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WWII German Field Marshal Keitel

Wilhelm Keitel was a German field marshal and chief of the Armed Forces High Command during World War 2. He signed numerous criminal orders and directives that led to war crimes. After the war, he was tried at Nuremberg and found guilty on all counts, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in 1946.

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186 views2 pages

WWII German Field Marshal Keitel

Wilhelm Keitel was a German field marshal and chief of the Armed Forces High Command during World War 2. He signed numerous criminal orders and directives that led to war crimes. After the war, he was tried at Nuremberg and found guilty on all counts, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in 1946.

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Wilhelm Keitel

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Wilhelm Keitel
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H30220, Wilhelm Keitel.jpg
Keitel as field marshal in 1942
Chief of the Armed Forces High Command
In office
4 February 1938 – 8 May 1945
Preceded by Werner von Blomberg
(as Reich Minister of War)
Succeeded by Alfred Jodl
Chief of the Armed Forces Office
In office
1 October 1935 – 4 February 1938
Preceded by Walter von Reichenau
Succeeded by None (position abolished)
Personal details
Born Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel
22 September 1882
Helmscherode, Duchy of Brunswick, German Empire
Died 16 October 1946 (aged 64)
Nuremberg Prison, Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany
Cause of death Execution by hanging
Spouse Lisa Fontaine (m. 1909)
Relatives Bodewin Keitel (brother)
Signature
Nickname "Lakeitel"
Military service
Allegiance German Empire
Weimar Republic
Nazi Germany
Branch/service Imperial German Army
Reichsheer
German Army
Years of service 1901–1945
Rank Wehrmacht GenFeldmarschall 1942h1.svg Generalfeldmarschall
Commands Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Criminal conviction
Criminal status Executed
Conviction(s) Conspiracy to commit crimes against peace
Crimes of aggression
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
Trial Nuremberg trials
Criminal penalty Death
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (German pronunciation: [ˈkaɪ̯tl̩]; 22 September
1882 – 16 October 1946) was a German field marshal and war criminal who held office
as chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the high command of Nazi
Germany's Armed Forces, during the Second World War. In that capacity, Keitel
signed a number of criminal orders and directives that led to numerous war crimes.

Keitel's rise to the Wehrmacht high command began with his appointment as the head
of the Armed Forces Office at the Reich Ministry of War in 1935. Having taken
command of the Wehrmacht in 1938 Hitler replaced the ministry with the OKW and
Keitel became its chief. He was reviled among his military colleagues as Hitler's
habitual "yes-man".

After the war, Keitel was indicted by the International Military Tribunal in
Nuremberg as one of the "major war criminals". He was found guilty on all counts of
the indictment: crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, criminal conspiracy,
and war crimes. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in 1946.[1]

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