Wilhelm Canaris remains one of the most controversial figures in German history of the Third Reich period . Thanks to his talents and abilities, he rose to the rank of head of the Abwehr (Nazi intelligence). However, he was dissatisfied with Hitler, because of which he was eventually arrested and executed.
Navy Service
Canaris was born in 1887, in the modern district of Dortmund. The boy grew up in a very ordinary family. From childhood he was interested in military affairs. Canaris Wilhelm Franz, becoming an adult, immediately went to the army. At this time, the Second Reich was actively developing its armed forces, preparing for expansion.
In 1905, the young Canaris Wilhelm Franz went to serve in the Navy. He studies at the Naval Cadet Corps in Kiel. After graduation, he serves on several military courts and participates in foreign operations (for example, in the blockade of South American Venezuela).
During World War I, an officer receives the rank of lieutenant commander. He commands the German submarines and supplies them in particularly dangerous regions. The battle merit of Canaris was marked by various awards. Including these were the Iron Crosses of the 1st and 2nd class.
Weimar Republic officer
After the creation of the Weimar Republic, Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1887-1918 - the period of the formation of his life views and principles) fell into the high command of the fleet. For the German military, it was a difficult time. According to the clauses of the Versailles Treaty, the Reich did not have the right to have submarines. Because of this, the command established a wide agent network around the world and built ships in the territory of third countries.
One such state was Japan. It was there that Canaris Wilhelm Franz often went, who supervised the construction of prohibited ships at the docks of the Empire of the Rising Sun. The officer also monitored orders for the fleet in Spain.
Canaris had a lot to do with this southern country. Here he organized the training of German pilots in African Morocco. His success made it possible to gradually advance in the service. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Canaris found himself in a galaxy of those whose careers went uphill. His first appointment under the new government was the Svinemünde fortress, where he became commandant.
Attitude to the Nazis
Although Canaris Wilhelm Franz belonged to the naval fraternity by his education, many years of relations with the intelligence services of various countries were not in vain for him. In 1935, he was appointed chief of the Abwehr, and a few months later became rear admiral. This agency was responsible for intelligence around the world.
Wilhelm Franz Canaris, whose biography had never before been associated with the Nazi party, was ambivalent about the new Fuhrer. The repression organized by Hitler set up against him a group of high-ranking military officers who created the Resistance movement. Unlike all other opposition groups, these people held influential posts, which means that they had real levers in their hands to put pressure on the authorities. Canaris had direct contacts with them.
Head of the Abwehr
With the onset of World War II, William got a lot of work. One of his most successful operations was the conviction of the Soviet leadership that the war with the Reich was postponed. In 1941, the USSR was completely unprepared for a sudden strike by the Wehrmacht. There are several reasons for this. Abwehr tried to convince the enemy that the Nazi leadership was preparing an attack on Britain. In addition, Joseph Stalin refused to believe in the reports of his own intelligence that Germany was concentrating serious forces on the border. This played a fatal role when the Germans invaded the territory of the USSR and received a strategic initiative. In this success, the Wehrmacht has its own merit and Canaris.
However, in the future he was no longer lucky. Firstly, many Abwehr operations began to fail. These were unsuccessful attempts to organize revolts and incite conflicts in the Caucasus, as well as on the border of Afghanistan and India.
Secondly, the Gestapo launched its own investigation into intelligence. Several Abwehr officers were arrested. Against this background, Hitler in 1944 announced that Canaris Wilhelm Franz was dismissed. He was sacked. It was an opal, but the famous officer still remained in the service of the state.
While intelligence was reassigned to the SS, Canaris became chief of staff for economic warfare and trade. In mid-July, he became aware of the impending assassination attempt on Hitler. The officers of the Resistance prepared a plan according to which the Fuhrer was to be killed and a coup d'etat was carried out in the country. Canaris was informed about this by Abwehr officers who were directly in the know. The officer himself did not take part in the conspiracy.
Arrest and investigation
July 20 there was an unsuccessful attempt to kill Hitler. The repression began. Dozens of senior military personnel in the army and intelligence were arrested. Among them was Canaris.
The investigation lasted several months. At his sight were all the officers in charge of German espionage. Wilhelm Canaris was never caught directly participating in the conspiracy. Nevertheless, his personal diaries were discovered in which he spoke negatively about Hitler. This did not add to his sympathy in the eyes of the Gestapo.
The defendants were transferred to the Flossenbürg concentration camp. Here, on April 8, Canaris was sentenced to death, which took place the next day.
Grades
The personality of Canaris has been mixed among Jews. Numerous studies have confirmed that he was involved in the salvation of about 500 Jews when he was chief of the Abwehr. At the same time, there are critics of Canaris who claim that German intelligence was guilty of the massacres of Jews.
In Germany, the disgraced admiral, along with other conspirators, became a national hero on July 20. In memory of these people, many streets were renamed and monuments unveiled.