Editing Reichswehr

{{short description|Combined military forces of Germany 1921–1935}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2021}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox national military
| name               = {{lang|de|Reichswehr}}
| image              = Flag of Weimar Republic (war).svg
| alt                =
| caption            = [[Reichskriegsflagge|War ensign]] of the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} (1921–1933)
| image2             =
| alt2               =
| caption2           =
| motto              =
| founded            = {{start date and age|6 March 1919}}
| current_form       =
| disbanded          = {{end date and age|1935|03|16|df=yes}}
| branches           = ''{{ubl|{{flagd|Weimar Republic|army}} {{lang|de|Reichsheer}}|{{navy|Weimar Republic}}}}''
| headquarters       = [[Zossen]], Brandenburg
<!-- Leadership -->
| commander-in-chief = [[Friedrich Ebert]] (1919–25)<br>[[Paul von Hindenburg]] (1925–34)<br>[[Adolf Hitler]] (1934–35)
| commander-in-chief_title = [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|Commander-in-chief]]
| minister           = [[Ministry of the Reichswehr|See list]]
| minister_title     = [[Ministry of the Reichswehr|''Reichswehr'' Minister]]
| commander          = See list
| commander_title    = [[Ministry of the Reichswehr#Ministerial office heads|Chief of the ministerial office]]
<!-- Manpower -->
| age                = 18–45
| conscription       = No
| manpower_data      =
| manpower_age       =
| available          =
| available_f        =
| fit                =
| fit_f              =
| reaching           =
| reaching_f         =
| active             = {{nowrap|115,000 {{small|(1921)}}}}
| ranked             =
| reserve            =
| deployed           =
<!-- Financial -->
| amount             =
| percent_GDP        =
<!-- Industrial -->
| domestic_suppliers =
| foreign_suppliers  =
| imports            =
| exports            =
<!-- Related articles -->
| history            = [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|German revolution]]<br>[[Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland uprising]]<br>[[Silesian Uprisings]]<br>[[Ruhr uprising]]
| ranks              = [[Military ranks of the Weimar Republic|Military ranks of the ''Reichswehr'']]
}}
'''''Reichswehr''''' ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪ̯çsveːɐ̯|lang|Reichswehr_Pronounciation.ogg}}; {{literally|Reich Defence}}) was the official name of the German armed forces during the [[Weimar Republic]] and the first two years of [[Nazi Germany]]. After Germany was defeated in [[World War I]], the [[Imperial German Army]] ({{lang|de|Deutsches Heer}}) was dissolved in order to be reshaped into a peacetime army. From it a provisional ''Reichswehr'' was formed in March 1919. Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Versailles]], the rebuilt German Army was subject to severe limitations in size, structure and armament. The official formation of the ''Reichswehr'' took place on 1 January 1921 after the limitations had been met. The German armed forces kept the name ''Reichswehr'' until [[Adolf Hitler]]'s 1935 proclamation of "restoration of military sovereignty", at which point it became part of the new {{lang|de|[[Wehrmacht]]}}.

Although ostensibly apolitical, the ''Reichswehr'' acted as a state within a state, and its leadership was an important political power factor in the Weimar Republic. The ''Reichswehr'' sometimes supported the democratic government, as it did in the [[Ebert–Groener pact|Ebert-Groener Pact]] when it pledged its loyalty to the Republic, and sometimes backed anti-democratic forces through such means as the [[Black Reichswehr]], the illegal paramilitary groups it sponsored in contravention of the Versailles Treaty. The ''Reichswehr'' saw itself as a [[Cadre (military)|cadre army]] that would preserve the expertise of the old imperial military and form the basis for [[German rearmament]].

==Structure of the ''Reichswehr''==
===Arms limitations under the Treaty of Versailles===
In Part V of the 1919 Versailles Treaty, Germany had obligated itself to limit the size and armaments of its military forces so that they could be used only as border protection and for the maintenance of order within Germany.

In accordance with the treaty's provisions, personnel strength was limited to a professional army of 100,000 men plus a 15,000-man navy. The establishment of a general staff was prohibited. Heavy weapons above defined calibres, armoured vehicles, submarines and large warships were prohibited, as was any type of air force.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Treaty of Versailles/Part_V}} For size of army, Art. 163; of navy, Art. 183; no general staff, Art. 160; heavy weapons, Arts. 167,196; armoured vehicles, Art. 171; submarines / warships, Art. 181; air force, Art. 198</ref> The regulations were overseen by the [[Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control]] until 1927.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interalliierte Militär-Kontroll-Kommission (IMKK) |trans-title=Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control |url=http://www.geschichte-reckenfeld.de/index.html?http://www.geschichte-reckenfeld.de/kapitel/entstehung/imkk_allgemein/start.html |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=Die Geschichte Reckenfelds |language=de}}</ref>

Conscription into the German Army had traditionally been for a period of 1 to 3 years. After they had completed their terms of service, the discharged soldiers created a large pool of trained reserves. The Versailles Treaty fixed the term of service for ''Reichswehr'' officers at 25 years and for all others at 12 in order to prevent such a buildup of reservists.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Treaty of Versailles Part V, Articles 173–176 |chapter=Part V. Military, Naval and Air Clauses |chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles/Part_V#Chapter_III._Recruiting_and_Military_Training}}</ref>

===Founding===
On 9 November 1918, at the beginning of the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|German Revolution]] that led to the collapse of the [[German Empire]] and the flight of [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Emperor Wilhelm II]], a [[Proclamation of the republic in Germany|republic was proclaimed]] from Berlin. The next day, [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Friedrich Ebert]] and General [[Wilhelm Groener]], acting in the name of the [[Oberste Heeresleitung|Supreme Army Command]], concluded the [[Ebert–Groener pact|Ebert–Groener Pact]]. In it Groener assured Ebert of the loyalty of the armed forces,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wheeler-Bennett |first=John |title=Hindenburg: The Wooden Titan |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=1967 |isbn=9780333082690 |location=London |pages=207–208}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Shirer |first=William L. |title=The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2011 |location=New York |pages=54}}</ref> and in return Ebert promised that the government would take prompt action against leftist uprisings,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fuchshuber |first=Thorsten |url={{Google books|7LAmEAAAQBAJ|page=117|plainurl=yes}} |title=Rackets Kritische Theorie der Bandenherrschaft |publisher=ça ira |year=2019 |isbn=978-3862591459 |location=Freiburg, Vienna |pages=117 |language=de |trans-title=Rackets Critical Theory of Gang Rule}}</ref> call a national assembly, keep the military command within the professional officer corps and, most importantly, retain the military's traditional status as 'state within a state' – that is, it would continue to be largely independent of the civilian government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gusy |first=Christoph |url={{Google books|yZydn3V2swkC|page=22|plainurl=yes}} |title=Die Weimarer Reichsverfassung |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=1997 |isbn=978-3161468186 |location=Tübingen |pages=22 |language=de |trans-title=The Weimar Constitution}}</ref>

As part of the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]], the new German government agreed to the speedy evacuation of occupied territories. The withdrawal on the western front began on 12 November and by 17 January 1919 the areas on the west bank of the Rhine were free of German military forces. The task was then to gradually disarm the units of the [[Imperial German Army|Imperial Army]] which still numbered several million soldiers. This was done at previously designated demobilisation sites, usually the respective home garrisons. For the regiments with garrisons on the west bank of the Rhine, demobilisation sites were designated in the interior of the Reich.

The [[Council of the People's Deputies]] – the ''de facto'' government of Germany from November 1918 until February 1919 – and the Supreme Army Command intended to transfer the remaining units to a peacetime army following demobilisation. On 6 March 1919 the [[Weimar National Assembly]] passed a law on the formation of a provisional army to be made up of 43<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tapken |first=Kai Uwe |date=4 July 2006 |title=Reichswehr-Gruppenkommando 4, 1919–1921 |trans-title=Reichswehr Group Command 4, 1919–1921 |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Reichswehr-Gruppenkommando_4,_1919-1921 |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref> brigades. It authorised the [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|Reich President]] "to dissolve the existing army and to form a provisional ''Reichswehr'' which, until the creation of a new armed force to be ordered by Reich law, would protect the borders of the Reich, enforce the orders of the Reich government, and maintain domestic peace and order."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen Reichswehr |trans-title=Law on the Formation of a Provisional Army |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/wr/vorl-reichswehr_ges.html |access-date=20 November 2022 |website=documentArchiv.de}}</ref>

A similarly worded law on the formation of a provisional navy dated 16 April 1919 authorised it to "secure the German coasts, enable safe maritime traffic by clearing mines, acting as maritime police and otherwise assisting merchant shipping, ensure the undisturbed exercise of fishing, enforce the orders of the Reich government in conjunction with the ''Reichswehr'', and maintain peace and order."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gesetz über die Bildung einer vorläufigen Reichsmarine. Vom 16. April 1919 |trans-title=Law on the Formation of a Provisional Reich Navy. Of 16 April 1919 |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/wr/vorl-reichsmarine_ges.html |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=documentArchiv.de |language=de}}</ref> The strength of the navy was to be 20,000 men.

From 1 October 1919 to 1 April 1920, the forces of the Provisional Reich Army were moved into the 400,000-strong 'Transitional Army'<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Haskew |first=Michael |title=The Wehrmacht |publisher=Amber Books Ltd |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-78274-592-1 |location=London |pages=13}}</ref> consisting of 20 brigades.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Das deutsche Militärwesen (4) – Deutsches Reich 1919–1932 |trans-title=The German Military (4) – German Reich 1919–1932 |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/DE/Content/Virtuelle-Ausstellungen/Das-Deutsche-Militaerwesen-4-Deutsches-Reich-1919-1932/das-deutsche-militaerwesen-4-deutsches-reich-1919-1932.html |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Das Bundesarchiv |language=de}}</ref> At the same time, the old army's units and duties were eliminated. After falling to 150,000 men in October 1920, the brigades were replaced by regiments, and the final army strength of 100,000 was reached by 1 January 1921. The ''Reichswehr'' was officially formed on that date, with the Defence Law of 23 March 1921 regulating the details.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wehrgesetz. Vom 23. März 1921 |trans-title=Defence Act. Of 23 March 1921 |url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/wr/1921/wehrgesetz.html |website=documentArchiv.de |language=de}}</ref> The soldiers' oath was sworn to the [[Weimar Constitution]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Auseinandersetzungen um die Vereidigung der Reichsbeamten auf die Verfassung |trans-title=Disputes over the Swearing in of Imperial Civil Servants to the Constitution |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/DE/Content/Virtuelle-Ausstellungen/verfassung_beamteneid.html |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Das Bundesarchiv |language=de}}</ref>

===Structure===
[[File:Kommandostruktur des Reichsheeres.jpg|thumb|left|Structure of the ''Reichswehr'', 1920–1934]]
The ''Reichswehr'' was divided into the {{Lang|de|Reichsheer}} (army) and the ''[[Reichsmarine]]'' (navy). The {{Lang|de|Reichsheer}} consisted of seven infantry and three cavalry divisions,<ref name=":3"/> with all units renumbered. The Reich's territory was divided into seven military districts. There were two group commands, No. 1 in Berlin and No. 2 in [[Kassel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gruppenkommandos der Reichswehr und Wehrmacht vor der Mobilmachung |trans-title=Group Commands of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht Before Mobilisation |url=https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Gruppenkommando/Gliederung.htm |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Lexikon der Wehrmacht |language=de}}</ref> The navy was allowed a limited number of certain types of ships and boats, with no submarines.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porter |first=David |title=The Kriegsmarine |publisher=Amber Books Ltd. |year=2010 |isbn=9781907446108 |location=London |pages=11}}</ref> It was divided into Naval Station Baltic Sea and Naval Station North Sea. Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the service period for enlisted men and non-commissioned officers in both the army and the navy was 12 years, with 25 years for officers.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Treaty of Versailles/Part_V}} Articles 173, 174 and 194</ref>

The 1921 Defence Law ended the military sovereignty of the states but left [[Saxony]], [[Free People's State of Württemberg|Württemberg]], [[Republic of Baden|Baden]], and [[Bavaria]] with limited independence. Bavaria was special in that Military District VII covered the entire territory of the state with the exception of the [[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]], and only Bavarians served in the 7th (Bavarian) Division. Until 1924 this unit, known as the Bavarian ''Reichswehr'', enjoyed certain rights of autonomy with respect to the Reich government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tapken |first=Kai Uwe |date=4 July 2006 |title=Reichswehr in Bayern |trans-title=The Reichswehr in Bavaria |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Reichswehr_in_Bayern |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref>

===Commanders===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0718-501, Gustav Noske und Walter Lüttwitz.jpg|thumb|Gustav Noske (right) with Walther von Lüttwitz (1920)]]
According to the Weimar Constitution, the Reich President had "supreme command over the entire armed forces of the Reich". In general, however, he could act only if there was a countersignature by a member of the government. In terms of authority, this was the ''Reichswehr'' minister.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Weimar_constitution#Section III: The President of the Reich and the National Ministry}} Articles 47 and 50</ref>

Two Reich Presidents held office during the Weimar Republic: [[Friedrich Ebert]] until 1925, followed by [[Paul von Hindenburg]]. The first ''Reichswehr'' Minister was [[Gustav Noske]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 November 2023 |title=Gustav Noske |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-Noske |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> who was replaced by [[Otto Gessler]] after the [[Kapp Putsch]] in 1920.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 March 2023 |title=Otto Gessler |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gessler-Otto |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Wilhelm Groener took office in 1928,<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2023 |title=Wilhelm Groener |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Groener |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> and his deputy [[Kurt von Schleicher]] replaced him in 1932. Schleicher continued to hold office on a provisional basis during his two-month chancellorship.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 August 2023 |title=Kurt von Schleicher |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kurt-von-Schleicher |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> Prior to Adolf Hitler's appointment as Reich chancellor, Hindenburg unilaterally – not at the chancellor's recommendation as required by the constitution – appointed [[Werner von Blomberg]] as ''Reichswehr'' Minister.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wichmann |first=Manfred |date=14 September 2014 |title=Werner von Blomberg 1878–1946 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/werner-von-blomberg.html |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref>

The head of army command was initially General [[Walther Reinhardt]]. After the Kapp Putsch, General [[Hans von Seeckt]] took over the post and had both the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD) and the [[Nazi Party]] banned in 1923.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Michaelis |first1=Andreas |last2=Felbinger |first2=Rolf |date=14 September 2014 |title=Hans von Seeckt |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/hans-von-seeckt.html |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> [[Wilhelm Heye]] followed him in 1926. Heye was succeeded in 1930 by [[Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord|Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord]], who tendered his resignation on 27 December 1933. He was succeeded by [[Werner von Fritsch]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Heeresleitung / Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) - Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres |trans-title=Army Command / High Command of the Army (OKH) - Commanders-in-Chief of the Army |url=https://portal.ehri-project.eu/units/de-002525-rh_1 |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=European Holocaust Research Infrastructure |language=de}}</ref>

===Social composition===
Given the limited size of the army, careful selection of personnel was possible. Experienced leaders came from the 'Old Army' of the Empire. In 1927, 20% of the officers were from the former nobility,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bill |first=Claus Heinrich |date=November 2020 |title=Adelstabellen und historische Quantitäten des Adels – Eine kumulierte Neuedition alter Adelsstatistiken |trans-title=Nobility Tables and Historical Figures of the Nobility - A cumulative new edition of old aristocratic statistics |url=http://www.adelskartei.de/zfda-statistik.pdf |journal=Zeitschrift für deutsche Adelsforschung |language=de |volume=22 |issue=114 |pages=28}}</ref> down from 30% in 1913.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bald |first=Detlev |date=1979 |title=The German Officer Corps: Caste or Class? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/45346160 |journal=Armed Forces & Society |volume=5 |issue=4 |page=645 |doi=10.1177/0095327X7900500408 |jstor=45346160 |s2cid=144879571 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This continued the long-term trend of a reduction in the percentage of noble officers. Large parts of the officer corps held a conservative, monarchist worldview and rejected the Weimar Republic.{{Sfn|Bald|1979|p=642-3}} Especially within the former nobility, however, the stance towards [[Nazism|National Socialism]] was not without criticism.

The ''Reichswehr'' leadership and officer corps successfully resisted the democratisation of the troops.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decree by Reich Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht Werner von Blomberg on Political Education and Instruction for the Wehrmacht (January 30, 1936) |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=1539 |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=German History in Documents and Images (DHDI)}}</ref> Preference was given to recruits from the predominantly conservative rural areas of Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2018 |title=Gewerkschaften feiern den 100. Geburtstag vom 8-Stunden-Tag |trans-title=Unions Celebrate the 100th Birthday of the 8-Hour Day |url=https://muensterland.dgb.de/presse/++co++67a6da84-f7a1-11e8-b318-52540088cada |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=DGB-Bezirk Nordrhein-Westfalen Region Münsterland |language=de}}</ref> The ''Reichswehr'' leadership considered them not only physically superior to young men from the cities but also as able to stand up against the "temptations" of social democracy.

In 1926 Reichstag President [[Paul Löbe]] proposed to make recruitment dependent on physical fitness only in order to make the composition of the ''Reichswehr'' reflect more closely that of society as a whole. The proposal led to fierce opposition from the ''Reichswehr'' and conservative circles,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aufzeichnung des Regierungsrats Planck über die Rekrutierung der Reichswehr |trans-title=Record of Government Councillor Planck on the recruitment of the Reichswehr |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/1u1/ma3/ma31p/kap1_2/para2_96.html |access-date=20 December 2023 |website=Das Bundesarchiv |language=de}}</ref> both of which believed that opening the ''Reichswehr'' to all social groups would lower its effectiveness. Löbe's proposal did not pass.

The ''Reichswehr'' saw itself as a '[[Cadre (military)|cadre army]]' or 'Leader army' ('{{Lang|de|Führerarmee}}'), which meant that every unit kept close ties to its former members and could hope to call on them in a time of need.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bussiek |first=Dagmar |url={{Google books|pHhHEAAAQBAJ|page=39|plainurl=yes}} |title=Dem Frieden verpflichtet: Wolf Graf von Baudissin (1907–1993) – Die Biografie |publisher=Nomos Verlag |year=2021 |isbn=978-3748927662 |location=Baden-Badem |pages=39 |language=de |trans-title=Committed to Peace: Wolf Graf von Baudissin (1907–1993) – The Biography}}</ref> This was to become a basic prerequisite for the rapid growth of the army after the proclamation of military sovereignty by the Nazi regime in 1935.

===Officers in the ''Reichswehr''===
Under the terms of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Reichswehr'' was allowed 4,000 officers, while the {{Lang|de|Reichsmarine}} could have 1,500 officers and deck officers.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Treaty of Versailles/Part_V}} Army: Art. 160; Navy: Art. 183</ref> The actual ''Reichswehr'' officer corps numbered 3,718, down from 227,081 in 1918, of whom 38,118 were career officers. The officers transferred to the ''Reichswehr'' were almost all general staff officers. Of the approximately 15,000 men who had been promoted to officers during the war, the ''Reichswehr'' took on only a few, as these front-line officers were seen as alien to officer life in the mess hall, barracks, and society. Democratically-minded officers were not accepted into the force. Radical nationalist officers were with few exceptions removed, especially after the Kapp Putsch.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richhardt |first=Dirk |date=2002 |title=Auswahl und Ausbildung junger Offiziere 1930–1945: Zur sozialen Genese des deutschen Offizierkorps |trans-title=Selection and Training of Young Officers 1930–1945: On the Social Genesis of the German Officer Corps (PhD dissertation) |url=http://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/diss/z2005/0100/pdf/ddr.pdf |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek |publisher=Philipps–University |place=Marburg |pages=17–19}}</ref>

The political attitude of the officer corps was monarchist, although outwardly they posed as loyal to the Republic. Even though the German nobility, which was officially abolished in August 1919, had accounted for only 0.14% of the pre-war German population, an average of 23.8% of the officers in the ''Reichswehr'' were from noble backgrounds. The proportion of former noble officers in the individual branches of the armed forces varied greatly. In 1920 they made up 50% of the officers in the cavalry but only 5% in the infantry and 4% in the sappers. Of the approximately 1,000 non-commissioned officers promoted to officers in 1919, by 1928 only 117 remained, or 3.5% of the total officers in the ''Reichswehr''.{{Sfn|Richhardt|2002|p=19–21}}

Since the Reich government did not bring the officer candidate recruitment process under state control, regimental commanders in the ''Reichswehr'' continued to be responsible for selecting officer candidates, as they had in the old Imperial Army. Those admitted came almost exclusively from circles traditionally close to the military. In 1926, 96% of the officer candidates came from the upper social classes and nearly 50% from officer families. The homogeneity of the ''Reichswehr'' officer corps was in fact greater than it had been during the Empire. In 1912/13 only 24% of officers had come from families of active or former officers.{{Sfn|Richhardt|2002|pp=22–23}}

==''Reichswehr'' in the Weimar Republic==
By assuring Friedrich Ebert of its loyalty in the November 1918 [[Ebert–Groener pact|Ebert-Groener Pact]], the military had ensured the survival of the new government. In the crisis-ridden early 1920s, the Republic used the ''Reichswehr'' primarily to fight insurgent left-wing forces, such as during the [[Spartacist uprising]] in Berlin in 1919.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 January 2024 |title=The last days of World War I and the Spartacist revolt |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Weimar-Republic#ref1257139 |access-date=13 January 2024 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

===Cooperation with the ''Freikorps''===
Wherever the Treaty of Versailles tied the ''Reichswehr's'' hands or its own manpower was insufficient, it left 'national defence' – e.g. border skirmishes against Polish and Lithuanian irregulars,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |title=Weimar 1918–1933: die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=1993 |isbn=3-406-37646-0 |location=Munich |pages=114 |language=de |trans-title=Weimar 1918–1933: The History of the First German Democracy}}</ref> or deployment in 1920 against the [[Ruhr uprising]] in the demilitarised [[Rhineland]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Years of crisis (1920–23) |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Weimar-Republic/Years-of-crisis-1920-23#ref1257319 |access-date=19 January 2024 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> – to the ''[[Freikorps]]'', which continued to operate even though it had been officially disbanded in 1920.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scriba |first=Arnulf |date=1 September 2014 |title=Freikorps |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/revolution-191819/freikorps.html |access-date=19 January 2014 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum}}</ref> In 1923 General von Seeckt, who had the backing of Otto Gessler, organised "civilian work groups" called {{Lang|de|Arbeits-Kommandos}} (AKs) that were attached to ''Reichswehr'' units and received training and support from them. The AKs, better known as the [[Black Reichswehr|Black ''Reichswehr'']], whose members were largely ex-Freikorps, had a peak strength of about 20,000 men and allowed the ''Reichswehr'' to clandestinely exceed the Versailles Treaty's 100,000-man limit. On 1 October 1923, about 4,000 of its members attempted a [[Küstrin Putsch|putsch at Küstrin]] on the [[Oder river]] east of Berlin. After its failure, Seeckt quickly had the Black ''Reichswehr'' disbanded.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Southern |first=David B. |url={{Google books|b7CuCwAAQBAJ|page=334|plainurl=yes}} |title=Social Protest, Violence & Terror in Nineteenth- & Twentieth-Century Europe |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=1982 |isbn=978-1349169412 |editor-last=Hirschfeld |editor-first=Gerhard |location=London, UK |pages=334 |chapter=Anti-Democratic Terror in the Weimar Republic: the Black Reichswehr and the Feme-Murders |editor-last2=Mommsen |editor-first2=Wolfgang J.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|Mq_lCAAAQBAJ|page=683|plainurl=yes}} |title=World War II in Europe. An Encyclopedia |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1135812423 |editor-last=Zabecki |editor-first=David T. |location=Milton Park, Oxfordshire, UK |publication-date=2015 |pages=650}}</ref>

''Reichswehr'' generals also maintained close contacts with politically right-wing, anti-republican military associations such as the [[Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten|''Stahlhelm'']]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Asmuss |first=Burkhard |date=14 September 2014 |title=Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/stahlhelm-bund-der-frontsoldaten.html |access-date=14 January 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> and ''[[Kyffhäuserbund]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Elliott |first=C. J. |title=The Kriegervereine and the Weimar Republic |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/260140 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |date=1975 |publisher=Sage |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=128 |doi=10.1177/002200947501000106 |jstor=260140 |s2cid=154984831 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> although the ''Reichswehr'' officially described itself as "apolitical".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wintges |first=Jorit |url={{Google books|gtGoDwAAQBAJ|page=107|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Culture of Military Organizations |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1108485739 |editor-last=Mansoor |editor-first=Peter R. |location=Cambridge, UK |publication-date=2019 |pages=107 |editor-last2=Murray |editor-first2=Williamson}}</ref>

===Passivity during the Kapp Putsch===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2005-0163, Thüringen, Reichswehrmanöver, Hans v. Seeckt.jpg|thumb|General Hans von Seeckt at a ''Reichswehr'' exercise in 1925|257x257px]]
In March 1920, Germany's political leadership did not use the ''Reichswehr'' against the [[Kapp Putsch]], a failed coup attempt against the Weimar Republic. It occurred after the government tried to demobilise two ''Freikorps'' brigades and one of them, the [[Marinebrigade Ehrhardt]], refused to disband. When Defence Minister Noske consulted with the ''Reichswehr's'' leadership, only General Reinhardt, Chief of Army Command, recommended the use of army troops in defence of the government. The rest of the generals, including Hans von Seeckt, chief of the ''[[Truppenamt]]'' – the disguised general staff of the ''Reichswehr'' – advised against deploying troops. He is reported to have said, "''Reichswehr'' will not fire on ''Reichswehr''". The only alternative left to the government was to flee Berlin. (By contrast, the left-wing [[Ruhr uprising]], which began during the Kapp Putsch, was ruthlessly put down with the active involvement of the ''Reichswehr''.) As a result of the Kapp Putsch, Noske was replaced by Otto Gessler.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sturm |first=Reinhard |date=23 December 2011 |title=Kampf um die Republik 1919–1923: Aufstände und Putschversuche |trans-title=Battle for the Republic 1919–1923: Uprisings and Putsch Attempts |url=https://www.bpb.de/themen/nationalsozialismus-zweiter-weltkrieg/dossier-nationalsozialismus/39531/kampf-um-die-republik-1919-1923/#node-content-title-8 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |language=de}}</ref>

===Circumvention of the Treaty of Versailles===
The ''Reichswehr'' leadership began early on to circumvent the arms restrictions in the Versailles Treaty through a series of secret and illegal measures. They included the clandestine establishment of the [[Black Reichswehr|Black ''Reichswehr'']],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Southern |first=David B. |url={{Google books|b7CuCwAAQBAJ|page=334|plainurl=yes}} |title=Social Protest, Violence & Terror in Nineteenth- & Twentieth-Century Europe |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |year=1982 |isbn=978-1349169412 |editor-last=Hirschfeld |editor-first=Gerhard |location=London |pages=334 |editor-last2=Mommsen |editor-first2=Wolfgang J.}}</ref> unauthorised weapons testing in the [[Soviet Union]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stein |first=George H. |date=March 1962 |title=Russo-German Military Collaboration: The Last Phase, 1933 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2146497 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=54–71 |doi=10.2307/2146497 |jstor=2146497 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> the establishment of a Leaders' Assistant Training School ({{Lang|de|Führergehilfenschulung}}) which was intended to compensate for the forbidden General Staff training,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Finker |first=Kurt |url=https://ulis-buecherecke.ch/pdf_deutscher_widerstand/der_20_juli_1944.pdf |title=Stauffenberg und der 20. Juli 1944 |publisher=Union Verlag |year=1972 |location=Berlin |pages=65 |language=de}}</ref> and the maintenance of the General Staff in the newly created {{Lang|de|Truppenamt}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goerlitz |first=Walter |url={{Google books|fCqNDwAAQBAJ|page=203|plainurl=yes}} |title=History Of The German General Staff 1657–1945 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2019 |isbn=978-0429717925 |location=Milton Park, UK |pages=203}}</ref> Under the code name 'Statistical Society', plans for an armaments industry were worked out with the Reich Federation of German Industry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hansen |first=Ernst W. |date=1980 |title=Zur Wahrnehmung industrieller Interessen in der Weimarer Republik die Geschäftsstelle für industrielle Abrüstung |trans-title=The Office for Industrial Disarmament to Represent Industrial Interests in the Weimar Republic |url=https://www.ifz-muenchen.de/heftarchiv/1980_4_4_hansen.pdf |journal=Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte |language=de |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=498}}</ref> With the help of retired officers, sports schools for training infantrymen were founded, most of them near former military training areas, where exercise instructors for military sports were trained.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Krüger |first1=Arnd |title=Beiträge zur Sportgeschichte Niedersachsens. Teil 2: Weimarer Republik |last2=von Lojewski |first2=Frank |publisher=Niedersächsisches Institut für Sportgeschichte NISH |year=1998 |editor-last=Langenfeld |editor-first=Hans |location=Hoya |pages=124–148 |language=de |trans-title=Contributions to the history of sports in Lower Saxony. Part 2: Weimar Republic |chapter=Ausgewählte Aspekte des Wehrsports in Niedersachsen in der Weimarer Zeit |trans-chapter=Selected aspects of military sports in Lower Saxony during the Weimar period |editor-last2=Nielsen |editor-first2=Stefan}}</ref> This took place, especially in northern Germany, with the support of the veterans' group ''Der Stahlhelm''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lippelt |first=O. |title=Fünfzehn Jahre Stahlhelm in Niedersachsen |publisher=Lüchoe, Druck- u. Verlagsgemeinschaft |year=1936 |language=de |trans-title=Fifteen years of Stahlhelm in Lower Saxony}}</ref> Other aids in military training included the use of dummy tanks for exercise purposes.

===Secret cooperation with the Soviet Union===
In February 1923 the new Chief of the {{Lang|de|Truppenamt}}, Major General [[Otto Hasse (general)|Otto Hasse]], travelled to Moscow for secret negotiations. Germany was to support the development of Soviet industry, and [[Red Army]] commanders were to receive general staff training in Germany. In return, the ''Reichswehr'' was able to expand secretly in contravention of the Treaty of Versailles. It was given the opportunity to obtain artillery from the Soviet Union, to train aviation and tank specialists on Soviet soil, and to have chemical warfare agents manufactured and tested. A secret ''Reichswehr'' aviation school and testing facility was established at [[Lipetsk]], where some 120 military pilots, 100 aerial observers, and numerous ground personnel were trained as the core of a future German Air Force. At [[Kazan]], tank specialists were trained, but not until 1930 and to a number of only about thirty. At the [[Tomka gas test site]] near [[Saratov]], chemical warfare agents were jointly tested and developed.{{Sfn|Gatzke|1958|p=567–568, 578}}

In December 1926, Social Democrat [[Philipp Scheidemann]] disclosed the collaboration with the Soviet Union to the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]],{{Sfn|Gatzke|1958|p=584}} toppling the government under [[Wilhelm Marx]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Der Streit um die Reichswehr und der Sturz des Kabinetts |trans-title=The dispute over the Reichswehr and the fall of the cabinet |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/0000/ma3/ma31p/kap1_1/kap2_1/para3_6.html |access-date=16 January 2024 |website=Das Bundesarchiv |language=de}}</ref> In 1931 [[Carl von Ossietzky]] and [[Walter Kreiser]] were convicted of espionage in the [[Weltbühne trial|''Weltbühne'' Trial]] for a 1929 report in the weekly ''[[Die Weltbühne|Weltbühne]]'' on the collaboration, which was by then already known.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hanisch |first=Klaus |date=8 August 2019 |title=Markenzeichen: unerschrocken |trans-title=Trademark: fearless |url=https://www.pragerzeitung.cz/markenzeichen-unerschrocken/ |access-date=15 January 2024 |work=Prager Zeitung |language=de}}</ref>

===Crisis in Bavaria and the Beer Hall Putsch===
[[File:General Otto von Lossow 01.jpg|left|thumb|248x248px|General [[Otto von Lossow]], commander of ''Reichswehr'' troops in Bavaria during Hitler's [[Beer Hall Putsch]]]]
On 26 September 1923, the Bavarian government declared a state of emergency and placed executive power in the hands of [[Gustav Ritter von Kahr]] as state commissioner. The government in Berlin responded by declaring a nationwide state of emergency, and President Ebert transferred executive power to Otto Gessler.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wulfert |first=Anja |date=14 September 2014 |title=Otto von Lossow 1863–1938 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/otto-lossow |access-date=17 January 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> After General [[Otto von Lossow]], who was in command of the ''Reichswehr'' troops in Bavaria, refused to act on Gessler's order to ban the Nazi newspaper ''[[Völkischer Beobachter]]'', the Reich government had few options to enforce the subsequent order to relieve Lossow of his command. Seeckt's dictum that ''Reichswehr'' would not fire on ''Reichswehr'' still stood.{{Sfn|Winkler|1993|p=211}} When news of Adolf Hitler's [[Beer Hall Putsch]] reached Berlin on 8 November, Ebert transferred executive power from Gessler to Seeckt, even though there was no assurance that he would act in the interests of the Republic. Given the way events in Munich unfolded, there was no need for Seeckt to take direct action. Kahr turned against Hitler, and the ''Reichswehr'' division in Bavaria did not support the putsch.{{Sfn|Winkler|1993|p=234}} In February 1924 Seeckt relinquished the executive powers he had received through Ebert.{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|p=110}}

===Seeckt and the events of 1924–1932===
The 1925 [[Locarno Treaties]] ruled out any forcible change in Germany's western borders, and in 1926 Germany joined the [[League of Nations]]. While war continued to be seen in the ''Reichswehr'' as a means to achieve political goals,{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} government policy under the Locarno Treaties and the [[Dawes Plan]], which for the short term resolved the issue of [[World War I reparations|German reparations payments]] to the victorious powers, was oriented more toward maintaining peace and international understanding. Seeckt and his officers were opposed to joining the League of Nations{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|p=141}} and saw their existence threatened by the pacifism of Germany's left.

After the election of Paul von Hindenburg as Reich president in 1925, his status as victor in the 1914 [[Battle of Tannenberg]] made him a figure with whom ''Reichswehr'' soldiers identified. In October 1926, without seeking government approval, Seeckt invited the son of former emperor Wilhelm II to attend army manoeuvres in the uniform of the old Imperial [[1st Foot Guards (German Empire)|1st Foot Guards]]. It created a storm when the republican press publicised the transgression. Gessler told Hindenburg that Seeckt had to resign or he would do so himself. He was supported by the cabinet, so Hindenburg asked for and received Seeckt's resignation on 9 October.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dorpalen |first=Andreas |title=Hindenburg and the Weimar Republic |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1964 |isbn=978-1111020736 |location=Princeton |pages=111–112}}</ref>
[[File:Nicola Perscheid - Wilhelm Heye vor 1930 (cropped).jpg|thumb|227x227px|[[Wilhelm Heye]], the third chief of the German High Command]]
Seeckt was succeeded by General [[Wilhelm Heye]], although it was primarily General [[Kurt von Schleicher]] who gained additional power.{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|p=199}} Under his leadership, the ''Reichswehr'' intervened in politics more often in order to achieve its goals, with the result that the Republic and the ''Reichswehr'' moved closer together.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In February 1927 the Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control, which until then had supervised disarmament, withdrew from Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Absolon |first=Rudolf |title=Die Wehrmacht im Dritten Reich: 30. Januar 1933 bis 2. August 1934 |publisher=H. Boldt |year=1969 |location=Boppard am Rhein |pages=31 |language=de |trans-title=The Wehrmacht in the Third Reich: 30 January 1933 to 2 August 1934}}</ref>

The decision to build the pocket battleship [[German cruiser Deutschland|''Deutschland'']] in 1928, which was in compliance with the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles and seen as a matter of prestige, caused problems for the Social Democrat Reich Chancellor [[Hermann Müller (politician, born 1876)|Hermann Müller]] because his party had campaigned against the ship, but his cabinet members voted for it in order to save the coalition government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodrich |first=Robert |url={{Google books|7-QlEAAAQBAJ|page=42|plainurl=yes}} |title=Democracy in Crisis Weimar Germany, 1929–1932 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1469665559 |location=Chapel Hill |pages=42}}</ref> For the ''Reichswehr'' leadership, the vote was a landmark political decision. The 1929 budget included the first instalment for the ''Deutschland's'' sister ship, the ''[[German cruiser Admiral Scheer|Admiral Scheer]]''.

The rapprochement between the Republic and the ''Reichswehr'' brought the greatest gains to the ''Reichswehr''. It achieved an increase in the defence budget, and criticism of the increase was seen as an attack on the ''Reichswehr'' and thus on the state.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

===End of the Weimar Republic===
Because of Hindenburg's support for the ''Reichswehr'', the [[Presidential cabinets of the Weimar Republic|presidential cabinets]] from 1930 onward increased its power. Chancellor [[Heinrich Brüning]] was embraced as a former soldier by the ''Reichswehr''. [[Franz von Papen]] and Kurt Schleicher, the two chancellors who followed Brüning, considered using the ''Reichswehr'' as part of their plans to abolish democracy. In addition, one of the presidential cabinets' main objectives was a revision of the Treaty of Versailles that would do away with the military limitations it imposed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scriba |first=Arnulf |date=1 September 2014 |title=Die Reichswehr |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/reichswehr |access-date=30 January 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Larry Eugene |title=The German Right, 1918–1930 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9781108643450 |location=Oxford, UK |pages=525–526}}</ref>

In 1931 and 1932, a series of actions by the ''Reichswehr'' and its leadership showed its increasing power and drift towards the Nazis:
* When the [[Harzburg Front]], an anti-democratic alliance that included the Nazi Party, was formed in 1931, fifteen men who were admirals or generals during the First World War – including Hans von Seeckt – were present.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schulz |first=Gerhard |title=Von Brüning zu Hitler. Der Wandel des politischen Systems in Deutschland 1930–1933 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1992 |isbn=978-3110135251 |location=Berlin/New York |pages=557 |language=de |trans-title=From Brüning to Hitler. The Change in Germany's Political System 1930–1933}}</ref>
* In 1932 ''Reichswehr'' Minister Groener, under pressure from several German states, outlawed the Nazi ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA) and ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS). He did so in his capacity as acting minister of the Interior, whereas his goal as ''Reichswehr'' minister was to integrate the SA into a non-partisan paramilitary force. Schleicher, Groener's subordinate at the Ministry of the ''Reichswehr'', told him that by outlawing the SA he had lost the trust of the ''Reichswehr'', and as a result he resigned as ''Reichswehr'' minister.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hiller von Gaertringen |first=Friedrich Freiherr |url=https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118542354.html#ndbcontent |title=Neue Deutsche Biographie 7 |publisher=Online version |year=1966 |pages=111–114 |language=de |chapter=Groener, Wilhelm}}</ref>
* On 13 September 1932, at the initiative of President Hindenburg, the Reich Board for Youth Training was founded for the military education of German youth. It was implemented by Chancellor Schleicher, then disbanded and merged into the [[Hitler Youth]] in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Ziel ist eine gesunde, leistungsfähige und wehrfähige Jugend" – Die Wehrertüchtigung in Jungvolk und HJ |trans-title="The goal is a healthy, capable youth fit for military service" - Military Training in the Jungvolk and HJ |url=https://jugend1918-1945.de/portal/Jugend/thema_anderes.aspx?root=26632&id=5402&iframe=true&width=800&height=800 |access-date=31 January 2024 |website=Jugend! Deutschland 1918–1945 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Harvey |first=Elizabeth |date=1993 |chapter=From Republic to Third Reich|title=Youth and the Welfare State in Weimar Germany|series=Oxford Historical Monographs|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204145.003.0008 |access-date=31 January 2024 |publisher=Oxford Academic|isbn=9780198204145|pages=264–298 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198204145.003.0008 }}</ref>
* In the [[1932 Prussian coup d'état|Prussian coup d'état]] of July 1932, [[Altona Bloody Sunday|violent unrest in Altona]] (Hamburg), particularly a bloody clash between the police, the SA and communists, led Chancellor Papen to use an emergency decree issued by President Hindenburg under [[Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)|Article 48]] of the Weimar Constitution to temporarily transfer executive power in [[Free State of Prussia|Prussia]] to the ''Reichswehr'' minister.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten ... Vom 20. Juli 1932 |trans-title=Decree of the Reich President ... of 20 July 1932 |url=https://www.1000dokumente.de/index.html?c=dokument_de&dokument=0004_pre&object=pdf&st=&l=de |access-date=6 December 2023 |website=100(0) Schlüsseldokumente zur Deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert |pages=4–5 |language=de}}</ref>
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 136-B0228, Kurt von Schleicher.jpg|thumb|342x342px|[[Kurt von Schleicher]]. After Seeckt's resignation, Schleicher made the ''Reichswehr'' increasingly political.]]
While Seeckt was head of the Army Command, he reorganized the ''Reichswehr'' so that it could be rapidly expanded when free of the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. He had done so while accepting the Weimar Republic as the framework in which he had to work, in spite of his fundamental dislike of parliamentary democracy.{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|pp=86–87}} Following his forced resignation in 1926, von Schleicher became the driving force behind shaping the military. He used a more "modern" approach that relied on a combination of political, military, and economic factors. Germany's economic position was to be strengthened and France relegated to the role of a junior partner. The supremacy thus gained in Europe was to form the basis for a position of world power. Historian Klaus-Jürgen Müller sees in this one of the "lines of continuity" of German development from the Empire to National Socialism and the cause of an "entente" between the traditional military elites and the Hitler movement in 1933. Hitler was dependent on their support in his rise to power, while Schleicher and the military needed Hitler's supporters as a "mass base".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Müller |first=Klaus-Jürgen |title=Die deutschen Eliten und der Weg in den Zweiten Weltkrieg |publisher=C.H. Beck Verlag |year=1989 |isbn=978-3406339936 |editor-last=Broszat |editor-first=Martin |location=Munich |pages=226 ff |language=de |trans-title=German Elites and the Road to the Second World War |chapter=Deutsche Militär-Elite in der Vorgeschichte des Zweiten Weltkrieges |trans-chapter=German Military Elite Prior to the Second World War |editor-last2=Schwabe |editor-first2=Klaus}}</ref>

===State within a state===
Historians of the Weimar Republic differ on the question of whether the ''Reichswehr'' was a "state within a state". Those who argue that it was point to an officer corps that opposed the parliamentary republic and to General von Seeckt's insistence that the ''Reichswehr'' be apolitical,<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Kolb |first=Eberhard |url={{Google books| EZp9wxPsi_sC|page=172|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Weimar Republic |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |location=London |pages=172}}</ref> a position that was supported by the laws of the Reich, which denied members of the ''Reichswehr'' the right to vote<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pauli |first=Frank |title=Wehrmachtsoffiziere in der Bundeswehr |publisher=Ferdinand Schöningh |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-506-76750-9 |location=Paderborn |pages=43 |language=de |trans-title=Wehrmacht Officers in the Bundeswehr}}</ref> and subjected them to internal ''Reichswehr'' jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Weimar_constitution#Section VII: Administration of Justice}}</ref> By distancing itself from politics and the government, the ''Reichswehr's'' relationship to the civilian leadership became problematic. Its loyalty was to an abstract state rather than the regime, and its insulation from the political world of itself led to it becoming a state within the state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kolb |first=Eberhard |url={{Google books| EZp9wxPsi_sC|page=39|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Weimar Republic |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |location=London |pages=39}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wintjes |first=Jorit |title=The Culture of Military Organizations |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2019 |isbn=9781108485739 |editor-last=Mansoor |editor-first=Peter R. |location=Cambridge, UK |pages=107 |chapter=German Army Culture, 1871–1945; Part II - Land Forces |editor-last2=Murray |editor-first2=Williamson}}</ref> In his 1929 ''Thoughts of a Soldier (''{{Lang|de|Gedanken eines Soldaten}}'')'', Seeckt wrote, "The Army should become a State within the State, but it should be merged into the State through service; in fact it should itself become the purest image of the State."{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|p=87}} The outward situation changed in 1928 when the ''Reichswehr'' created the {{lang|de|Ministeramt}}, or Office of Ministerial Affairs, under Kurt von Schleicher to lobby the government.<ref name=":0" /> In the late 1920s, the parliamentary system was beginning to break down and move towards the [[Presidential cabinets of the Weimar Republic|presidential cabinets]] of Brüning, Papen and Schleicher. The military had strengthened itself during its period of isolation, and through President Hindenburg was able as a state within the state to exert significant control over the choice of chancellor and the political direction of the Reich.<ref name=":4" />

Those on the other side of the issue argue that the subordination of the military to the constitutional institutions of the Republic prevented the creation of a state within a state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strohn |first=Matthias |title=The German Army and the Defence of the Reich: Military Doctrine and the Conduct of the Defensive Battle, 1918–1939 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780521191999 |location=Cambridge, UK |pages=7}}</ref> Articles 46 and 47 of the [[Weimar Constitution]] gave the president of the Reich "supreme command over the entire military forces of the Reich" and the power to appoint and remove military officers. Peace treaties and declarations of war required a national law (Article 45), which had to originate from and be approved by the legislature. In addition, General Seeckt was fundamentally loyal and helped the state to consolidate.<ref name=":4" /> When in 1923 Defence Minister Otto Gessler was given executive functions to deal with the nation's crises, the power went in essence to Seeckt. He acted in the interests of Germany in preventing a possible civil war over the end of passive resistance to the occupation of the Ruhr and then during the communist threat of the [[German October]] in [[Saxony]] and [[Thuringia]]. Maintaining the integrity of the Reich and the Army were his top priorities. With the power in his hands, he could have staged a putsch or made himself dictator, but he did neither and voluntarily returned the powers to the political authorities when the crises had passed.{{Sfn|Wheeler-Bennett|2005|p=109–110}} And in 1926, he lost his position as head of the Army Command at the demand of ''Reichswehr'' Minister Gessler.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Michaelis |first1=Andreas |last2=Felbinger |first2=Rolf |date=14 September 2014 |title=Hans von Seeckt 1866–1936 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/hans-seeckt |access-date=3 February 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref>

==''Reichswehr'' under Adolf Hitler==
[[File:War Ensign of Germany (1933-1935) (Flaggenbuch).svg|thumb|War ensign of the ''Reichswehr'' (1933–1935) and in the early ''[[Wehrmacht]]'' period (1935 – before the [[swastika]] was adopted as the [[Flag of Nazi Germany|national flag of Nazi Germany]]). It differs from the previously used version in removing the upper left corner in the national colours of the [[Weimar Republic]] (black, red and gold).]]
After becoming chancellor at the end of January 1933, Hitler presented his government program to the generals on 3 February. He promised them among other things that the ''Reichswehr'' would remain Germany's sole armed force and announced the reintroduction of conscription. The ''Reichswehr'' hoped for increased efforts to revise the Treaty of Versailles and to build a strong military and firm state leadership,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Adolf Hitler, Rede vor den Spitzen der Reichswehr, 3. Februar 1933 |trans-title=Adolf Hitler, Speech to the Leaders of the Reichswehr, 3 February 1933 |url=https://www.1000dokumente.de/index.html?c=dokument_de&dokument=0109_hrw&object=context&st=&l=de |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=100(0) Schlüsseldokumente |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Messerschmidt |first=Manfred |date=October 1983 |title=The Wehrmacht and the Volksgemeinschaft |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/260309 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |publisher=Sage |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=722 |jstor=260309}}</ref> but it also feared that the ''Reichswehr'' would be supplanted by the 3 million member SA. Its leader [[Ernst Röhm]] and his colleagues thought of their force as the future army of Germany, replacing the smaller ''Reichswehr'' and its professional officers. The ''Reichswehr'' supported Hitler in taking power away from the SA in the summer of 1934. Röhm wanted to become ''Reichswehr'' minister, and in February 1934 demanded that the much smaller ''Reichswehr'' be merged into the SA to form a true people's army. This alarmed both political and military leaders, and to forestall the possibility of a coup Hitler sided with conservative leaders and the military. In the [[Night of the Long Knives]] (30 June–2 July 1934) Röhm and the leadership of the SA were murdered along with many other political adversaries of the Nazis, including ''Reichswehr'' generals Schleicher and [[Ferdinand von Bredow]]. The ''Reichswehr'' officer corps acknowledged the murders without objection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SA Chief of Staff Ernst Röhm (1934) |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=2330&language=english |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)}}</ref>[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-16108A, Vereidigung von Reichswehr-Soldaten auf Hitler.jpg|thumb|{{lang|de|Reichsheer}} soldiers swearing the [[Hitler Oath|Hitler oath]] in August 1934, with hands raised in the traditional {{lang|de|[[schwurhand]]}} gesture]]
During 1933 and 1934 the ''Reichswehr'' began a secret program of expansion. In December 1933 the army staff decided to increase the active strength to 300,000 men in 21 divisions. On 1 April 1934, between 50,000 and 60,000 new recruits entered the force and were assigned to special training battalions. The original seven infantry divisions of the ''Reichswehr'' were expanded to 21, with military district headquarters increased to the size of a corps headquarters on 1 October 1934.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kane |first=Robert B. |title=Disobedience and Conspiracy in the German Army 1918–1945 |publisher=McFarland |year=2008 |isbn=978-0786437443 |location=Jefferson, NC |pages=102}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Neill |first=Robert J. |title=The German Army and the Nazi Party 1933–39 |publisher=Heineman |year=1968 |location=London |pages=91–92}}</ref> These divisions used cover names to hide their divisional size, but during October 1935 they were dropped. Also during October 1934, the officers who had been forced to retire in 1919 were recalled. Those who were no longer fit for combat were assigned to administrative positions, thus releasing fit officers for front-line duties.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stone |first=David J. |title=Fighting for the Fatherland: The Story of the German Soldier from 1648 to the Present Day |publisher=Potomac Books |year=2009 |isbn=9781597970693 |location=Sterling, VA |pages=450}}</ref>

On 2 August 1934, the day Hindenburg died, ''Reichswehr'' Minister [[Werner von Blomberg]], who was originally to have helped 'tame' the Nazis, had the ''Reichswehr'' [[Hitler Oath|swear its oath]] personally to Hitler. Under the Weimar Republic the oath had been to the constitution.<ref>{{Cite web |title=German Military Oaths |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-military-oaths |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=Holocaust Memorial Museum}}</ref>

On 1 March 1935, the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' was established and on 16 March universal conscription was reintroduced, both of which violated the Treaty of Versailles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Foreign policy and the road to war: A change in direction |url=https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/life-in-nazi-occupied-europe/foreign-policy-and-the-road-to-war/a-change-in-direction |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=The Wiener Holocaust Library|date=24 February 1920 }}</ref> In the same act, the ''Reichswehr'' was renamed the ''[[Wehrmacht]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reichswehr Generals at a Military Parade in Berlin (June 1, 1934) |url=https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=1997 |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=German History in Documents and Images (GHDI)}}</ref> On 1 June 1935, the {{Lang|de|Reichsheer}} (the army contingent of the ''Reichswehr'') was renamed '{{Lang|de|Heer}}' ('army') and the ''Reichsmarine'' became the [[Kriegsmarine]] ('war navy').<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gesetz über den Aufbau der Wehrmacht vom 16. März 1935 |trans-title=Law on the Composition of the Wehrmacht of 16 March 1935 [full German text] |url=https://www.verfassungen.de/de33-45/wehrmachtaufbau35.htm |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=Verfassungen der Welt |language=de}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ministry of the Reichswehr|Ministry of the ''Reichswehr'']]
* [[Weimar paramilitary groups]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Darman |editor1-first=Peter |title=World War II A Day-By-Day History |year=2007 |publisher=The Brown Reference Group plc |location=China |isbn=978-0-7607-9475-3 |edition=60th Anniversary |chapter=Introduction: ''Deutschland Erwache'' |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/worldwariidaybyd0000unse/page/10}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Deist |first1=Wilhelm |title=The Build-up of German Aggression |last2=Messerschmidt |first2=Manfred |last3=Volkmann |first3=Hans-Erich |last4=Wette |first4=Wolfram |publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt |year=1990 |isbn=0-19-822866-X |volume=1 |location=Stuttgart}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gatzke |first=Hans W. |date=April 1958 |title=Russo-German Military Collaboration During the Weimar Republic |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1848881 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=565–597 |doi=10.2307/1848881 |jstor=1848881 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite book |last1=Haskew |first1=Michael |title=The Wehrmacht |date=2011 |publisher=Amber Books Ltd. }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kane |first1=Robert B. |title=Disobedience and Conspiracy in the German Army 1918–1945 |date=2008 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Keller |first1=Peter |title=Die Wehrmacht der Deutschen Republik ist die Reichswehr:Die deutsche Armee 1918–1921 |date=2014 |publisher=Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh |location=Paderborn |language=de}}
* {{cite book |last1=O'Neill |first1=Robert J. |title=The German Army and the Nazi Party 1933–39 |date=1968 |publisher=Cassell |location=London }}
* {{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=David |title=The Kriegsmarine |date=2010 |publisher=Amber Books Ltd. }}
* {{cite book |last1=Shirer |first1=William L. |title=The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany |date=2011 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York, NY }}
* {{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=David J. |title=Fighting for the Fatherland: The Story of the German Soldier from 1648 to the Present Day |date=2006 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Wheeler-Bennett |first1=John |author-link1=John Wheeler-Bennett |title=Hindenburg: The Wooden Titan |date=1967 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan }}
* {{cite book |last1=Wheeler-Bennett |first1=John |author-link1=John Wheeler-Bennett |title=The Nemesis of Power: German Army in Politics, 1918–1945 |date=2005|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York }}
* {{cite web |title=Introduction to the Reichswehr |url=http://www.axishistory.com/axis-nations/germany-a-austria/reichswehr-1919-1935/140-germany-reichswehr/reichswehr/2294-introduction-to-the-reichswehr |website=Axis History Factbook |access-date=1 July 2015 |ref={{harvid|AHFBR}}}}
* {{cite book |author1-last = Glantz |author1-first = David |author2-last = House |author2-first = Jonathan |title=When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler |publisher=University Press of Kansas |year=2015 | volume=Revised and Expanded Edition|isbn=978-0-70062-121-7 }}

==External links==
* [https://www.feldgrau.com/WW1-Reichswehr-German-Imperial-Army/ Feldgrau's overview of the Reichswehr]
* [http://www.superborg.de/ The Archives of technical Manuals 1900–1945 (includes the Reichswehr-regulations)]

{{Divisions of the Reichswehr}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Military of the Weimar Republic]]
[[Category:Military history of Germany]]
[[Category:Reichswehr]]