Alfred Jodl no relation Wilhelm Keitel
Reputation
National Socialism
The German Officer Corps was generally supportive of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. They supported German re-armament, Hitler's disarming of the Sturmabteilung, and lauded the Nazi leader's promises to establish the Reichswehr as the sole military organisation in the Third Reich. The appointment of Werner von Blomberg further bolstered support for Hitler among the remaining aristocratic army officers. Richthofen was an open admirer of Hitler, and by extension of the National Socialist cause. In 1938, Richthofen crossed the boundaries keeping politics and military officers separate, when he gave a speech at a Nazi-sponsored "Party Day" rally in Lüneburg. From the lectern, he extolled the virtues of Hitler's wisdom and leadership. Richthofen stated that the Nazi Party provided a strong sense of national unity and expressed the view that Germany would once again become a great power. Richthofen's sincerity cannot be doubted, for he was not compelled to make public speeches and did not need to play political games to safeguard or advance his career.Richthofen's view of Nazi ideology was not straightforward. Richthofen was "remarkably uninterested in politics or political ideology". His politics consisted of simple nationalism and belief in the leader, ideas common to his class. Though an admirer of Hitler, he was disinterested in the politics of the party, believing it lacked any coherent ideology beyond following the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Nevertheless, Richthofen never wavered in his admiration for Hitler and sincerely believed that Germany's military decline, and the disastrous military decisions, were the fault of the General Staff advising Hitler. Richthofen subscribed to the Hitler myth—that the Nazi leader was a genius, who would revitalise Germany. Richthofen's diary—which survived the war—has many examples of conversations with fellow officers in which he expresses his confidence in Hitler. After one briefing, in the summer of 1943, Richthofen praised Hitler's "brilliant grasp" of military strategy, and blamed the "idiotic" Alfred Jodl and Wilhelm Keitel for the failures of the Wehrmacht. Richthofen's biographer observed that he did not appear to question why a genius surrounded himself with incompetents and "yes men".Richthofen and Hitler maintained their harmonious relationship largely because they never worked closely together. Hitler, a soldier in the First World War, appreciated front-line fighting men and the perspective they brought back from the battlefield. Richthofen saw himself in this light, as a clear-thinking commander who had experienced the reality of the front. Because they met only occasionally, Richthofen maintained his idealised perception of Hitler.Throughout German history, and in other militaries, leaders rewarded high-ranking military commanders for their service. These awards went from medals, to titles, to the appropriation of estates. Hitler practised the same policy, although his methods were fundamentally corrupt. When Richthofen was promoted to field marshal in 1943, he became a benefactor of financial payments, which were not part of the state's expenses and were transferred secretly.  Richthofen was on "List C", which earned him 4,000 Reichsmarks monthly; a standard monthly sum for the rank. This was an annual salary for the average German worker, and the manner of transfer allowed Richthofen to avoid income tax, thus committing fraud. Hitler used the system to keep his generals loyal to the war's end, and Richthofen accepted the payments.