Wilhelm Keitel

Wilhelm Keitel
Keitel in 1942
Chief of the Wehrmacht High Command
In office 4 February 1938 – 13 May 1945
Preceded by	Werner von Blomberg (as Reich Minister of War)
Succeeded by	Alfred Jodl
Chief of the Armed Forces Office
In office 1 October 1935 – 4 February 1938
Preceded by	Walter von Reichenau
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (1882-09-22)22 September 1882 Helmscherode, Duchy of Brunswick, German Empire
Died	16 October 1946(1946-10-16) (aged 64) Nuremberg Prison, Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Spouse	Lisa Fontaine ​ (m. 1909)​
Relatives	Bodewin Keitel (brother)
Signature
Nickname	"Lakeitel"
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Branch/service	Imperial German Army  Reichsheer  German Army
Years of service	1901–1945
Rank	Generalfeldmarschall
Commands	Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Criminal conviction
Criminal status	Executed
Conviction(s)	Conspiracy to commit crimes against peace Crimes of aggression War crimes Crimes against humanity
Trial	Nuremberg trials
Criminal penalty	Death

Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪlhɛlm ˈkaɪtl̩]; 22 September 1882 – 16 October 1946) was a German field marshal who held office as chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's armed forces, during World War II. He signed a number of criminal orders and directives that led to numerous war crimes.

Keitel's rise to the Wehrmacht high command began with his appointment as the head of the Armed Forces Office at the Reich Ministry of War in 1935. Having taken command of the Wehrmacht in 1938, Adolf Hitler replaced the ministry with the OKW and Keitel became its chief. He was reviled among his military colleagues as Hitler's habitual "yes-man".

After the war, Keitel was indicted by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg as one of the "major war criminals". He was found guilty on all counts of the indictment: crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, criminal conspiracy, and war crimes. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in 1946.^[1]