Chief of the General Staff of the German Army High Command
In office 1 September 1938 – 24 September 1942
Leader
Adolf Hitler Walther von Brauchitsch as Chief of the German Army High Command (until 19 December 1941)
Preceded by
Ludwig Beck
Succeeded by
Kurt Zeitzler
Personal details
Born
30 June 1884 Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany
Died
2 April 1972 (aged 87) Aschau im Chiemgau, Bavaria, West Germany
Spouse
Gertrud Erl[1]
(m. 1907)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
German Empire (1902–1918) Weimar Republic (1918–1933) Nazi Germany (1933–1942)
Branch/service
German Army
Years of service
1902–1942
Rank
Generaloberst (Colonel-General)
Battles/wars
World War I
World War II
Operation Weserübung
Battle of France
Invasion of Poland
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Typhoon
Case Blue
Awards
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Franz Halder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. During World War II, he directed the planning and implementation of Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Halder became instrumental in the radicalisation of warfare on the Eastern Front. He had his staff draft both the Commissar Order (issued on 6 June 1941) and the Barbarossa Decree (signed on 13 May 1941) that allowed German soldiers to execute Soviet citizens for any reason without fear of later prosecution, leading to numerous war crimes and atrocities during the campaign. After the war, he had a decisive role in the development of the myth of the clean Wehrmacht.
Halder began his military service in 1914. In 1937 he met and became a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Halder participated in the strategic planning for the 1939 German invasion of Poland. The plans authorised the SS to carry out security tasks – on behalf of the army – that included the imprisonment or execution of Poles. In July 1940 he began planning for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, which began on 22 June 1941. That summer Halder engaged in a long-running and divisive dispute with Hitler over strategy. Hitler removed Halder from command in September 1942. After the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler, Halder was arrested as it came to light that he had been involved in an earlier plot, leading to his imprisonment. As chief of OKH General Staff, he had kept extensive notes, later published as The Halder Diaries.
After World War II Halder served as a lead consultant for the US Army Historical Division. He oversaw the writing of over 2,500 historical documents by 700 former German officers, whom he instructed to remove material detrimental to the image of the German armed forces. Halder used his influence to foster a false history of the German-Soviet conflict in which the German army fought a "noble war" and which denied its war crimes. The US Army overlooked Halder's apologia because Halder's group was providing military insights on the Soviet Union that it deemed important in the light of the Cold War. Halder succeeded in his aim of exonerating the German Army: first with the US military, then amongst widening circles of politicians and eventually in American popular culture. In 1961, he was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
FranzHalder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September...
many of the accused, was misrepresented as exonerating the Wehrmacht. FranzHalder and other Wehrmacht leaders signed the Generals' memorandum entitled...
Look up Halder in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Halder may refer to: FranzHalder, a German general in World War II Haldar or Halder, an Indian surname...
original invasion plan was an awkward compromise devised by General FranzHalder, the chief of staff of Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH, Army High Command)...
selected by Adolf Hitler as Chief of the Army General Staff, replacing FranzHalder. In early 1943 he was one of the key figures in the decision to launch...
opportunities to slip by for the sake of trifles." A signal arrived from General FranzHalder reminding Rommel that he was to halt in Mersa El Brega. Knowing Gariboldi...
the failure of the 20 July plot in 1944, the families of Erwin Rommel, FranzHalder, Friedrich Fromm, and Günther von Kluge were punished by being cut off...
available diaries of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, of General FranzHalder, and of the Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano, evidence and testimony...
The Halder Diaries is a collection of diaries written by German Colonel General FranzHalder. He was able to make extensive notes of Hitler’s conversations...
high-ranking SS officers, as well as generals Walther von Brauchitsch, FranzHalder, and the Luftwaffe's Erhard Milch. The other prosecutors refused to consider...
18 August. He was replaced, as head of the General Staff, by General FranzHalder. At Hitler's request, Beck kept his resignation secret and thus nullified...
Wehrmacht. Nachkriegsdebatten und Traditionspflege. Aufbau, Berlin 2001. FranzHalder: Kriegstagebuch. Tägliche Aufzeichnungen des Chefs des Generalstabes...
strategy for the invasion of France of May 1940, a plan later refined by FranzHalder and other members of the OKH. Anticipating a firm Allied reaction should...
early part of the war, some General Staff officers, notably the Chief, FranzHalder, considered a coup d'état to remove Hitler from power, and avoid what...
speech voiced any objections. Since some of the officers, such as General FranzHalder, who had previously argued with Hitler about military matters remained...
stated that Göring knew how the fire was to be started, and General FranzHalder stated that he had heard Göring claim responsibility for the fire. However...
ganz blödsinniges Wort)". Some senior officers, including Kurt Student, FranzHalder and Johann Adolf von Kielmansegg, even disputed the idea that it was...
countless thousands of the enemy get away to England right under our noses. FranzHalder, written in his diary on 30 May General Hans Jeschonnek overheard Hitler...
on 1 April 1942 on the orders of Chief of the General Staff, General FranzHalder, with an initial staffing of about 35 people. Foreign Armies East was...
army's planning hierarchy, after the Chief of the General Staff, General FranzHalder, and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff/Chief Quartermaster, General...
he was told that "only ossified brains could think of such an idea". FranzHalder, head of the Army General Staff, was also convinced that a drive to seize...
(the OKH) and issued by the Wehrmacht High Command (the OKW). General FranzHalder welcomed it, writing that "Troops must participate in the ideological...
France, Hitler demanded to see plans for the invasion of Switzerland. FranzHalder, the head of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), recalled: "I was constantly...
officers, including Heinz Guderian, Gerhard Engel, Fedor von Bock and FranzHalder, who believed the decisive victory could only be delivered at Moscow...
work of the U.S. Army Historical Division, where under the guidance of FranzHalder, German generals wrote World War II operational studies for the U.S....
(1880–1944) 1 July 1935 31 August 1938 3 years, 61 days 2 Halder, FranzGeneraloberst FranzHalder (1884–1972) 1 September 1938 24 September 1942 4 years...
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), Lutheran pastor and author Generaloberst FranzHalder (1884–1972), the Chief of the Army General Staff (part of OKH) 1938–1942...
serving with it during the Battle of France. In the summer of 1940, FranzHalder, chief of OKH General Staff, directed Marcks to draft an initial operational...
and development was of concern at the very highest ranks of command. FranzHalder, chief of the OKH General Staff noted on 20 June that "SS 'Adolf Hitler'...
Global Information
German Empire (1902–1918) 
Weimar Republic (1918–1933) 
Nazi Germany (1933–1942)
Generaloberst (Colonel-General)