Supreme military command and control office of Nazi Germany during World War II
"OKW" redirects here. For other uses, see OKW (disambiguation).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Oberkommando der Wehrmacht" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Armed Forces High Command
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
Active
4 February 1938 – 8 May 1945[a]
Country
Nazi Germany
Allegiance
Adolf Hitler
Type
High command
Role
Nominally oversaw:
Army High Command
Naval High Command
Air Force High Command
Part of
Armed forces
Headquarters
Wünsdorf, near Zossen
Nickname(s)
OKW
Engagements
World War II in Europe
Commanders
Chief of the OKW
Wilhelm Keitel
Chief of Operations Staff
Alfred Jodl
Insignia
Chief of the OKW flag (1938–1941)
Chief of the OKW flag (1941–1945)
Military unit
The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German:[ˈoːbɐkɔˌmandodeːɐ̯ˈveːɐ̯ˌmaxt]ⓘ; abbreviated OKWGerman:[oːkaːˈveː]ⓘ; Armed Forces High Command)[1] was the supreme military command and control office of Nazi Germany during World War II. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Reich Ministry of War and had oversight over the individual high commands of the country's armed forces: the army (Heer), navy (Kriegsmarine), and air force (Luftwaffe).
Rivalry with the different services' commands, mainly with the Army High Command (OKH), prevented the OKW from becoming a unified German General Staff in an effective chain of command, though it did help coordinate operations among the three services. During the war, the OKW acquired more and more operational powers. By 1942, the OKW had responsibility for all theatres except for the Eastern Front. However, Adolf Hitler manipulated the system in order to prevent any one command from taking a dominant role in decision making.[2] This "divide and conquer" method helped put most military decisions in Hitler's own hands, which at times included even those affecting engagements at the battalion level,[2] a practice which, due to bureaucratic delays and Hitler's worsening indecision as the war progressed, would eventually contribute to Germany's defeat.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Stahel 2009, p. xiii.
^ abMegargee 1997.
and 23 Related for: Oberkommando der Wehrmacht information
The OberkommandoderWehrmacht (German: [ˈoːbɐkɔˌmando deːɐ̯ ˈveːɐ̯ˌmaxt] ; abbreviated OKW German: [oːkaːˈveː] ; Armed Forces High Command) was the supreme...
subordinated to the OberkommandoderWehrmacht. OKH had been independent until February 1938, when Hitler created the OberkommandoderWehrmacht which, on paper...
The Oberkommandoder Luftwaffe (lit. 'Upper Command of the Air Force'; abbreviated OKL) was the high command of the air force (Luftwaffe) of Nazi Germany...
networks. By order of the OberkommandoderWehrmacht dated 14 Oct 1942, it was part of the combat arms of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS until 1945...
World War II. Subordinated to the High Command of the Wehrmacht (the OberkommandoderWehrmacht), its function was to produce and disseminate propaganda...
Reichskriegsministerium), which was then abolished in 1938 and replaced with the OberkommandoderWehrmacht. Within the framework of the Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen...
1946) was a German field marshal who held office as chief of the OberkommandoderWehrmacht (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's armed forces, during...
Generaloberst who served as the Chief of the Operations Staff of the OberkommandoderWehrmacht – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout World War...
propaganda purposes. It promoted the newly formed Wehrmacht, official editor was the new OberkommandoderWehrmacht from February 1938 onwards. Aimed at young...
Germany (Karlshorst, Berlin) by representatives from the German "OberkommandoderWehrmacht" (OKW), the Allied Expeditionary Force represented by the British...
Alfred Jodl, German Nazi Chief of the Operations Staff of the OberkommandoderWehrmacht and war criminal (16 October 1946) Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian...
divergent. The wartime military casualty figures compiled by the OberkommandoderWehrmacht (the German High Command, abbreviated as OKW) through January...
common usage, such as k. u. k. for Imperial and Royal and OKW for OberkommandoderWehrmacht. As in English or Latin, German written abbreviations consist...
Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to the OberkommandoderWehrmacht (the German armed forces High Command). The area under the command...
the SD, and the General Staff and High Command of the German military (Wehrmacht). The aim was to have these organizations declared criminal, so that their...
Ministry of War. As a replacement for the ministry, the Wehrmacht High Command OberkommandoderWehrmacht (OKW), under Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, was put...
Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the OberkommandoderWehrmacht (German high command). The army was to halt for three days, which...
Defence—renamed the Ministry of War in 1935—was dissolved and became the OberkommandoderWehrmacht (OKW) with Hitler in direct command. The OKW formed part of the...
John von Freyend (25 March 1909 – 24 March 1980) was a German OberkommandoderWehrmacht officer who served during World War II as the adjutant to Field...
deputy chief of the Operations Staff, one of departments in the OberkommandoderWehrmacht (OKW), the Armed Forces High Command. Following the war, Warlimont...
turning point in the European theatre of World War II, as Germany's OberkommandoderWehrmacht was forced to withdraw a considerable amount of military forces...
Global Information
Nazi Germany
Adolf Hitler
