Ludwig Beck

General Ludwig Beck (June 29, 1880 – July 21, 1944) was Chief of Staff of the German Armed forces during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II. Image File history File links Ludwig_Beck. ... Image File history File links Ludwig_Beck. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... July 21 is the 202nd day (203rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 163 days remaining. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, Norway, Honduras, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military...

Born in Biebrich in Hesse-Nassau, he was educated in the conservative Prussian military tradition. After serving on the Western Front in World War I, he rose through the ranks, eventually being appointed to the General Staff in 1933. Two years later, he was made Chief of Staff. Biebrich Castle Biebrich is a borough of the city Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany, located in the Rhine-Main-Area near Frankfurt. ... The Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau (German Hessen-Nassau) was created in 1868 as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the previously independent Electorate of Hesse (Hesse-Kassel), the Duchy of Nassau, the Free Imperial City of Frankfurt, areas gained from the Kingdom of Bavaria... Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 Prussia (German: ; Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Lithuanian: ; Polish: ; Old Prussian: Prūsa) was, most recently, a historic state originating in East Prussia, an area which for centuries had substantial influence on German and European history. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire France Italy Russia United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Military dead: 4 million The First World War, also known as The Great War, The War to End All Wars, and World War I (abbreviated WWI) was... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The German General Staff or Großer Generalstab was the most important German weapon for nearly two centuries. ...

Beck resented Hitler for his efforts to curb the army's position of influence. Though he was hardly a pacifist, he opposed wars of conquest and only supported ideological war, when he believed that the military was fully prepared for it. Beck tried very early as Chief of the General Staff to deter Hitler from annexing the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia in 1938. Hitler was convinced that, since the United Kingdom and France had allowed him to annex Austria during the Anschluss earlier in the year, they would not stand in his way when he would try again to enlarge the Reich. Beck, however, believed that they would defend the country that they had created at the end of World War I and, if necessary, declare war on Germany to protect it. Since he knew that the Wehrmacht would not be strong enough to win a war against the Allies and since he was extremely respected by his fellow officers, he tried to convince all to resign en masse to prevent Hitler from carrying out his plans. When he found out that none of them would go along, he resigned alone in August to be replaced at the head of the General Staff by General Franz Halder. Alternatively it is reported that in August 1938, Hitler relieved him of command. Beck ceased to have any meaningful influence in German military affairs. Hitler redirects here. ... Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Sudetenland (German: Sudetenland; Czech: Sudety, Polish: Sudety) was the name used from 1938–45 for the region inhabited mostly by Sudeten Germans (German: Sudetendeutsche, Czech: SudetÅ¡tí NÄ›mci, Polish: Niemcy Sudeccy) in the various places of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts of Silesia. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Campaign of 1939 Wehrmacht (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Adolf Hitler, a General Staff officer and General Alfred Jacob NOT Franz Halder Franz Ritter von Halder (June 30, 1884- April 2, 1972) was a German General and the head of the Army General Staff from 1938 until September 1942, when he was dismissed after frequent...

His opposition to Hitler brought him in contact with a number of individuals who shared his views. Many of them, including Carl Goerdeler and Ulrich von Hassell as well as himself, would later take part in the July 20 Plot in 1944. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (July 31, 1884 _ February 2, 1945) was a conservative German politician and opponent of the Nazi regime. ... Claus von Stauffenberg The July 20 Plot was a failed coup détat and attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ...

Beck and the conspirators believed that Hitler's power was not as strong as he believed it to be. They thought that a clear threat of war from Britain to Germany if it chose to invade Czechoslovakia would allow them to brand Hitler as a warmonger and depose him from office. To that end, they sent some emissaries to the British Foreign Office to convince British diplomats to oppose Hitler as clearly and as strongly as they could. Unfortunately, the prevailing attitude in the Foreign Office at that time was to avoid war by appeasing Hitler instead of calling his bluff as the conspirators would have liked to do. To their dismay, in September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French President Edouard Daladier signed the Munich Pact which allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the United Kingdom abroad. ... 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Arthur Neville Chamberlain, PC (18 March 1869 – 9 November 1940) was a Conservative British politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940. ... French politician Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (June 18, 1884 - October 10, 1970) was a French politician, and Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World War. ...

In 1943, Beck planned two abortive attempts to kill Hitler by means of a bomb. In 1944 he was one of the driving forces of the July 20 Plot with Carl Goerdeler and Colonel Count Claus von Stauffenberg. The plot failed, and by the next morning Beck was under the custody of General Erich Fromm, and ordered to commit suicide. In severe distress, Beck succeeded only in wounding himself, and a sergeant had to be brought in to help finish the job. Claus von Stauffenberg The July 20 Plot was a failed coup détat and attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. ... Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Carl Friedrich Goerdeler (July 31, 1884 _ February 2, 1945) was a conservative German politician and opponent of the Nazi regime. ... Claus von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg (15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German aristocrat and army colonel during World War II. He was one of the leading figures of the July 20 Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. ...

External links

• Ludwig Beck's Memorial