The genius of the Fuehrer and his determination not to shun even a World War have again won the victory without the use of force. Jodl conferred with the propaganda experts on "imminent common tasks" such as German violations of international law, exploitation of them by the enemy and refutations by the Germans, which "task" Jodl considered "particularly important."Īfter Munich, Jodl wrote : "Czechoslovakia as a power is out.
Jodl admits he agreed with OKH that the "incident" to provide German intervention must occur at the latest by 1400 on X-1 day, the day before the attack, and said it must occur at a fixed time in good flying weather. He initialed items 14, 17, 24, 36, and 37 in the notes. In planning the attack on Czechoslovakia, Jodl was very active, according to the Schmundt notes. Jodl issued supplementary instructions on 11 March, and initialed Hitler's order for the invasion on the same date. His diary for 10 March shows Hitler then ordered the preparation of "Case Otto," and the directive was initialed by Jodl. When Hitler decided "not to tolerate" Schnschnigg's plebiscite, Jodl brought to the conference the "old draft," the existing staff plan. Though he claims that as a soldier he had to obey Hitler, he says that he often tried to obstruct certain ineasnres by delay, which occasionally proved successful as when he resisted Hitler's demand that a directive be issued to lynch allied "terror fliers."Įntries in Jodl's diary of 13 and 14 February 1938 show Hitler instructed both him and Keitel to keep up military pressure against Austria begun at the Schuschnigg conference by simulating military measures, and that these achieved their purpose. He said that when he signed or initialed orders, memoranda, and letters, he did so for Hitler and often in the absence of Keitel. In the strict military sense, Jodl was the actual planner of the war and responsible in large measure for the strategy and conduct of operations.Īt Nuermberg Jodl defended himself on the ground he mas a soldier sworn to obedience, and not a politician and that his staff and planning work left him no time for other matters. Although Keitel was his immediate superior, Jodl reported directly to Hitler on operational matters. In September 1939 he took part in the invasion of Poland. It is the same problem as in 1914." After the Anschluss he was sent to Vienna as head of the 44th Artillery Command, where for a year he was in command of troops.īeing a staunch supporter of the Nazi party, he was nominated in August 1939, to the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the High Command of the Armed Forces Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). In my opinion it is only by action that they can now atone for their faults of lack of character and discipline. Alfred Jodl, wrote in his diary (10th August, 1938) "It is tragic that the Fuehrer should have the whole nation behind him with the single exception of the Army generals. From 1935 to 1938 he was Chief of the National Defense Section in the High Command.
In 1935 Jodl was promoted to the rank of major general. Disillusioned by Germany's defeat he considered leaving the army and becoming a doctor.Ī strong supporter of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), Jodl worked closely with Adolf Hitler. He recovered and saw further action on the Western Front and the Eastern Front. Soon after the outbreak of the Great War Jodl suffered a severe thigh wound. He attended cadet school and 1910 joined a field military regiment in the German Army.
Alfred Jodl - together with Goering, Schacht, and Speer - was one of the four outstanding personalities in the dock at Nuremberg.Īlfred Jodl was born on in Wurzburg, son of a retired Bavarian artillery captain. Count Four charged the defendants with crimes against humanity. Count One charged all of the defendants with being "leaders, organizers, instigators, or accomplices in the formation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit, or which involved the commission of, Crimes against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity." Count Two charged the defendants with crimes against peace by their participation "in the planning, preparation, initiation, and waging of wars of aggression." Count Three charged the defendants with war crimes. The International Military Tribunal trials at Nuremberg in 1946 charged the defendants with four crimes.
0 kommentar(er)
