- Born
- Died
- Height5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
- Wilhelm Canaris was born on January 1, 1887 in Dortmund, Germany. He was married to Erika Waag. He died on April 9, 1945 in Flossenbürg concentration camp, Bavaria, Germany.
- SpouseErika Waag(1919 - April 9, 1945) (his death, 2 children)
- He was initially a major supporter of Adolf Hitler. Canaris first suggested using the Star of David to identify Jews in 1935, and he was instrumental in persuading Hitler to intervene in the Spanish Civil War. He only turned against Hitler by 1939 because he knew Germany would lose a major war.
- Was a German admiral, and chief of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944.
- In 1956, the German High Court ruled that his trial had been enough to render the executions legal. The high court judges also held that the killings were legal because the Nazi regime had possessed the right to execute traitors.
- He was 5' 3¾" (1.62 m) tall.
- We officers ... should always recognize that without the Führer and his NSDAP, the restoration of German military greatness and military strength would not have been possible ... the officer's duty is to be a living example of National Socialism and make the German Wehrmacht reflect the fulfillment of National Socialist ideology. That must be our grand design.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
