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Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was a World War I U-boat commander and war hero. He was appointed to head the Abwehr, German military inteligence (1935). He is one of the most mysterious figures of World War II. While a committed German patriot, he was horrified at SS attrocities in Poland that he personally witnessed. Other attrocities campe to his attention such as plans to kill importantPolishish officials and nobels as well as highly educated and cutures Poles to destroy the Polish inteligencia--the repository of national culture (Aktion AB). From that point he began to work to prevent a NAZI victory in the war. A great deal is known about his activities, but the full extent of his activities may never be known. He was extrodinarily effective, The NAZIs had no idea of his activities until the last months of the War. He was close to many top NAZIs like Goebbels who trusted him without reservation. Only after the Wehrmacht Bomb Plot (July 1944). Hitler had him hanged at Flossenburg Concentration Camp (April 9, 1945). Hitler had movies takrn so he could watch. The Americans liberated the Camp (April 23). German military intelligence during World War II was highly ineffective. It is unclear just what Role Admiral Canaris played in this.
Wilhelm's father wasCarl Canaris, a wealthy industrialist. His mother was Auguste Popp. The family for many years thought that they were related to the Greek admiral and freedom fighter Constantine Kanaris. This was a factor in the young Wilhelm's decision to pursue a naval career. He kept a portrait Kanaris in his office. Like many Germans in the 1930s, the family researched their ancestors and determined that the family came from northern Italy. The original family name was Canarisi. The family was found to have lived in Germany for several centuries (17th century). They were a Catholic family, but his grandfather converted from Catholicism to Lutheranism.
Wilhelm was born on New Years Day in Aplerbeck (1887). this was a town near Dortmund, in Westphalia.
Wilhelm was a good student with a flare for languages. He eventually learned five foreign languages (including English, French, Spanish, and two others). Despite his privlidged family background and obvious intelligence, Wilhelm decided not to pursue a university education.
Canaris at age 17 enlisted in the Imperial German Navy (1905).
Canaris at the outbreak of World War I was serving on SMS Dresden as intelligence officer. The Dresden was one of the few German vessels outside the North Sea area when the British Royal Navy blockaded the North Sea.
The Dresden participated in the Battle of Coronel off Chile (November 1914). Superior German use of radio intercepts was a major factor here. The Dresden was the only German vessel to survive the Battle of the Falklands (December 1914). The crews of the sunk vessels did not survive in the bitter cold waters in the South Pacific and South Atlantic. Canaris' clever deception techmiques were a major factor allowing Dresden to evade the Royal Navy search patrols. The British finally found Dresden in Cumberland Bay. The Germans scuttled Dresden. The crew was interned in Chile (March 1915). Canaris managed to escape, in part because he was fluent in Spanish (August 1915). German merchants in Chile helped him get bck to Germany. The Germany Navy gave him an intelligence assignment in Spain. The British attempted to kill him there. He was given command of a U-boat which eventually sank eighteen ships. He ended the War as a celebrated U-boat commander and war hero. His U-boat was in the Mediterranean when the War ended.
Canaris married Erika Waag (1919). Sge was also from a wealthy industrialist family. They had two daughters (Eva and Brigitte).
Canaris served in the ultra-nationalist and anti-Communist Freikorps after the War. He was close to Horst von Pflugk-Hartung. Pflugk-Hartung and others were ccused of assasinating left-wing politicans. Several left-wing leaders, including Rosa Luxembourg were shot. Canaris was accused of being involved in the assasinations, but eventually exonerated. He managed to get an appointment to the Reichsmarine. It was very restricted by the Versailles Treaty. He was rose rapidly in rank. He became a Captain (1931). He was the Executive Officer of the cruiser Berlin and next the Commanding Officer of the battleship Schlesien. He also was involved in intelligence work. He strongly anti-Communist and got involved in right-wing politics. He was involved in meetings with military leaders, politicians and industrialists seeking to end the political turmoil in Germany. Canaris in the years just before Hitler seized power was deeply involved in right-wing politics, although not a NAZI Party member.
The Abwehr was the Prussian Army's intelligence arm. It was created as war with Austria loomed (1866). Success in the Austro-Prussian War and the subsequent Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) resulted in expanding the organization. Wilhelm Stieber oversaw the Abwehr which collected vluable information on French defenses wand was seen as playing an important role in the Prussian/German victory. One outcome of the War was the unification of Germany around the Prussian state. Thus many Prussian insitutions became part of Imperial Germany. The Abwehr became the military intelligence organization of the new Imperial German military. The Abwehr collected valuable infirmation that proved useful when the Germany Army invaded Belgium. Walther Nicolai oversaw the modernization of the Abwehr to accomodate new technologies. The Abwehr ran inteligence and sabatoge operations in foreign countries, including the United States during the War. the Abwehr was forced to cease operation after World War I as part of terms of the Versailles Treaty (1919). The German military reactivated an ntelligence service (1921). The military inteligence operations included surveilance of political parties. And this included the NAZIs even after they became the governing party (1933). The NAZIs set up their own indeoendent intelligence service--Sicherheitsdienst (SD--Security Service). It was headed by SS officer Reinhard Heydrich. (A cashiered former naval officer.)
Canaris was appointed to head the Abwehr, German military inteligence (1935). Thus he was the main German spy master during almost all of World war II. After being appointed to head the Abwehr, he negotiated with SD Director Heydrich over an agreed division of responsibilities. Both as World War II approsched trained and maintained their own intelligence forces. Canaris set about reorganizing the Abwehr into three separate branches: 1) espionage, 2) counter-espionage, and 3) sabotage. He appointed three respected Abwehr agents to head the three different branches. He insisted that they could not be NAZI Party members.
He is one of the most mysterious figures of World War II. While a committed German patriot, he worked against his own Government. His actions were directed toward the Western Allies. He continued to hope that the Germany could defeat the Soviets or at least prevent a Soviet occupation of Germany.
Admiral Canaris was involved in efforts to disuade Hitler from invading Czechoslovakia. It is unclear hat his motives were. Some Wehrmacht officers attempting to descourage Hitler, not so much for moral reasons, byt because yhey did not believe Germany was strog enough.
Admiral Canaris was horrified at SS attrocities in Poland that he personally witnessed. He traveled to the front to watch Wehrmacht operations (September 10). At Bedzin, he watched SS troops drive 200 Jews into a synagogue and then set it on fire. The Jews all burned to death. Admiral Canaris was shocked. Other attrocities campe to his attention in the reports he received from his intelligence officers. He also learned of plans to kill important Polish officials and nobels as well as highly educated and cutures Poles to destroy the Polish inteligencia--the repository of national culture (Aktion AB). He was unaware that Hitler had personally set the SS kiling machine in operation. He went to Hitler’s headquarters train, the Amerika, which was in Upper Silesia (September 12). He met with General Wilhelm Keitel, Chief of the Armed Forces High Command. He told Keitel, “I have information that mass executions are being planned in Poland and that members of the Polish nobility and the clergy have been singled out for extermination. The world will one day hold the Wehrmacht responsible for these methods since these things are taking place under its nose.” Keitel was more of aware of Hitler's involvement and urged Canaris to take the matter no further. If he had, he probably would have been removed from command of the Abweht. From that point he began to work to prevent a NAZI victory in the war. A great deal is known about his activities, but the full extent of his activities may never be known.
Admiral Canaris' most effective coup was probably in Spain. He had worked with Generalisimo Franco during the Spanish Civil war. Both Hitler and Mussolini had aided Franco. The two men had developed a close reputation. Canaris personally went to Spain and met with Franco after the Fall of France (1940). The Germans at the time were considering an attack on Gibralter through Spain. Canaris advised Franco not to allow German troops to pass through Spanish territory. Canaris reasoned correctly that while Hitler might commit a force capable of seizing Gibraltar, he was so involved with plans for Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union) that he would not divert the resources needed to invade Spain. Hitler subsequently met with Franco at Hidake?? on the French-Spanish border. He tried to get Franco to enter the War, both so he could attack Gibraltar and to get Spanish support for Barbarossa. Franco refused and the meeting became heated. Hitler expecting a more cooperative Franco was incensed. He said afterwards that he would rather have teeth pulled.
He was extrodinarily effective, The NAZIs had no idea of his activities until the last months of the War. He was close to many top NAZIs like Goebbels who trusted him without reservation. Goebbels reported meetings with Canaris in his diary. One entry read, "I had a long talk with Admiral Carais concerning the reprehensible attitude if a number of OKW and OKH officers. In his opinion one of the chief reasons is because the Seehaus Service [foreign broadcast transcripts] is being destributed so widely among iffucers and officials. I had a list of subscribers furnished me from which it appears that the Seehaus Service has become a veritable fountainhead of defeatism." [July 25, 1942--Goebbels, p. 48.]
Suspicion as to Admiral Canaris' loyalty only began with the investigations following the Wehrmacht Bomb Plot (July 1944).
Hitler had him hanged at Flossenburg Concentration Camp (April 9, 1945). Hitler had movies taken so he could watch. The Americans liberated the Camp (April 23).
German military intelligence during World War II was highly ineffective. It is unclear just what Role Admiral Canaris played in this.
Goebbels, Joseph. ed, Louis B. Lochner, The Goebbels Diaries, 1942-1943 (Doubleday: New York, 1948), 566p.
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