, with emphasis thereafter on supporting the 3rd Army as it advanced along the Vistula to isolate Warsaw from the east. From 8 September Kesselring began interdiction operations against bridges as German forces advanced on Warsaw. When
21696-519: The first years of the camps, unemployment was high and prisoners were forced to perform economically valueless but strenuous tasks, such as farming on moorland (such as at Esterwegen ). Other prisoners had to work on constructing and expanding the camps. In the years before World War II, quarrying and bricklaying for the SS company DEST played a central role in prisoner labor. Despite prisoners' increasing economic importance, conditions declined; prisoners were seen as expendable so each influx of prisoners
21888-573: The following months due to the desire to suppress tens of thousands of Nazi opponents in Germany. The Reichstag fire in February 1933 was the pretext for mass arrests. The Reichstag Fire Decree eliminated the right to personal freedom enshrined in the Weimar Constitution and provided a legal basis for detention without trial . The first camp was Nohra , established on 3 March 1933 in a school. The number of prisoners in 1933–1934
22080-414: The force sent out. German crew losses were seven times that of the British. Furthermore, Fighter Command did not commit its reserve during the main attacks as the German command predicted. Luftflotte 2 continued The Blitz on British cities until May 1941. The zone of operations extended on a line from Selsey Bill , to Oxford , Birmingham – Manchester and Carlisle . Everything west of that line
22272-581: The forerunner of the Reich Air Ministry ( Reichsluftfahrtministerium ) (RLM), with the rank of Oberst ( colonel ) in 1934. Since the Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany from establishing an air force, this was nominally a civilian agency. The Luftwaffe was not formally established until 26 February 1935. He was involved in the re-establishment of the aviation industry and the construction of secret factories, forging alliances with industrialists and aviation engineers. Promotion in
22464-480: The four months after Kristallnacht than in the previous five years. Most of the Jewish prisoners were soon released, often after promising to emigrate. At the end of August 1939, prisoners of Flossenbürg, Sachsenhausen, and other concentration camps were murdered as part of false flag attacks staged by Germany to justify the invasion of Poland . During the war, the camps became increasingly brutal and lethal due to
22656-408: The ground. Faulty tactics—sending unescorted bombers against the Germans at regular intervals in tactically unsound formations—accounted for many more. Kesselring reported that in the first week of operations Luftflotte 2 had accounted for 2,500 Soviet aircraft in the air and on the ground. Even Göring found these figures hard to believe and ordered them to be checked. As the ground troops advanced,
22848-449: The groundwork for the research and development efforts that would produce new weapons. He was involved in secret military manoeuvres held in the Soviet Union in 1924 and the so-called Great Plan for a 102- division army, which was prepared in 1923 and 1924. Following the recommendation of a commission headed by Kesselring in 1929, aviation officers and agencies were consolidated into an inspectorate of aviation. After another brief stint at
23040-495: The heart of the Soviet Union. In 1935, this design competition led to the Dornier Do 19 and Junkers Ju 89 prototypes, although both were underpowered. In April 1936, Wever issued requirements for the 'Bomber A' design competition: a range of 6,700 kilometres (4,200 mi) with a 900 kilograms (2,000 lb) bomb load. However Wever's vision of a "Ural" bomber was never realised, and his emphasis on strategic aerial operations
23232-491: The height of the Holocaust from 1941 to 1943, the Jewish population of the concentration camps was low. Extermination camps for the mass murder of Jews— Kulmhof , Belzec , Sobibor , and Treblinka —were set up outside the concentration camp system. The existing IKL camps Auschwitz and Majdanek gained additional function as extermination camps. After mid-1943, some forced-labor camps for Jews and some Nazi ghettos were converted into concentration camps. Other Jews entered
23424-468: The history of Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe had only two commanders-in-chief. The first was Göring, with the second and last being Generalfeldmarschall Robert Ritter von Greim . His appointment as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe was concomitant with his promotion to Generalfeldmarschall , the last German officer in World War II to be promoted to the highest rank. Other officers promoted to
23616-649: The iconic Junkers Ju 87B Stuka . The Luftwaffe was just starting to accept the Junkers Ju 88A for service, as it had encountered design difficulties, with only a dozen aircraft of the type considered combat-ready. The Luftwaffe's strength at this time stood at 373,000 personnel (208,000 flying troops, 107,000 in the Flak Corps, and 58,000 in the Signals Corps). Aircraft strength was 4,201 operational aircraft: 1,191 bombers, 361 dive bombers, 788 fighters, 431 heavy fighters, and 488 transports. Despite deficiencies, it
23808-604: The industrial and military effort strategic bombing would require. By 1939 the Luftwaffe was not much better prepared than its enemies to conduct a strategic bombing campaign, with fatal results during the Battle of Britain . The German rearmament programme faced difficulties acquiring raw materials. Germany imported most of its essential materials for rebuilding the Luftwaffe, in particular rubber and aluminum. Petroleum imports were particularly vulnerable to blockade. Germany pushed for synthetic fuel plants but still failed to meet demands. In 1937 Germany imported more fuel than it had at
24000-631: The lack of precision munitions made the bombing indiscriminate and militarily ineffective. For his part in the Polish campaign, Kesselring was personally awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Hitler. Kesselring's Luftflotte 1 was not involved in the preparations for the campaigns in the west . Instead, it remained in the east on garrison duty, establishing new airbases and an air-raid precautions network in occupied Poland . However, after
24192-502: The last two weeks of the war. The Luftwaffe was deeply involved in Nazi war crimes . By the end of the war, a significant percentage of aircraft production originated in concentration camps , an industry employing tens of thousands of prisoners. The Luftwaffe's demand for labour was one of the factors that led to the deportation and murder of hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews in 1944. The Luftwaffe frequently bombed non-military targets,
24384-517: The long-term development of the Luftwaffe, especially after Wever's death. The tactical strike aircraft programmes were meant to serve as interim solutions until the next generation of aircraft arrived. In 1936 the Junkers Ju 52 was the backbone of the German bomber fleet. This led to a rush on the part of the RLM to produce the Junkers Ju 86 , the Heinkel He 111, and the Dornier Do 17 before
24576-586: The machine-gunning of civilians and livestock. When World War II began in 1939, the Luftwaffe was one of the most technologically advanced air forces in the world. During the Polish Campaign that triggered the war, it quickly established air superiority, and then air supremacy. It supported the German Army operations which ended the campaign in five weeks. The Luftwaffe's performance was as the OKL had hoped. The Luftwaffe rendered invaluable support to
24768-568: The main camps. The number of prisoners tripled from 21,000 in August 1939 to about 70,000 to 80,000 in early 1942. This expansion was driven by the demand for forced labor and later the invasion of the Soviet Union ; new camps were sent up near quarries (Natzweiler and Gross-Rosen) or brickworks (Neuengamme). In April 1941, the high command of the SS ordered the murder of ill and exhausted prisoners who could no longer work (especially those deemed racially inferior). Victims were selected by camp personnel or traveling doctors, and were removed from
24960-437: The meantime, German designs of mid-1930s origin such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 , the Heinkel He 111 , the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, and the Dornier Do 17 , performed very well. All first saw active service in the Condor Legion against Soviet-supplied aircraft. The Luftwaffe also quickly realised the days of the biplane fighter were finished, the Heinkel He 51 being switched to service as a trainer. Particularly impressive were
25152-521: The more accurate figure of 1,000 fighters. Nevertheless, Kesselring's perception prevailed. The disagreement between the two air fleet commanders was not uncommon, and although they rarely quarrelled, their commands were separate and they did not coordinate their efforts. Instead, they fought separate campaigns. The focus of air operations changed to destroying the docks and factories in the centre of London. The change in strategy has been described as militarily controversial. The decision certainly relieved
25344-413: The new main camps, many satellite camps were set up to more effectively leverage prisoner labor for the war effort. Beginning in the mid-1930s, the camps were organized according to the following structure: commandant / adjutant , political department , protective custody camp , administration [ de ] , camp doctor , and guard command. In November 1940, the IKL came under the control of
25536-410: The opposition from both fighters and anti-aircraft guns. Kesselring began bombing raids on the capital on 21 July with four bomber wings numbering 195 aircraft—the largest during the period. Strategic bombing operations were intensive in October 1941, but diverted from the army support sphere, and dissipated the air effort. Militarily they had no effect and were considered prestige operations. Kesselring
25728-568: The plans of the Nazi leadership: most victims died in the second half of the war. Five new camps were opened between the start of the war and the end of 1941: Neuengamme (early 1940), outside of Hamburg ; Auschwitz (June 1940), which initially operated as a concentration camp for Polish resistance activists; Gross-Rosen (May 1941) in Silesia ; and Natzweiler (May 1941) in territory annexed from France . The first satellite camps were also established, administratively subordinated to one of
25920-461: The practice of " terror bombing " (see Luftwaffe strategic bombing doctrine ). According to Corum, terror bombing was deemed to be "counter-productive", increasing rather than destroying the enemy's will to resist. Such bombing campaigns were regarded as diversion from the Luftwaffe's main operations; destruction of the enemy armed forces. Nevertheless, Wever recognised the importance of strategic bombing . In newly introduced doctrine, The Conduct of
26112-428: The press were scarce but larger numbers of people were arrested and people who interacted with the camps, such as those who registered deaths, could make conclusions about the camp conditions and discuss with acquaintances. The visibility of the camps heightened during the war due to increasing prisoner numbers, the establishment of many subcamps in proximity to German civilians, and the use of labor deployments outside
26304-428: The pressure on Fighter Command, but wartime records and post-war analysis have shown that Fighter Command was not on the verge of collapse as assumed by German intelligence. On 7 September Kesselring's air fleet was still the largest in the Luftwaffe . At his command were 1,311 aircraft from an operational German total of 1,895. Eight days later his air fleet alone carried out a daylight air attack on London which
26496-799: The prisoners, chances of survival rarely improved despite the contact with the outside world, although those few Germans who tried to help did not encounter punishment. Germans were often shocked to see the reality of the concentration camps up close, but reluctant to aid the prisoners because of fear that they would be imprisoned as well. Others found the poor state of the prisoners to confirm Nazi propaganda about them. Historian Robert Gellately argues that "the Germans generally turned out to be proud and pleased that Hitler and his henchmen were putting away certain kinds of people who did not fit in, or who were regarded as 'outsiders', 'asocials', 'useless eaters', or 'criminals ' ". According to historian Karola Fings , fear of arrest did not undermine public support for
26688-656: The rank of Oberstleutnant or, exceptionally, an Oberst . Even a Leutnant (second lieutenant) could find himself commanding a Staffel . Similarly, a bomber wing was a Kampfgeschwader (KG), a night fighter wing was a Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG), a dive bomber wing was a Stukageschwader (StG), and units equivalent to those in RAF Coastal Command, with specific responsibilities for coastal patrols and search and rescue duties, were Küstenfliegergruppen (Kü.Fl. Gr.). Specialist bomber groups were known as Kampfgruppen (KGr). The strength of
26880-417: The requirement from its inception on 5 November 1937 to have moderate dive-bombing capabilities in a 30-meter wingspan aircraft. Moreover, Germany did not possess the economic resources to match the later British and American effort of 1943–1944, particularly in large-scale mass production of high power output aircraft engines (with output of over least 1,500 kW (2,000 hp). In addition, the OKL had not foreseen
27072-550: The resurgence of the Red Air Force in his sector, led to the defeat at Yelna in September. The cost of the successful encirclement battles was severe. In a thirteen-day period during the battle for Smolensk, from 6–19 July, Kesselring's air fleet lost 447 aircraft. In late 1941, Luftflotte 2 supported the final German offensive against Moscow, Operation Typhoon . Raids on Moscow proved hazardous. Kesselring rated
27264-905: The second half of the war, Auschwitz swelled in size – fueled by the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Jews – and became the center of the camp system. It was the deadliest concentration camp and Jews sent there faced a virtual death sentence even if they were not immediately killed, as most were. In August 1943, 74,000 of the 224,000 registered prisoners in all SS concentration camps were in Auschwitz. In 1943 and early 1944, additional concentration camps – Riga in Latvia, Kovno in Lithuania, Vaivara in Estonia, and Kraków-Plaszów in Poland – were converted from ghettos or labor camps; these camps were populated almost entirely by Jewish prisoners. Along with
27456-511: The second highest military rank in Germany were Kesselring, Hugo Sperrle , Milch, and Wolfram von Richthofen . At the end of the war, with Berlin surrounded by the Red Army , Göring suggested to Hitler that he take over leadership of the Reich. Hitler ordered his arrest and execution, but Göring's SS guards did not carry out the order, and Göring survived to be tried at Nuremberg . Sperrle
27648-470: The sites of Nazi camps, such as Theresienstadt and Mauthausen . Many prisoners held by Germany died as a result of intentional withholding of food and dangerous working conditions in violation of the 1907 Hague Convention . In countries such as France , Belgium , Italy , Austria-Hungary , and Germany, civilians deemed to be of "enemy origin" were denaturalized . Hundreds of thousands were interned and subject to forced labor in harsh conditions. During
27840-703: The son of Carl Adolf Kesselring, a schoolmaster and town councillor, and his wife Rosina, Carl's second cousin. Albert's early years were spent in Marktsteft, where relatives had operated a brewery since 1688. Graduating from the Christian Ernestinum Secondary School in Bayreuth in 1904, Kesselring joined the German Army as a Fahnenjunker ( officer cadet ) in the 2nd Bavarian Foot Artillery Regiment . The regiment
28032-529: The start of the decade. By summer 1938, only 25% of the requirements could be covered. In steel materials, industry was operating at barely 83% of capacity, and by November 1938 Göring reported the economic situation was serious. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the overall command for all German military forces, ordered reductions in raw materials and steel used for armament production. The figures for reduction were substantial: 30% steel, 20% copper, 47% aluminum, and 14% rubber. Under such circumstances, it
28224-573: The terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles , which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union . With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the Luftwaffe's existence was publicly acknowledged and officially established on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of
28416-552: The total death toll is estimated at 1.8 to more than two million. Most of the fatalities occurred during the second half of World War II, including at least a third of the 700,000 prisoners who were registered as of January 1945. Major evacuations of the camps occurred in mid-1944 from the Baltics and eastern Poland , January 1945 from western Poland and Silesia , and in March 1945 from concentration camps in Germany. Both Jewish and non-Jewish prisoners died in large numbers as
28608-581: The training aircraft and schools in their operational areas. A Geschwader was commanded by a Geschwaderkommodore , with the rank of either major, Oberstleutnant ( lieutenant colonel ) or Oberst ( colonel ). Other "staff" officers within the unit with administrative duties included the adjutant, technical officer, and operations officer, who were usually (though not always) experienced aircrew or pilots still flying on operations. Other specialist staff were navigation, signals, and intelligence personnel. A Stabschwarm (headquarters flight )
28800-607: The unemployed. Although the Nazis had previously targeted social outsiders, the influx of new prisoners meant that political prisoners became a minority. To house the new prisoners, three new camps were established: Flossenbürg (May 1938) near the Czechoslovak border, Mauthausen (August 1938) in territory annexed from Austria , and Ravensbrück (May 1939) the first purpose-built camp for female prisoners. The mass arrests were partly motivated by economic factors. Recovery from
28992-446: The untimely death of Wever in early June 1936 in an aviation-related accident , by the late 1930s the Luftwaffe had no clear purpose. The air force was not subordinated to the army support role, and it was not given any particular strategic mission. German doctrine fell between the two concepts. The Luftwaffe was to be an organisation capable of carrying out broad and general support tasks rather than any specific mission. Mainly, this path
29184-469: The war through the destruction of enemy industry, even though these exercises also included tactical strikes against enemy ground forces and communications. In 1935, "Luftwaffe Regulation 16: The Conduct of the Air War" was drawn up. In the proposal, it concluded, "The mission of the Luftwaffe is to serve these goals." Historian James Corum states that under this doctrine, the Luftwaffe leadership rejected
29376-634: The war, most Germans rejected the crimes associated with the concentration camps, while denying any knowledge or responsibility. Under the West German policy of Wiedergutmachung ( lit. ' making good again ' ), some survivors of concentration camps received compensation for their imprisonment. A few perpetrators were put on trial after the war. Accounts of the concentration camps – both condemnatory and sympathetic – were publicized outside of Germany before World War II. Many survivors testified about their experiences or wrote memoirs after
29568-418: The war. Some of these accounts have become internationally famous, such as Primo Levi 's 1947 book, If This is a Man . The concentration camps have been the subject of historical writings since Eugen Kogon 's 1946 study, Der SS-Staat [ de ] ("The SS State"). Substantial research did not begin until the 1980s. Scholarship has focused on the fate of groups of prisoners, the organization of
29760-702: The word "concentration camp" has acquired the connotation of murder because of the Nazi concentration camps, the British camps in South Africa did not involve systematic murder. The German Empire also established concentration camps during the Herero and Namaqua genocide (1904–1907); the death rate of these camps was 45 per cent, twice that of the British camps. During the First World War , eight to nine million prisoners of war were held in prisoner-of-war camps , some of them at locations which were later
29952-529: The world when World War II broke out in September 1939. By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had twenty-eight Geschwader (wings) . The Luftwaffe also operated a paratrooper force known as the Fallschirmjäger . The Luftwaffe proved instrumental in the German victories across Poland and Western Europe in 1939 and 1940. Although the Luftwaffe inflicted severe damage to the RAF 's infrastructure during
30144-466: Was Helmuth Wilberg . Wilberg later played a large role in the development of German air doctrine. Having headed the Reichswehr air staff for eight years in the 1920s, Wilberg had considerable experience and was ideal for a senior staff position. Göring considered making Wilberg Chief of Staff (CS). However, it was revealed Wilberg had a Jewish mother. For that reason, Göring could not have him as CS. Not wishing his talent to go to waste, Göring ensured
30336-527: Was JG 1, its first Gruppe (group) was I./JG 1, using a Roman numeral for the Gruppe number only, and its first Staffel (squadron) was 1./JG 1. Geschwader strength was usually 120–125 aircraft. Each Gruppe was commanded by a Kommandeur , and a Staffel by a Staffelkapitän . However, these were "appointments", not ranks, within the Luftwaffe. Usually, the Kommodore would hold
30528-538: Was Sperrle's responsibility. On 20 October, the OKL ordered Sperrle to take on most of the burden of night operations. Kesselring was instructed to concentrate on ports in Eastern England and carry out at least 50 airstrikes in London per night. The air fleet deployed single-engine aircraft, including dive-bombers, nicknamed " Leichte Kesselringe " (light Kesselrings) in hit-and-run raids. These tactics became
30720-620: Was a German military officer and convicted war criminal who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II . In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring reached the rank of the Generalfeldmarschall ( Field marshal ) and became one of Nazi Germany 's most highly decorated commanders. Kesselring joined the Bavarian Army as an officer cadet in 1904, serving in the artillery branch. He completed training as
30912-410: Was accomplished by destroying communications, which increased the pace of the army advance and enabled ground forces to overrun Polish airstrips and early warning sites. Sporadic Polish aerial resistance continued until 14 September. The Polish Air Force earned Kesselring's respect and he considered that Polish pilots and aircraft were not inferior. Kesselring himself was shot down during the campaign,
31104-488: Was an impressive force. However, even by the spring of 1940, the Luftwaffe still had not mobilised fully. Despite the shortage of raw materials, Udet had increased production through introducing a 10-hour working day for aviation industries and rationalising production. During this period 30 Kampfstaffeln and 16 Jagdstaffeln were raised and equipped. A further five Zerstörergruppen ("Destroyer groups") were created (JGr 101, 102, 126, 152 and 176), all equipped with
31296-418: Was appointed Chief of German Police on 17 June 1936. Of the six SS camps operational as of mid-1936, only two (Dachau and Lichtenburg) still existed by 1938. In the place of the camps that closed down, Eicke opened new camps at Sachsenhausen (September 1936) and Buchenwald (July 1937). Unlike earlier camps, the newly opened camps were purpose-built, isolated from the population and the rule of law , enabling
31488-565: Was attached to each Geschwader . A Jagdgeschwader (hunting wing) (JG) was a single-seat day fighter Geschwader , typically equipped with Bf 109 or Fw 190 aircraft flying in the fighter or fighter-bomber roles. Late in the war, by 1944–45, JG 7 and JG 400 (and the jet specialist JV 44 ) flew much more advanced aircraft, with JG 1 working up with the Heinkel He 162 "emergency fighter" at war's end. A Geschwader consisted of groups ( Gruppen ), which in turn consisted of Jagdstaffel (fighter squadrons). Hence, Fighter Wing 1
31680-628: Was based at Metz and was responsible for maintaining its forts . He remained with the regiment until 1915, except for periods at the Military Academy from 1905 to 1906, after which he received his commission as a Leutnant ( lieutenant ), and at the School of Artillery and Engineering in Munich from 1909 to 1910. In 1910, Kesselring married Luise Anna Pauline (Liny) Keyssler, the daughter of an apothecary from Bayreuth. Their marriage
31872-475: Was charged with devising a plan for an air war over the British Isles. Felmy was convinced that Britain could be defeated through morale bombing. Felmy noted the alleged panic that had broken out in London during the Munich crisis , evidence he believed of British weakness. A second reason was technical. German designers had never solved the issues of the Heinkel He 177A's design difficulties, brought on by
32064-609: Was childless, but in 1913 they adopted Rainer, the son of Albert's second cousin Kurt Kesselring. In 1912, Kesselring completed training as a balloon observer in a dirigible section—an early sign of an interest in aviation. Kesselring's superiors considered posting him to the School of Artillery and Engineering as an instructor because of his expertise in "the interplay between tactics and technology". During World War I, Kesselring served with his regiment in Lorraine until
32256-452: Was chosen to encourage more flexible use of air power and offer the ground forces the right conditions for a decisive victory. In fact, on the outbreak of war, only 15% of the Luftwaffe's aircraft were devoted to ground support operations, counter to the long-held myth that the Luftwaffe was designed for only tactical and operational missions. Wever's participation in the construction of the Luftwaffe came to an abrupt end on 3 June 1936 when he
32448-591: Was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death for ordering the murder of 335 Italian civilians in the Ardeatine massacre , and for inciting and ordering his troops to kill civilians as part of reprisals against the Italian resistance movement . The sentence was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. A political and media campaign resulted in his release in 1952, ostensibly on health grounds. He published his memoirs, Soldat bis zum letzten Tag ("A Soldier to
32640-593: Was created in 1940 to direct operations in Norway and Denmark, and other Luftflotten were created as necessary. Each Luftflotte would contain several Fliegerkorps (Air Corps), Fliegerdivision (Air Division), Jagdkorps (Fighter Corps), Jagddivision (Air Division), or Jagdfliegerführer (Fighter Air Command). Each formations would have attached to it a number of units, usually several Geschwader , but also independent Staffeln and Kampfgruppen . Luftflotten were also responsible for
32832-400: Was essential to being able to command airmen, although he was well aware that latecomers like himself did not impress the old pioneers or the young aviators. He qualified in various single- and multi-engine aircraft and continued flying three or four days per week until March 1945. Following the death of Generalleutnant Walther Wever in an air crash, Kesselring became Chief of Staff of
33024-583: Was established. The RLM was in charge of the development and production of aircraft. Göring's control over all aspects of aviation became absolute. On 25 March 1933 the German Air Sports Association absorbed all private and national organisations, while retaining its 'sports' title. On 15 May 1933, all military aviation organisations in the RLM were merged, forming the Luftwaffe; its official 'birthday'. The National Socialist Flyers Corps ( Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps or NSFK)
33216-529: Was followed by increasing death rate. Private sector cooperation remained marginal to the overall concentration camp system for the first half of the war. After the failure to take Moscow in late 1941, the demand for armaments increased. The WVHA sought out partnerships with private industry and Speer's Armaments Ministry . In September 1942, Himmler and Speer agreed to use prisoners in armaments production and to repair damage from Allied bombing . Local authorities and private companies could hire prisoners at
33408-653: Was formed in 1937 to give pre-military flying training to male youths, and to engage adult sport aviators in the Nazi movement. Military-age members of the NSFK were drafted into the Luftwaffe. As all such prior NSFK members were also Nazi Party members, this gave the new Luftwaffe a strong Nazi ideological base in contrast to the other branches of the Wehrmacht (the Heer (army) and the Kriegsmarine (navy)). Göring played
33600-411: Was given to army support, as Germany was a continental power and expected to face ground operations following any declaration of hostilities. For these reasons, between 1933 and 1934, the Luftwaffe's leadership was primarily concerned with tactical and operational methods. In aerial terms, the army concept of Truppenführung was an operational concept, as well as a tactical doctrine. In World War I,
33792-497: Was in contrast to his predecessor, Wever. Overall it has been surmised that Kesselring was not an effective chief of staff, primarily because he lacked Wever's strategic insight. Kesselring requested a transfer to a field command, and the head of the Luftwaffe , Hermann Göring , gave him command of Luftgau III (Air District III) in Dresden. Kesselring was promoted to General der Flieger in 1937, and became commander of Luftflotte 1 in 1938, until January 1940. In
33984-437: Was killed along with his engineer in a Heinkel He 70 Blitz, ironically on the very day that his "Bomber A" heavy bomber design competition was announced. After Wever's death, Göring began taking more of an interest in the appointment of Luftwaffe staff officers. Göring appointed his successor Albert Kesselring as Chief of Staff and Ernst Udet to head the Reich's Air Ministry Technical Office ( Technisches Amt ), although he
34176-460: Was lost. The only design submittal for Wever's 'Bomber A' that reached production was Heinkel 's Projekt 1041 , which culminated in the production and frontline service as Germany's only operational heavy bomber, the Heinkel He 177 , on 5 November 1937, the date on which it received its RLM airframe number . In 1935, the military functions of the RLM were grouped into the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL; "Air Force High Command"). Following
34368-513: Was more heavily committed in the Low Countries, with elements of his air command underpinning the attack on the Netherlands— Battle of the Netherlands —and Battle of Belgium . This included an airborne operation around Rotterdam and The Hague to seize airfields and bridges in the " Fortress Holland " area. The paratroopers were from General der Flieger Kurt Student 's airborne forces. Air and ground operations were to commence simultaneously, on Hitler's orders. Bock showed little interest in
34560-445: Was no national system; camps were operated by local police, SS, and SA , state interior ministries, or a combination of the above. The early camps in 1933–1934 were heterogeneous and fundamentally differed from the post-1935 camps in organization, conditions, and the groups imprisoned. On 26 June 1933, Himmler appointed Theodor Eicke the second commandant of Dachau , which became the model followed by other camps. Eicke drafted
34752-408: Was not a technical expert. Despite this Udet helped change the Luftwaffe's tactical direction towards fast medium bombers to destroy enemy air power in the battle zone rather than through industrial bombing of its aviation production. Kesselring and Udet did not get on. During Kesselring's time as CS, 1936–1937, a power struggle developed between the two as Udet attempted to extend his own power within
34944-399: Was not possible for Milch, Udet, or Kesselring to produce a formidable strategic bombing force even had they wanted to do so. The development of aircraft was now confined to the production of twin-engined medium bombers that required much less material, manpower, and aviation production capacity than Wever's "Ural Bomber". German industry could build two medium bombers for one heavy bomber and
35136-435: Was not possible. When enemy counterattacks threatened, Kesselring threw the full weight of his force against them. Now that the Army was convinced of the value of air support, units were all too inclined to call for it. Kesselring now had to convince the Army that air support should be concentrated at critical points. He strove to improve army–air cooperation with new tactics and the appointment of Oberst Martin Fiebig as
35328-431: Was postponed due to bad weather. By the time the weather cleared, the army support operations were going so well there was a reluctance to shift emphasis. The Luftwaffe had difficulty locating the dispersed Polish airfields, and only 24 Polish aircraft were destroyed on the ground. The counter-air campaign was not as successful as it may have been due to faulty fuses on bombs–a lesson soon rectified. Air superiority
35520-416: Was prosecuted at the OKW trial , one of the last twelve of the Nuremberg trials after the war. He was acquitted on all four counts. He died in Munich in 1953. At the start of the war the Luftwaffe had four Luftflotten (air fleets), each responsible for roughly a quarter of Germany. As the war progressed more air fleets were created as the areas under German rule expanded. As one example, Luftflotte 5
35712-453: Was reduced by relying on guard dogs and delegating some duties to prisoners. Corruption was widespread. Most of the camp SS leadership was middle-class and came from the war youth generation [ de ] , who were hard-hit by the economic crisis and feared decline in status. Most had joined the Nazi movement by September 1931 and were offered full-time employment in 1933. SS leaders typically lived with their wives and children near
35904-486: Was rendered ineffective, and Royal Netherlands Air Force , though the Dutch harassed the Luftwaffe until their surrender. The paratroopers, while initially successful, ran into fierce opposition in the Battle for The Hague , and the Battle of Rotterdam . The Luftwaffe lost 54 per cent of the transport aircraft committed; 125 destroyed, 53 bogged down, and 47 severely damaged. Some 4,000 paratroops (1,200 prisoners) became casualties. On 14 May 1940, responding to
36096-504: Was sceptical about attacking Britain. He advocated capturing Gibraltar ( Operation Felix ), encouraging the British Government to negotiate, and then turning against London if necessary. Sperrle favoured attacking ports and shipping. Göring overruled them because he was sure the RAF Fighter Command was weak and could be defeated quickly. The Luftwaffe air fleet commanders did not collaborate with each other to devise an air superiority plan, much less conduct inter-service conferences with
36288-496: Was transferred to Luftflotte 3 . By 24 May, the Allied forces had been cut in two, and the German Army was only 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Dunkirk , the last port on the English Channel available to the cut-off Allied forces. However, that day Rundstedt ordered a halt. Göring promised the encircled enemy could be destroyed by aerial bombardment. Kesselring and Richthofen protested. They argued their commands had suffered heavy losses in two weeks of incessant fighting and
36480-511: Was uncertain if the system would continue to exist. By mid-1935, there were only five camps, holding 4,000 prisoners, and 13 employees at the central IKL office. At the same time, 100,000 people were imprisoned in German jails, a quarter of those for political offenses. Believing Nazi Germany to be imperiled by internal enemies , Himmler called for a war against the "organized elements of sub-humanity", including communists, socialists, Jews, Freemasons , and criminals. Himmler won Hitler's backing and
36672-440: Was uncharacteristically pessimistic about the results of the raids. Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps ( German : Konzentrationslager ), including subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe . The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany . Following
36864-421: Was up to 3,941, The Luftwaffe's entire strength was now 2.2 million personnel. In April and May 1941, Udet headed the Luftwaffe delegation inspecting the Soviet aviation industry in compliance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . Udet informed Göring "that Soviet air forces are very strong and technically advanced." Göring decided not to report the facts to Hitler, hoping that a surprise attack would quickly destroy
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