11 Herbert, Best, p 181.
12 Decision of the Reich Government at the Ministerial Conference of 17 October 1933, photocopy at BA-MA, RM 5/195, folio. 45. The decision laid the foundation for the jurisdictional struggle of the Abwehr against Heydrich. See eg the report signed by Rudolf Bamler ‘Organisation der Abwehrabteilung’, August 1937, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 207, folios 65–7; Memorandum, Oberst von Bentivegni on the conference between Admiral Canaris and SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei Heydrich, 12 January 1942, BA-MA, RW 5/690, folios 28–31, reproduced in Mühleisen, ‘Duell’, pp 424–7. Walter Huppenkothen described the Cabinet decision as the ‘most comprehensive general authority document which a bureau had ever been given in the Third Reich’, IfZ, ZS 249 I, folio 36.
13 Höhne, Canaris, p 177; similarly Mühleisen, ‘Duell’, p 399. Herbert, Best, p 181f describes the agreement in his own words but gives a source: ‘Besprechung über Abwehrfragen im Reichswehrministerium’, 17 January 1935, GstAB, Rep. 90 P/1–2, folio 203ff. (Geheimes Staatsarchiv der Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gestapo-Bestand.)
14 Thus in Mühleisen, ‘Duell’, p 400. According to an anecdote from the postwar account of Heydrich’s widow Lina, Heydrich did not know of Canaris’s appointment as Abwehr chief, and ‘they bumped into each other by chance while out walking in early 1935’. In view of the significance of the change in Abwehr leadership, this would appear to be the stuff of legend. Höhne, Canaris, p 174. Deschner also relies on Lina Heydrich, but here the first conversation on the subject took place in a Berlin luxury restaurant at the end of January. This merely serves to underline the dubious nature of the material. Deschner, ‘Heydrich’, p 142.
15 Mühleisen, ‘Duell’, p 400.
16 Copy, statement by Walter Huppenkothen, Canaris and Abwehr, IfZ, ZS 249, folio 31.
17 Ibid. It is doubtful that these statements were made by Huppenkothen after the war, and that his first meeting with Canaris was in August 1941. As a source for the Canaris-Heydrich relationship they must be treated with caution, as must the diary entry alluded to. The mutual sentiments of envy are also to be found almost verbatim in Abshagen, Canaris, p 147b Höhne, Canaris, p 174ff, reports claims by Lina Heydrich respecting ‘Heydrich’s superstitious fear of the apparently ubiquitous Canaris’ which were the basis of her husband’s deep distrust of Canaris.
18 Best, Herbert, p 181.
19 Ibid, p 185 and p 578, n 146 with mention of Best’s calendar notes. See also Best, ‘Canaris’, pp 175–8.
20 Best, ‘Canaris’, p 172.
21 In Kiel Heydrich became acquainted with the daughter of a naval official, the father allegedly being a senior architect. The girl’s identity has never been disclosed, but she considered herself engaged to Heydrich. Meanwhile Heydrich became engaged to Lina von Osten, his future wife, and announced the engagement in a newspaper, which came to the attention of the first girl, who subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown. On complaining, the matter was referred to a naval honour court where it would have blown over had Heydrich not attempted to impugn the girl’s virtue. He showed no readiness to accept responsibility and was thus disChargéd the service as an unfit officer. Shortly afterwards he joined the SS; Himmler was advertising for a ‘Nachrichtenoffizier’. The word ‘Nachrichten’ means ‘signals’ as well as ‘intelligence’, and as Heydrich had been in the signals branch of the Navy he applied under a misunderstanding as to the nature of the post. Himmler decided to give him a trial, and asked him to set up an intelligence section for the SS. Aronson, Frühgeschichte, p 34ff; Deschner, ‘Heydrich’, p 36ff; Dederichs, Heydrich, p 49ff.
22 ‘Reisebericht über die Reise Chef Abw mit Leiter III, Kaptn. Bartenbach und SS-Gruppenführer Heydrich zur Ast Kiel am 7. 2. 1935’, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 197, folio 308f and ‘Reisebericht über die Reise nach Bremen und Wilhelmshaven, 25.3.1935’, ibid, folio 305f.
23 Deist, Wilhelm, ‘Die Aufrüstung der Wehrmacht’, in Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (hereafter DRZW), 9 vols, MilMrgeschichtlichen Forschungsamt, Stuttgart, 1979 ff, here Vol 1, Ursachen und Voraussetzungen der deutschen Kriegspolitik, p 415ff; Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, pp 686–8.
24 Müller, Klaus Jürgen, General Ludwig Beck, Studien und Dokumente zur politisch-mil^rischen Vorstellungswelt und Tätigkeit des Generalstabschefs des deutschen Heeres 1933–1938, Schriften des Bundesarchivs, vol 30, Boppard, 1980, document 24, pp 415–24.
25 Ibid, p 418.
26 Ibid, p 419.
27 Deist, ‘Aufrüstung’, p 416.
28 Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 689; Müller, Beck, document 25, pp 424–6.
29 Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 690f.
30 Hossbach, Zwischen Wehrmacht und Hitler, p 94b
31 Ibid, p 96; Müller, Heer und Hitler, p 2o8f; Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 692.
32 Ibid, p 692.
33 Ibid, p 693.
34 Ibid, p 697.
35 Canaris, letter to all Abwehrstellen, 29 March 1935, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 197, folio 302f.
36 Note, journey of Abwehr chief and I L to Budapest, (4–7 April 1935), BA-MA, RW 5/v. 197, folio 299f.
37 Höhne, Canaris, p 182.
38 Note, journey of Abwehr chief to Abwehrstelle Münster 15/16 May 1935, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 197, folio 293ff.
39 Letter, Canaris to all Abwehrstellen, 29 March 1935, BA-MA, RM 5/v. 195, quoted in Höhne, Canaris, p 183.
40 Note, journey of Abwehr chief to Abwehrstelle Münster 15/16 May 1935, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 197, folio 296.
41 Conference note, Bamler 10 April 1935, BA-MA, RM 5/v. 195, quoted from Höhne. Canaris, p 184.
42 Best, Canaris, p 174.
43 Schäfer, Karl, report on the Abwehrpolizei, p 5, IfZ, ZS 372.
44 Wildt, Michael (ed), Nachrichtendienst, Politische Elite und Mordeinheit. Der Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers SS, Hamburg 2000; Wildt, ‘Einleitung’, p 14, n 23.
45 Ibid, p ii; see also, Wildt, Generation des Unbedingten, p 269; Wildt follows the calculations of Browder, George C, ‘The Numerical Strength of the Sicherheitsdienst des RFSS’, Historical Social Research 28, 1983, pp 30–41.
46 All statistics from report signed by RudolfBamler,‘Organisation der Abwehrabteilung’, August 1937, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 207, folios 65–7.
47 Bamler, report on the Abwehr conference of 21 and 22 June 1935; see also Höhne, Canaris, p 186.
48 Mader, Julius, Hitlers Spionagegenerale sagen aus, Berlin (East), 1970, p 21 if. The GDR author Julius Mader, roundly abused in the West, refers to statements and documents made by Franz-Eccard von Bentivegni (head of Abwehr III 1939–44) in Soviet captivity. Even if Mader’s books were aimed ideologically at West German intelligence, and must be treated with great caution, in many respects they do have a solid foundation in information. The statements attributed to senior Abwehr officials and officers – principally Piekenbrock, Bentivegni and Stolze – are comprehensive regarding the human and structural expansion of the Abwehr in the early years under Canaris. See also Höhne, Canaris, pp 185–02.
49 Wildt, Nachrichtendienst, p 14.
50 Best, ‘Canaris’, p 176; cf also Leverkuehn, Paul, Der geheime Nachrichtendienst der deutschen Wehrmacht im Kriege, Frankfurt am Main, 1957, p iiff; Bartz, Karl, Die Tragödie der deutschen Abwehr, Preußisch Oldendorf, 1972, p 68ff; Höhne, Canaris, p 203f; finally Mühleisen, ‘Duell’, p 401f and Herbert, Best, p 184.
51 ‘Bericht über Stapostellen-Leiter-Besprechung am 19. 10. 36’, dated ii November 36, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 194, o.P.
52 ‘Grundsätze für die Zusammenarbeit zwischen der Geheimen Staatspolizei und den Aufrüstung der Wehrmacht vom 21. 12. 1936’, copy, 23 December 1936, BA-MA, RW 5/v. 194, o.P.
53 Henke, Gerhard, ‘Bericht und Erinnerungen’, Die Nachhut 2, 1967, p 10, BA-MA, MSg 3–22/1.
54 Schäfer, report on the Abwehrpolizei, p 5f, IfZ, ZS 372, folio 5f; see also Herbert, Best, p 184.
55 Ibid.
56 Best, ‘Canaris’, p 176.
57 Höhne, Canaris, p 203.
&nbs
p; 13 Between Fürher, Duce and Caudillo
1 Quoted from Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 738, and also Kershaw, Hitler 1936–1943, Stuttgart, 2000, p 15. This account follows Kershaw, who for his part relies primarily on the American journalist Shirer, William, Berliner Tagebuch. Aufzeichnungen 19341941, published by Jürgen Schebera, Leipzig and Weimar, 1991. Shirer’s book is one of the most impressive and enlightening contemporary works by a foreign observer and is very frequently used as a source in historical writing.
2 Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 739.
3 Ibid, p 738.
4 Messerschmidt, Manfred, ‘Außenpolitikund Kriegsvorbereitung’, in DRZW, vol i, p 606.
5 Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 733f.
6 Messerschmidt, ‘Kriegsvorbereitung’, p 604.
7 Höhne, Canaris, p 205. Höhne refers repeatedly to Farago, Ladislas, The Game of the Foxes, New York, 1971, a thoroughly controversial book that exercised a major influence on subsequent secret service literature. Farago (4906–80) worked for US Naval Intelligence in the Second World War. His anecdote that on the evening of ii February Canaris passed to Hitler a forged secret protocol to the French-Soviet pact that influenced Hitler that night to advance the date of the invasion, seems extremely unlikely (Höhne, Canaris, p 205). According to Hossbach (Zwischen Wehrmacht und Hitler, p 97) Hitler did not return from the funeral of Wilhelm Gustloff until 12 February, after which he left for Garmisch for the Winter Olympics. While in Berlin he spent a few hours in talks, but the name of Canaris never crops up. Schmidt, Rainer F, Die Außenpolitik des Dritten Reiches 1933–1939, Stuttgart, 2002, p 193, agrees that at that point in time the decision had already been taken and Hitler informed Fritsch, and next day Blomberg at Garmisch. Kershaw is of the opinion that the final decision was taken on 1 March. Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 736.
8 Reile, Oscar, Geheime Westfront, Munich and Wels, 1962, p 23ff. Buchheit follows him in Die Deutsche Geheimdienst, p 133.
9 Hossbach, Zwischen Wehrmacht und Hitler, p 98; Schmidt, Außenpolitik, p 200; Kershaw, Hitler 1889–1936, p 741; Müller, Heer und Hitler, p 214.
10 Hossbach, Zwischen Wehrmacht und Hitler, p 98; Müller, Heer und Hitler, p 215f.
11 Ibid.
12 Höhne, Canaris, pp 199 and 217.
13 Müller, Heer und Hitler, p 227, n 107.
14 Ibid, p 233.
15 Faber du Faur, Moritz, Macht und Ohnmacht, Stuttgart, 1953, p 233ff.
16 Ibid, p 200.
17 Preston, Paul, Franco. A Biography, London, 1995, p 140ff.
18 For German involvement at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War see, most recently, Viñas, Angel, and Seidel, Carlos Collado, ‘Franco’s Request to the Third Reich for Militäry Assistance’, Contemporary European History ii, 2002, p 197.
19 Ibid, p 196.
20 Viñas and Seidel, ‘Franco’s Request’, p 192.
21 Eg Höhne, Canaris, p 219f, who refers to Thomas, Hugh, Der spanische Bürgerkrieg, Berlin, Frankfurt and Vienna, 1961. In the extended English language reprint of the 2001 standard work there is no reference to a meeting between Sanjurjo and Canaris.
22 Legation Secretary von Bülowto Botschaftsrat Völckers (Madrid), 6 July 1936, in ADAP, series C, vol V, 1, no 433, p 687f.
23 Viñas and Seidel, ‘Franco’s Request’, p 194.
24 Ibid, p 199.
25 Consulate, Tetuan to Foreign Ministry, 22 July 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 2, p 5.
26 Chargé d’affaires Lisbon to Foreign Ministry, 24 July 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 8, p 10.
27 Ambassador Welczeck, Paris, to Foreign Ministry, 23 July 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 3, p 6.
28 Viñas and Seidel, ‘Franco’s Request’, p 191.
29 Ibid, p 201.
30 Ibid, p 204.
31 Kershaw, Hitler 1936–1945, p 49.
32 Ambassadorial Adviser Schwendemann, Madrid, to the Foreign Ministry, 23 July 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 4, pp 6–8.
33 Viñas and Seidel, ‘Franco’s Request’, p 202.
34 Viñas and Seidel, ‘Franco’s Request’, p 204, doubt but cannot rule out that this was either Raeder or Commandant Karl Coupette. There is a possibility that Canaris was staying at Bayreuth and assisted Hitler in his decision. Abshagen, Canaris, p 163, points out that it is not certain when Canaris and Franco were introduced, but he ascribes to Canaris an important role in the decision to support Franco, which virtually all Franco and Canaris biographies follow. The colourful representations (Brissaud, Canaris, p 71, and Höhne, Canaris, p 223), which have Hitler, Canaris, Blomberg and Goering enjoying the music at Bayreuth is not suppoorted by the sources. Abendroth, Hans-Henning, ‘Hitlers Entscheidung’, in Schieder, Wolfgang, and Dipper, Christoph (eds), Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg in der Internationalen Politik (1936–1939), Munich, 1976, pp 92 and 122, n 103, draws attention to the fact that Hitler sent an aircraft to Hamburg that night to enable naval expert Konteradmiral Lindau to come to Bayreuth.
35 Kershaw, Hitler 1936–1945, p 49.
36 Viñas and Seidel, ‘Franco’s Request’, p 207.
37 Botschafter von Welczeck to Ministerialdirektor Dieckhoff, 2 August 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 25, p 22f.
38 Ambassador in Paris to Foreign Ministry, 8 August 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 33, p 3of.
39 Ibid, no 44, p 39.
40 Abendroth, ‘Hitlers Entscheidung’, p 103.
41 Ibid, p 103f.
42 Ibid, p 110.
43 Schieder, Wolfgang, ‘Spanischer Bürgerkriegund Vierjahresplan. Zur Struktur nationalsozialistischer Außenpolitik’, in Schieder and Dipper, Der Spanische Bürgerkrieg, p 170.
44 Reichsminister von Neurath to Ambassador von Hassell, 30 October 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 113, pp 105–7.
45 Abendroth, ‘Hitlers Entscheidung’, p iii.
46 Schieder, ‘Spanischer Bürgerkriegund Vierjahresplan’, pp 170 and 187!, n 47.
47 Ambassador in Rome to the Foreign Ministry, i December 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 136, p 126.
48 Note, Ministerialdirektor Dieckhoff, ii December 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 151, p 142; Ambassador in Rome to Foreign Ministry, 17 December 1936, in ibid, no 156, p 145; cf also Thomas, Hugh, The Spanish Civil War, London, 2001, p 553f.
49 Ambassador in Rome to Foreign Ministry, 29 December 1936, in ADAP, series D, vol III, no 170, p 162f.
50 Jodl diaries, entries 5 and 9 January 1937, in IMG, vol XXVIII, document 1780-PS, p 346f.
51 Ibid, entry 14 January 1937, p 349.
52 Buchheit, Die Deutsche Geheimdienst, p 137; Höhne, Canaris, p 231f.
53 Ibid; see also the statement by former Abwehr III Chief von Bentivegni after the war in Soviet in Mader, Hitlers Spionagegenerale, p 230.
54 Höhne, Canaris, p 232.
55 Courtois, Stephane, and Panne, Jean-Louis, ‘Der lange Arm des NKWD fälltauf Spanien’, in Courtois, Stephane, Werth, Nicolas, Panne, Jean-Louis, Paczkowski, Andrzej, Bartosek, Karel, and Magolin, Jean-Louis, Das Schwarzbuch des Kommunismus. UnterdrückungVerbrechen und Terror, Munich and Zürich, 2000, p 370.
56 Thomas, Spanish Civil War, p 337f.
57 Roloff, Stefan, Die Rote Kapelle. Die Widerstandsgruppe im Dritten Reich und die Geschichte Helmut Roloffs, Munich, 2002, p 100ff; Brysac, Shareen Blair, Mildred Harnack unddie Rote Kapelle, Berne, 2003, p 295ff; Höhne, Heinz, Kennwort Direktor, Die Geschichte der Roten Kapelle, Frankfurt am Main, 1970, p 1зoí; for a retrospective reconstruction of the so-called Rote Kapelle made by the Gestapo and long admitted by research, Coppi, Hans, ‘Die Rote Kapelle im Spannungsfeld von Widerstand und nachrichtendienstlicher Tätigkeit – Trepper Report, June 1943’, Viertelsjahrshefte Jwr Zeitgeschichte 44, 1996, pp 431–58, including a survey and review of the research. See also Coppi, Hans, Danyel, Jürgen and Tuchel, Johannes (eds), Die Rote Kapelle, Berlin, 1994; Roth, Karl Heinz and Ebbinghaus, Angelika (eds), Rote Kapellen -Kreisauer Kreise -Schwarze Kapellen, Neue Sichtweisen auf den Widerstand geg
en die NS-Diktatur 1938–1945, Hamburg, 2004.
58 Brysac, Harnack, p 297; Roloff, Kapelle, p 101.
59 Brysac, Harnack, p 300.
60 Höhne, ‘Direktor’, p 142; Brysac, Harnack, p 299; Roloff, Kapelle, p 103.
61 Ibid; Brysac, Harnack, p 299f; Höhne, ‘Direktor’, p 142Ą also Höhne, Canaris, p 233. Höhne gives the arrest as 1937, Roloff puts it at February 1938.
62 Höhne, Canaris, p 234.
63 ADAP, series C, vol IV, no 2, p 929, publisher’s note to no 479, pp 930–8; Schmidt, Außenpolitik, p 210; Kershaw, Hitler 1936–1945, p 62.
64 Kordt, Erich, Nicht aus den Akten, Stuttgart, 1950, p 123.
65 Martin, Bernd, ‘Die deutsch-japanischen Beziehungen während des Dritten Reiches’, in Funke, Manfred (ed), Hitler, Deutschland und die Mächte. Materialien zur Außenpolitik des Dritten Reiches, Bonner Schriften zur Politik und Zeitgeschichte 12, Düsseldorf, 1978, p 460.
66 Ibid, p 461.
67 Ibid.
68 Ibid, p 462 with n 40; Kershaw, Hitler 1936–1945, p 63. Ribbentrop and Hack had already been working for months – probably with the involvement of Canaris (Schmidt, Außenpolitik, p 210) -towards a treaty. Canaris is mentioned in Hack’s papers, assessed by Martin.
69 Ambassador von Dirksen, Tokyo, to Legationsrat von Erdmannsdorff, 1 January 1936, in ADAP, series C, vol IV, 2, no 479, pp 930–8 (with Appendix ‘Aufzeichnung über die Möglichkeiteneines deutsch-japanischen Militärischen und politischen Zusammenwirkens’).
70 Kordt, Nicht aus den Akten, p 156.
71 Martin, ‘Die deutsch-japanischen Beziehungen’, p 462.
72 Schmidt, Außenpolitik, p 210.
73 Both texts reproduced in Sommer, Theo, Deutschland und Japan zwischen den Mächten 1935–1940, Tübingen, 1962, p 493ff.
74 Kershaw, Hitler 1936–1945, p 63.
75 Schmidt, Außenpolitik, p 211.
76 Höhne, Canaris, p 238.
77 Glaubauf, Karl, and Lahousen, Stefanie, Generalmajor Erwin Lahousen Edler von Vivremont, vol 2, Münster, Berlin, Hamburg, London and Vienna, 2005, p 25f.
78 Heinz, ‘Canaris’, p 59ff.
79 Meinl, Nationalsozialisten, p 258.
80 Heinz, ‘Canaris’, p 59.
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