Blomberg-Fritsch Affair

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The Blomberg-Fritsch Affair (also known as Blomberg-Fritsch-Krise or Blomberg-Fritsch crisis) were two scandals that resulted in the subjugation of the German Wehrmacht to Adolf Hitler. The affair started in January 1938, when it was revealed that War Minister Werner von Blomberg's new bride was a former prostitute. This was initially a shock even to 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.

A month later, in February 1938, Commander-in-Chief Werner von Fritsch was accused of being a homosexual by Reinhardt Heydrich and the SS, who had bribed a Munich streetwalker to buttress the accusation. He resigned, and 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 ultimately for its destruction.