German general jodl biography

Alfred Jodl

Weimar Republic

Reichsheer

Reichsheer

German Wehrmacht Army general and Nazi War Criminal (1890–1946)

"Jodl" redirects here. For other people with the surname Jodl, see Jodl (disambiguation).

Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (German:[ˈjoːdl̩]; born Alfred Josef Baumgärtler; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German ArmyGeneraloberst (the rank was equal to a four-star full general) who served as the Chief of the Operations Staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout World War II.

After the war, Jodl was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity at the Allied-organized Nuremberg trials. The principal charges against him related to his signing of the criminal Commando and Commissar Orders. Found guilty on all charges, he was sentenced to death and executed in Nuremberg in 1946.

Early life and career

Alfred Jodl was educated at a military cadet school in Munich, from which he graduated in 1910. Ferdinand Jodl, who also became an army general, was his younger brother. He was the nephew of philosopher and psychologist Friedrich Jodl at the University of Vienna. Jodl was raised Roman Catholic but rejected the faith later in life.

From 1914 to 1916, he served with a field artillery regiment on the Western Front, being awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for gallantry in November 1914, and for being wounded in action. In 1917, he served briefly on the Eastern Front before returning to the West as a staff officer. In 1918, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class for gallantry in action. After the defeat of the German Empire in 1918, he continued his career as a professional soldier with the much-reduced German Army (Reichswehr). Jodl married twice: in 1913 and (after becoming a widower) in 1944.

World War II

Jodl's appointment as a major in the operations branch of the Truppenamt ('Troop

Primary Sources

(1) Alfred Jodl, diary entry (10th August, 1938)

It is tragic that the Fuehrer should have the whole nation behind him with the single exception of the Army generals. In my opinion it is only by action that they can now atone for their faults of lack of character and discipline. It is the same problem as in 1914. There is only one undisciplined element in the Army - the generals, and in the last analysis this comes from the fact that they are arragant. They have neither confidence not discipline because they cannot recognize the Fuehrer's genius.

(2) Alfred Jodl was present during the Munich Conference (29th September, 1938)

The Pact of Munich is signed. Czechoslovakia as a power is out. The genius of the Führer and his determination not to shun even a world war have again won victory without the use of force. The hope remains that the incredulous, the weak and the doubters have been converted and will remain that way.

(3) Alfred Jodl, order issued to the German Army (23rd July, 1941)

In view of the vast size of the occupied areas in the East the forces available for establishing security in these areas will be sufficient only if al resistance is punished not by legal prosecution of the guilty but by the spreading of such terror by the occupying power as is appropriate to eradicate every inclination to resist among the population. The competent commanders must find the means of keeping order not by demanding more security forces but by applying suitable Draconian methods.

(4) Alfred Jodl, speech to Gauleiters in Munich (7th November, 1943)

My most profound confidence is however based upon the fact that at the head of Germany there stands a man by his entire development, his desires, and striving can only have been destined by fate to lead our people into a brighter future. In defiance of all views to the contrary I must here testify that he is the soul not only of the political but also of the military con

Alfred Jodl

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAlfred Josef Ferdinand Baumgärtler was born in Würzburg, Bavaria, Germany. His parents, army officer Alfred Jodl and Therese Baumgärtler, were not married until 1899, hence Jodl did not assume the name Alfred Jodl until that year. he was educated at the Cadet School in Munich, Germany, graduating in 1910, then joined the army as an artillery officer. In Sep 1913, he married Irma Gräfin von Bullion; they had no children. During WW1, he commanded an artillery battery on the Western Front between 1914 and 1916 where he wounded twice (once severely to his thigh), on the Eastern Front briefly in 1917, and then back on the Western Front as a staff officer at the end of the war. After WW1, he considered leaving the military and becoming a doctor, but he ultimately chose to remain in the German Army.

ww2dbaseIn 1923, Jodl met Adolf Hitler. Through the 1920s, they worked together to gain influence for the Nazi Party. By 1935, at the rank of major general, he was named the Chief of the National Defense Section in the High Command of the Army (Abteilung Landesverteidigung im Oberkommando des Heeres, OKH). On 11 Mar 1938, he signed the order given by Hitler to invade Austria, then later that year commanded troops in Czechoslovakia during the annexation of that country. Between Oct 1938 and Aug 1939, he was a senior artillery officer with the 44th Division in Vienna, Austria. In Sep 1939, he led troops during the invasion of Poland. Between Oct 1939 and the end of the war, he was the Chief of Operations with the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, OKW), making him a key deputy to Wilhelm Keitel. In this role, he was among Hitler's top military advisors, personally involved in the planning of the invasions of Norway,