Blomberg-Fritsch Affair
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The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair (also known as Blomberg-Fritsch-Krise or Blomberg-Fritsch crisis) were two rather unfortunate scandals that resulted in the subjugation of the German Wehrmacht to Adolf Hitler. The revealation that War Minister Werner von Blomberg's new bride was a former prostitute was initially a shock to even Hitler himself, who was a witness at the wedding. This disgrace in an army concerned with tradition and honor lead to von Blomberg's resignation. At around the same time, Commander-in-Chief Werner von Fritsch was accused of being a homosexual by a paid informant of Heinrich Himmler and the SS. Although the evidence was later dismissed and von Fritsch was acquitted, he was never reinstated as the Commander-in-Chief.
Hitler decided to abolish the Reichswehrministerium, creating a new organization - the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht - and fill the two vacant positions himself. At the suggestion of von Blomberg, Wilhelm Keitel became the new head of the OKW. This change was protested by some senior members in the Wehrmacht, most notably General Ludwig Beck. However, bound to the personal oath taken by the members of the Wehrmacht, little action came of the resentment felt by many in the service. Thus the stage was set for the Wehrmacht to be merely an instrument of Hitler's will and its ultimate destruction.