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Adolf Hitler's directives
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Adolf Hitler's directives
Adolf Hitler's directives, or Führer directives (German: Führerbefehle), were instructions and strategic plans issued by Adolf Hitler himself over the course of World War II. The directives covered a wide range of subjects, from detailed direction of the Armed Forces' operations during World War II, to the governance of occupied territories and their populations. In addition to being a reflection of his personality and strategic interests, they were also a reflection of the larger philosophy of the Nazi regime.
The directives were absolutely binding and were to be followed to the letter without question. The directives also superseded all other laws in the country, including the Constitution. However, they should not be confused with the Führer's Orders that Hitler began to issue later in the war, which were more precise and low-level, could be written or oral and were as binding as the more general directives.
Many of them are direct evidence of the commission of war crimes such as the notorious Commando Order. Other orders provide evidence of crimes against humanity, such as the Hitler order establishing forced euthanasia of disabled people in 1939 under Aktion T4, and the Nacht und Nebel order for eliminating civilian resisters in occupied countries.
The failure of the Nazis' attempted coup in 1923 made the Nazis realise that force alone was not always the best way for seizing and consolidating state power. Their failure taught the Nazis that mass participation was necessary for them to seize power and build their Volksgemeinschaft. This participation required a legal basis to ensure that the public cooperated with the Nazis as a civic duty.
Hitler and the Nazis put this lesson into practice as soon as he became Chancellor. First, he successfully convinced President Paul von Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree after the Reichstag fire incident in late February 1933, which essentially suspended the Constitution and most civil liberties in the country, giving the Nazis free rein to eliminate their political opponents. In March 1933, Hitler had the Reichstag pass the Enabling Act, granting the Chancellor sole power to issue laws or decrees without the approval of the Reichstag and thereby essentially ending representative democracy in Germany. Hitler's new lawmaking power meant that the Nazis could now freely transform their political and ideological goals into national policy without worry of hindrance from the legislature or constitutional statute. Upon President Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler used Enabling Act powers to merge the offices of the President and Chancellor into one office, that of the "Führer and Reich Chancellor" (Führer und Reichskanzler).
Realizing early on the importance of having a firm grip on the military, Hitler used his now unlimited power to secure operational control over the armed forces, particularly during the course of the war. He achieved this through the directives and orders, ensuring that he was always in direct control of the military's operations without opposition. Hitler's impulsive leadership and strategic ineptitude as commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht would be blamed for costing Germany grievous defeats later in the war, as would the resolute failure of the German high command to rein in his increasingly erratic and delusional decision-making for fear of being seen as disloyal to the Führer.
On 21 October 1938, Hitler issued a new directive to the Wehrmacht to prepare for the "following eventualities":
In 1939 Hitler issued an order which became the justification for killing disabled children and adults in Aktion T4. It laid the basis for the Holocaust since gassing was a favoured method of murdering many victims. The SS staff who operated the gas chambers were later employed at Auschwitz and many other concentration camps and death camps.
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Adolf Hitler's directives
Adolf Hitler's directives, or Führer directives (German: Führerbefehle), were instructions and strategic plans issued by Adolf Hitler himself over the course of World War II. The directives covered a wide range of subjects, from detailed direction of the Armed Forces' operations during World War II, to the governance of occupied territories and their populations. In addition to being a reflection of his personality and strategic interests, they were also a reflection of the larger philosophy of the Nazi regime.
The directives were absolutely binding and were to be followed to the letter without question. The directives also superseded all other laws in the country, including the Constitution. However, they should not be confused with the Führer's Orders that Hitler began to issue later in the war, which were more precise and low-level, could be written or oral and were as binding as the more general directives.
Many of them are direct evidence of the commission of war crimes such as the notorious Commando Order. Other orders provide evidence of crimes against humanity, such as the Hitler order establishing forced euthanasia of disabled people in 1939 under Aktion T4, and the Nacht und Nebel order for eliminating civilian resisters in occupied countries.
The failure of the Nazis' attempted coup in 1923 made the Nazis realise that force alone was not always the best way for seizing and consolidating state power. Their failure taught the Nazis that mass participation was necessary for them to seize power and build their Volksgemeinschaft. This participation required a legal basis to ensure that the public cooperated with the Nazis as a civic duty.
Hitler and the Nazis put this lesson into practice as soon as he became Chancellor. First, he successfully convinced President Paul von Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree after the Reichstag fire incident in late February 1933, which essentially suspended the Constitution and most civil liberties in the country, giving the Nazis free rein to eliminate their political opponents. In March 1933, Hitler had the Reichstag pass the Enabling Act, granting the Chancellor sole power to issue laws or decrees without the approval of the Reichstag and thereby essentially ending representative democracy in Germany. Hitler's new lawmaking power meant that the Nazis could now freely transform their political and ideological goals into national policy without worry of hindrance from the legislature or constitutional statute. Upon President Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler used Enabling Act powers to merge the offices of the President and Chancellor into one office, that of the "Führer and Reich Chancellor" (Führer und Reichskanzler).
Realizing early on the importance of having a firm grip on the military, Hitler used his now unlimited power to secure operational control over the armed forces, particularly during the course of the war. He achieved this through the directives and orders, ensuring that he was always in direct control of the military's operations without opposition. Hitler's impulsive leadership and strategic ineptitude as commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht would be blamed for costing Germany grievous defeats later in the war, as would the resolute failure of the German high command to rein in his increasingly erratic and delusional decision-making for fear of being seen as disloyal to the Führer.
On 21 October 1938, Hitler issued a new directive to the Wehrmacht to prepare for the "following eventualities":
In 1939 Hitler issued an order which became the justification for killing disabled children and adults in Aktion T4. It laid the basis for the Holocaust since gassing was a favoured method of murdering many victims. The SS staff who operated the gas chambers were later employed at Auschwitz and many other concentration camps and death camps.