The relationship between the Wehrmacht (from 1935 to 1945 the regular combined armed forces of Nazi Germany) and the Nazi Party which ruled Germany has been the subject of an extensive historiographical debate.
After the Nazis came to power, they sought to control all aspects of civil society and the state, including the military. Historically, the German armed forces had operated with a great deal of autonomy, which was steadily eroded until they were under the direct control of the Nazis.
Following the war, many former Nazis denied and downplayed the extensive war crimes committed by the Wehrmacht and its complicity in the Holocaust. This is referred to as the myth of the clean Wehrmacht.
Politics of the Wehrmacht The German military had traditionally functioned as a "state within a state", with a very large amount of institutional autonomy. Thus Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had been forbidden to attend meetings of the Supreme Council of War because as it was insultingly phrased "Lest this civilian might betray the secrets of the State". In the First World War, the military began to complain more and more that both the Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg and the Emperor Wilhelm II were grossly incompetent, and needed to step aside in order to allow the military to win the war.
In March–April 1915, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz stated that the only thing that was keeping Germany from winning the war was the poor leadership of the Chancellor and the Emperor. His solution was a plan in which Bethmann Hollweg would be sacked and the office of Chancellor abolished; the Kaiser would "temporarily" abdicate; and Field Marshal Hindenburg be given the new office of "Dictator of the Reich", concentrating all political and military power into his hands in order to win the war. Though the Tirpitz plan was not implemented, the very fact it was mooted showed the extent of military dissatisfaction with the existing leadership, and the strength of the "state within the state" in that Tirpitz was not punished despite having essentially called for deposing the Kaiser. In August 1916, Germany became a de facto military dictatorship under the duumvirate of Field Marshal Hindenburg and General Ludendorff, who ruled Germany until 1918. During the rule of the "silent dictatorship" of Hindenburg and Ludendorff, the German government advocated a set of imperialist war aims calling for the annexation of most of Europe and Africa that in many ways were a prototype for the war aims of the Second World War.Hillgruber, Andreas Germany and the Two World Wars, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1981 pp. 41–45.
Aftermath of World War I
In October 1918, in order to avoid responsibility for losing the First World War, the military returned power to the civilians and transformed Germany into a democracy, largely because the Allies made it clear that they would never sign an armistice with the Hindenburg-Ludendorff duumvirate. After the November Revolution of 1918, there were demands for the dissolution of the military that had led to such a defeat, but on 23 December 1918, the Provisional government under Friedrich Ebert came under attack from the radical left-wing "People's Marine Division". Ebert called General Wilhelm Gröner for help, and what resulted was the so-called Ebert–Groener pact, where in return for saving the government, the military would be allowed to retain its traditional and informal "state within the state" status. To fulfil his side of the deal, Gröner created a new force of volunteers, the Freikorps to protect the government. In return for crushing the Communist Spartacus League in early January 1919 with its new Freikorps units, the government ended all efforts to democratize the military later that month. Under the laws of the Weimar Republic, no soldier of the Reichswehr was allowed to be a member of a political party or to vote in an election.
Weimar Republic In the 1920s, the military did not accept the democratic Weimar Republic as legitimate, and so the Reichswehr under the leadership of Hans von Seeckt became, even more so than under the monarchy, a "state within the state" that operated largely outside the control of politicians. During the Kapp Putsch of March 1920, Seeckt disobeyed orders from the Defence Minister Gustav Noske, the Chancellor Gustav Bauer and the Reich President Friedrich Ebert to suppress the putsch, claiming "There can be no question of sending the Reichswehr to fight these people". Seeckt's actions were entirely illegal as under the Weimar constitution the President was the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, and moreover Seeckt had violated the Reichswehreid, which committed the military to defend the republic.Nicholls, A.J. Weimar and the Rise of Hitler, London: Macmillan, 2000, pp. 69–70. Seeckt ordered the military to disregard Ebert's orders to defend the republic, and instead assumed a stance of apparent neutrality, which in effect meant siding with the Kapp putsch by depriving the government of the means of defending itself. The position of the military as "state within the state" led to only those few officers and soldiers who had attempted to defend the republic being dismissed, and the officers led by Seeckt who had done nothing to defend the republic were allowed to continue with their jobs.Nicholls, A.J. Weimar and the Rise of Hitler, London: Macmillan, 2000, p. 71. The same officers who violated the Reichswehreid during the Kapp putsch by disobeying Ebert's orders to suppress the putsch were later to claim that the Hitler oath made it impossible for them to resist the Nazi regime.
Right from the onset, Seeckt made it clear that he expected to see another world war based on the French political atmosphere concerning German failure to meet the Treaty of Versailles restitution payments. His famous "Memo on the Russian Question" of 11 September 1922, arguing the benefits of an alliance with England or Russia, noted that, "We should be quite clear as to France's attitude. She is following a policy of annihilation pure and simple, which she must follow in pursuance of the unshakable principles of her policy. The hope that economic decisions may divert French policy into another course can be discounted altogether, quite apart from the fact that it is doubtful whether in any case, the economic strengthening of Germany would be in the interests of the ruling industrial circles of France. The contrary appears to be the case, and the French economic interests have the same object as the purely political, that is, the annihilation of Germany. This aim is not affected by the consideration that the debtor, already insolvent, will become even less able to pay up. France no longer expects payment, and in fact, does not want it as it would upset her political plans.... The whole policy of reconciliation and appeasement towards France ... is hopeless in as far as it aims at political success. The question of orientation towards the West, as far as France is concerned, is ruled out. French policy is not quite indifferent as to whether we ally ourselves with Russia or not, for in either case the complete destruction of Germany, not yet fully brought about, remains her objective, and this aim would be more difficult to achieve if Germany were supported by Russia."
Seeckt's memo goes on to cite the unacceptability of the creation of Poland by the Treaty of Versailles as another reason for the coming war: "With Poland [sic] we come now to the core of the Eastern problem. The existence of Poland is intolerable and incompatible with Germany's vital interests. She must disappear and will do so through her own inner weakness and through Russia - with our help. Poland is more intolerable for Russia than for ourselves; Russia can never tolerate Poland. With [sic] Poland collapses one of the strongest pillars of the Peace of Versailles, France's advance post of power. The attainment of this objective must be one of the firmest guiding principles of German policy, as it is capable of achievement – but only through Russia or with her help. Poland can never offer Germany any advantage, either economically, because she is incapable of development, or politically, because she is a vassal state of France. The restoration of the frontier between Russia and Germany is a necessary condition before both sides can become strong. The 1914 frontier between Russia and Germany should be the basis of any understanding between the two countries."
The memo then goes on to cite the necessity of war: "The man who still lives in the days of Versailles, and maintains that Germany has permanently abjured all 'imperialist and military aims', that is, stripped of its demogogic [sic] jargon, all policy of action, is not fit to represent German interests in Russia, nor perhaps anywhere else.... Germany today is certainly not in a position to resist France. Our policy should be to prepare the means of doing so in the future.... The German nation, with its Socialist majority, would be averse from a policy of action, which has to reckon with the possibility of war. It must be admitted that the spirit surrounding the Peace Delegation at Versailles has not yet disappeared, and that the stupid cry of 'No more war! ' is widely echoed. It is echoed by many bourgeois-pacifist elements, but among the workers and also among the members of the official Social Democrat Party there are many who are not prepared to eat out of the hands of France and Poland. It is true that there is a widespread and understandable need for peace among the German people. The clearest heads, when considering the pros and cons of war, will be those of the military, but to pursue a policy means to take the lead. In spite of everything, the German people will follow the leader in the struggle for their existence. Our task is to prepare for this struggle, for we shall not be spared it. If it comes to war – and that seems to be already within measurable distance – it will not be the duty of our leading statesmen to keep Germany out of war – that would be either impossible or suicidal – but to come in on the right side with all possible strength." After meeting Adolf Hitler on 11 March 1923, Seeckt wrote: "We were one in our aim; only our paths were different".
In 1927, the Phoebus film studio went bankrupt. Subsequently, bankruptcy proceedings established that the studio was a front company created by the Reichsmarine to obtain nitrate and that the navy had poured millions of Reichsmark to subsidize the financially struggling studio over the last few years. These disclosures of his knowledge of this matter forced the Defence Minister Otto Gessler to resign in disgrace in January 1928. The military took advantage of the opening created by Gessler's resignation to convince President Paul von Hindenburg to impose General Wilhelm Gröner as the new Defence minister. Gessler was the last civilian Defence minister of the Weimar Republic, and until the abolition of the War ministry by Hitler in 1938, every Defence/War minister was a serving general. The practice of having active duty generals run the Bendlerstrasse (the street in Berlin where the Defence/War ministry was located) in turn further weakened the already weak civilian control of the military, and also led to further politicization of the military since through their representative in the Cabinet the military become involved in issues that had nothing to do with military matters (though that the fact that Cabinet virtually stopped meeting after 1934 did weaken this venue of exercising power).