World War II: Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) OSS – CIA Files

Description

Himmler, Canaris, and the Abwehr: A Timeline of German Intelligence

• 1900: Heinrich Himmler is born.
• 1920: The Abwehr (German military intelligence) is established.
• 1935: Wilhelm Canaris becomes the chief of the Abwehr.
• September 1939: Heinrich Himmler establishes the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) by consolidating the Sicherheitshauptamt (SHA) and the Sicherheitsdienst-Hauptamt (SD-HA). This unifies State and Nazi Party police and domestic intelligence functions at the national level.
• 1941 – 1944: German counterintelligence activities are ongoing in occupied Russia, involving pre-war attempts at agent networks, recruitment, field operations, use of renegade agents, sabotage, and the employment of children as agents.
• 1944: Heinrich Himmler, believing Wilhelm Canaris to be part of an anti-Third Reich resistance movement, convinces Hitler to remove Canaris from his position as chief of the Abwehr.
• 1944: Wilhelm Canaris is charged with treason and subsequently executed.
• 1944: The Abwehr is integrated into the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) under Heinrich Himmler’s leadership.
• 1944 (likely after Canaris’s removal/execution): An OSS report is compiled on the future of German intelligence services following Canaris’s removal and Himmler’s new leadership.
• 1944 (date unspecified): Erika Canaris writes a letter to William J. Donovan, Director of the Office of Strategic Services, affirming her husband Wilhelm’s consistent opposition to National Socialism and his efforts to assist persecuted individuals.
• 1944 (date unspecified): A U.S. Department of War Strategic Services Unit report is compiled on the career of Heinrich Himmler, covering his life from 1900 to his suicide and detailing his conflict with the Abwehr.
• 1944 – 2014: Documents related to the Abwehr, created or maintained by the OSS and CIA, or derived from OSS information, are compiled.
• 1960 – 2014: Seven articles from the CIA’s journal, “Studies in Intelligence,” are included in this collection.
• Date unspecified (during hostilities): Discord and duplication of function within German intelligence services seriously cripple operations.
• Date unspecified (after defeat): Disclosures from German Intelligence Service (GIS) personnel under interrogation support and illuminate the prior issues of discord and duplication.
• Date unspecified: Heinrich Himmler commits suicide.

Cast of Characters

• Wilhelm Canaris:Bio: Chief of the Abwehr (German military intelligence) from 1935 to 1944. He was consistently opposed to National Socialism and the actions of the Third Reich, and actively assisted individuals persecuted by the Nazis. Heinrich Himmler came to believe he was part of an anti-Third Reich resistance movement. He was removed from his position in 1944, charged with treason, and executed.
• Heinrich Himmler:Bio: A prominent figure in the Nazi regime, born in 1900. In September 1939, he established the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA) by consolidating existing security and intelligence functions. He had significant conflict with the Abwehr and ultimately convinced Hitler to remove Wilhelm Canaris, subsequently integrating the Abwehr into the RSHA. His career extended until his suicide.
• Erika Canaris:Bio: The wife of Admiral Wilhelm Canaris. She wrote a letter to William J. Donovan, Director of the Office of Strategic Services, affirming her husband’s consistent opposition to National Socialism and his efforts to assist those persecuted by the Nazis.
• William J. Donovan:Bio: Director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). He was the recipient of a letter from Erika Canaris concerning her husband’s loyalty and actions against the Nazi regime.
• Adolf Hitler:Bio: The leader of Nazi Germany. He was convinced by Heinrich Himmler to remove Wilhelm Canaris from his position as chief of the Abwehr.

World War II:  Abwehr (German Military Intelligence) OSS – CIA Files

2,016 pages of documents created by or maintained by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), or reports by other U.S. intelligence agencies derived from information gained by the OSS, covering the Abwehr. Documents date from 1944 to 2014.

The Abwehr (German for defense) existed from 1920 to 1944. Wilhelm Canaris was the chief of the Abwehr from 1935 to 1944. Heinrich Himmler came to believe that Canaris was part of an anti-Third Reich resistance movement. In 1944, Himmler convinced Hitler to remove Canaris, who was later charged with treason and executed. The Abwehr was integrated into the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (RSHA), the Reich Main Security Office. The RSHA was established by Himmler in September 1939 through the consolidation of the Sicherheitshauptamt (SHA) and the Sicherheitsdienst-Hauptamt (SD-HA), the culmination of a process of integrating State and Nazi Party police and domestic intelligence functions at the national level.

Highlights in this collection include:

An OSS report on the future of German intelligence services after the removal of William Canaris and its new leadership under Heinrich Himmler.

A letter from Erika Canaris, wife of Admiral Canaris to William J. Donovan, Director of the Office of Strategic Services. She wrote of her husband’s military career. She affirms her husband’s consistent opposition to National Socialism and the actions of the Third Reich. She testifies to his efforts to assist some individuals who were persecuted by the Nazis.

A list of Abwehr agents stationed in Switzerland.

A report on German counterintelligence activities in occupied Russia 1941 to 1944. Originally compiled by the Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army. The report’s front material says the accounts were written by a Russian displaced person in Germany, revising the translation of the original Russian text, performing additional research, editing, and rewriting the narrative with an eye for continuity and correcting factual data. The report covers German pre-war attempts at establishing agent networks, methods of recruiting, the Abwehr in the field, employment of renegade agents, sabotage, the use of children as agents, political and economic factors affecting Abwehr operations.

A report on the dissension in German intelligence services. Abstract: Discord and duplication of function within the German Intelligence Services seriously crippled operations during hostilities and prohibited any well-coordinated plan of action after defeat. These circumstances are now being supported and illuminated by disclosures of GIS personnel under interrogation.

Career of Heinrich Himmler – A U.S. Department of War Strategic Services Unit report on the career of Heinrich Himmler from 1900 to his suicide. Covers Himmler’s conflict with the Abwehr.

Studies in Intelligence – This collection includes 7 articles, dating from 1960 to 2014, from the CIA’s journal, “Studies in intelligence.”