The Ministry of the Reichswehr or Reich Ministry of Defence (german: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of the Weimar Republic and the early Third Reich. The 1919

Weimar Constitution The Constitution of the German Reich (german: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (''Weimarer Verfassung''), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The c ...

provided for a unified, national ministry of defence to coordinate the new '' Reichswehr'', and that ministry was set up in October 1919, from the existing Prussian War Ministry and ''

Reichsmarineamt The Imperial Naval Office (german: Reichsmarineamt) was a government agency of the German Empire. It was established in April 1889, when the German Imperial Admiralty was abolished and its duties divided among three new entities: the Imperial Na ...

''. It was based in the Bendlerblock building. The ''Wehrgesetz'' (Defence Law) of 21 May 1935 RGBl I, S. 609 / Faksimil
Wehrgesetz
/ref> renamed it the Reich Ministry of War (german: Reichskriegsministerium), which was then abolished in 1938 and replaced with the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht''.

History

Within the framework of the ''Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen Reichswehr'' ("Law on the formation of a provisional national defence force") of March 1919, the ''Reichspräsident'' was commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with the ''Reichswehrminister'' (Reich Minister of Defence) exercising command. These arrangements left out the Prussian armed forces, which remained under the command of the Prussian Minister of War. After the

came into force, the war ministries of Bavaria, Saxony, Württemberg and Prussia were dissolved and command authority was concentrated in the hand of the national ''Reichswehrminister''. Power of command for each branch was given to the head of the Army Command (''Heeresleitung'') and the head of the Navy Command (''Marineleitung''). The ''Ministeramt'' was established as a third office within the ministry in 1929, with the ''Ministeramt''′s head acting as the ''Reichswehrminister''′s political deputy. The innocuous Troop Office ('' Truppenamt'') functioned as a covert general staff, which was banned by the Treaty of Versailles. The "''Verkündung der Wehrhoheit''" (proclamation of military sovereignty) of 1935 created a new '' Oberkommando der Luftwaffe'' (OKL), under the Air Ministry, and turned the ''Heeresleitung'' into the '' Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH) and the ''Marineleitung'' into the '' Oberkommando der Marine'' (OKM). The ''Ministeramt'' was renamed the ''Wehrmachtsamt''. As a result of the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair in 1938, the ''Reichskriegsminister'' and ''Wehrmachtsamt'' were abolished by Adolf Hitler and their duties transferred to the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (OKW).

Lists of officials

Defence Ministers

;Minister of Defence ;Minister of War Wehrmacht Commander-in-Chief flag

Ministerial office heads

;Heads of the ''Ministeramt'' (''Chefs des Ministeramtes'') ;Heads of the ''Wehrmachtamt'' (''Chefs des Wehrmachtamtes'')

Army heads

;Heads of the Army Command (''Chefs der Heeresleitung'') Chef der Heeresleitung 1925

;Commander-in-chief of the Army (''Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres'') OKH2

Navy heads

;Chief of the Admiralty (''Chef der Admiralität'') ;Heads of the Naval Command (''Chefs der Marineleitung'') ;Commander-in-chief of the Navy (''Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine'')

References

External links

*{{in lang, de}
Article on adlexikon.de
Former defence ministries, Germany Reich Ministries of Nazi Germany, Reichswehr Reichswehr Ministers of the Reichswehr