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Ministry of the Reichswehr
The Ministry of the Reichswehr (German: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of Germany from 1919 to 1938 during the Weimar Republic and early Nazi Germany periods. It was responsible for the Reichswehr under the leadership of the Minister of Defence and based in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin.
The Ministry of the Reichswehr was formed from the Prussian Ministry of War in the aftermath of World War I as part of a centralisation of the armed forces to Berlin from the states of Germany. Its longest serving Weimar-era Defence Ministers were the civilian Otto Gessler (almost 8 years) and General Wilhelm Groener (4 years). It was renamed the Reich Ministry of War (Reichskriegsministerium) in 1935 under the Nazis and led by General Werner von Blomberg as the Minister of War. It was abolished in 1938 and replaced with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command) under the direct command of Adolf Hitler.
On 6 March 1919, the Weimar National Assembly – Germany's post-war interim parliament, which was tasked with passing necessary laws while it drafted a constitution for the Republic – enacted the Law on the Formation of a Provisional National Defence Force (Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen Reichswehr). It authorized the president of Germany to:
disband the existing Army and to form a provisional Reichswehr, which will protect the Reich's borders, enforce the orders of the Reich government and maintain peace and order within the Reich until the new Armed Forces (Wehrmacht), which is to be organized by Reich law, is created.
The position of defence minister was established early in 1919 and filled by Gustav Noske on 13 February. On 20 August, President Friedrich Ebert ordered that the Reichswehr Ministry take over from the federal states' war ministries on 1 October, although it was not until 8 November 1919 that the new ministry was officially opened. The heads of Army Command (Heeresleitung) and the Admiralty – which became Navy Command (Marineleitung) on 15 July 1920 – were subordinate to the defence minister. The Ministry was for the most part made up of members from the states' war ministries, with the majority coming from the Prussian Ministry of War.
The Prussian armed forces remained under the command of General Walther Reinhardt, the Prussian Minister of War, until the Ministry was disbanded on 30 September 1919. Reinhardt sat on the first two cabinets of the Weimar Republic as a non-voting member until 30 September, as did Admiral Adolf von Trotha in a similar capacity for the Admiralty until 27 March 1920, when the Bauer cabinet resigned.
As a covert replacement for the German Empire's General Staff (OHL), which had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles (Article 160), the Truppenamt was formed within the Reichswehr Ministry in October 1919. General Hans von Seeckt was its first head.
The Reich law to create a new Armed Forces, which had been referred to in the 1919 Law on the Formation of a Provisional National Defence Force, was promulgated as the Defence Act (Wehrgesetz) on 23 March 1921 by the Weimar Reichstag. It formally established the Reichswehr in compliance with the limits set in the Treaty of Versailles. In § 8 [2], it stated that: "the Reich President is the supreme commander of the entire Armed Forces. Under him, the Armed Forces minister exercises command over the entire Armed Forces." Paragraph 10 also provided that:
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Ministry of the Reichswehr
The Ministry of the Reichswehr (German: Reichswehrministerium) was the defence ministry of Germany from 1919 to 1938 during the Weimar Republic and early Nazi Germany periods. It was responsible for the Reichswehr under the leadership of the Minister of Defence and based in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin.
The Ministry of the Reichswehr was formed from the Prussian Ministry of War in the aftermath of World War I as part of a centralisation of the armed forces to Berlin from the states of Germany. Its longest serving Weimar-era Defence Ministers were the civilian Otto Gessler (almost 8 years) and General Wilhelm Groener (4 years). It was renamed the Reich Ministry of War (Reichskriegsministerium) in 1935 under the Nazis and led by General Werner von Blomberg as the Minister of War. It was abolished in 1938 and replaced with the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Armed Forces High Command) under the direct command of Adolf Hitler.
On 6 March 1919, the Weimar National Assembly – Germany's post-war interim parliament, which was tasked with passing necessary laws while it drafted a constitution for the Republic – enacted the Law on the Formation of a Provisional National Defence Force (Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen Reichswehr). It authorized the president of Germany to:
disband the existing Army and to form a provisional Reichswehr, which will protect the Reich's borders, enforce the orders of the Reich government and maintain peace and order within the Reich until the new Armed Forces (Wehrmacht), which is to be organized by Reich law, is created.
The position of defence minister was established early in 1919 and filled by Gustav Noske on 13 February. On 20 August, President Friedrich Ebert ordered that the Reichswehr Ministry take over from the federal states' war ministries on 1 October, although it was not until 8 November 1919 that the new ministry was officially opened. The heads of Army Command (Heeresleitung) and the Admiralty – which became Navy Command (Marineleitung) on 15 July 1920 – were subordinate to the defence minister. The Ministry was for the most part made up of members from the states' war ministries, with the majority coming from the Prussian Ministry of War.
The Prussian armed forces remained under the command of General Walther Reinhardt, the Prussian Minister of War, until the Ministry was disbanded on 30 September 1919. Reinhardt sat on the first two cabinets of the Weimar Republic as a non-voting member until 30 September, as did Admiral Adolf von Trotha in a similar capacity for the Admiralty until 27 March 1920, when the Bauer cabinet resigned.
As a covert replacement for the German Empire's General Staff (OHL), which had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles (Article 160), the Truppenamt was formed within the Reichswehr Ministry in October 1919. General Hans von Seeckt was its first head.
The Reich law to create a new Armed Forces, which had been referred to in the 1919 Law on the Formation of a Provisional National Defence Force, was promulgated as the Defence Act (Wehrgesetz) on 23 March 1921 by the Weimar Reichstag. It formally established the Reichswehr in compliance with the limits set in the Treaty of Versailles. In § 8 [2], it stated that: "the Reich President is the supreme commander of the entire Armed Forces. Under him, the Armed Forces minister exercises command over the entire Armed Forces." Paragraph 10 also provided that: