page_title: Franz Halder
section_title: Invasions of Poland and Western Europe
hierarchical_section_title: Franz Halder / World War II / Invasions of Poland and Western Europe
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Hitler im Hauptquartier des Oberbefehlshabers des Heeres Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch. Vlnr am Kartentisch: Generalfeldmarschall [Wilhelm] Keitel, Generalfeldmarschall [Walther] v. Brauchitsch, [Adolf] Hitler, Gen. Oberst [Franz] Halder
context_page_description: Franz Halder was a German general and the chief of staff of the Army High Command in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. After World War II he had a decisive role in the development of the myth of the clean Wehrmacht. He directed the planning and implementation of Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. Halder became instrumental in the radicalisation of warfare on the Eastern Front. He had his staff draft both the Commissar Order and the Barbarossa Decree that allowed German soldiers to execute Soviet citizens for any reason without fear of later prosecution, leading to numerous war crimes and atrocities during the campaign.
  Halder joined the Imperial German Army in a unit under the command of his father and served in World War I. In 1937 he met and became a loyal supporter of Adolf Hitler. Halder participated in the strategic planning for the 1939 German invasion of Poland. The plans authorised the SS to carry out security tasks - on behalf of the army - that included the imprisonment or execution of Poles.
  At the end of 1939 Halder oversaw the development of the invasion plans for France, the Low Countries, and the Balkans.
context_section_description: Halder participated in the strategic planning for the Invasion of Poland. His plans authorised the SS to carry out security tasks on behalf of the army that included the imprisonment or execution of Polish citizens, whether Jewish or gentile. On 1 September 1939, the German offensive began, resulting in declarations of war by France and the British Empire. On 19 September, Halder noted in his diary that he had received information from Reinhard Heydrich. The SS were beginning their campaign to "clean house" in Poland of Jews, intelligentsia, Catholic clergy, and the aristocracy. Halder was aware of The Holocaust but did not object to the murders. He dismissed the crimes as aberrations and refused one general's request to pursue the SS and police perpetrators.
  At the end of 1939, Halder oversaw the development of the invasion plans of France, the Low Countries and the Balkans. During a meeting with Hitler on 5 November Walther von Brauchitsch, the Army commander-in-chief, attempted to talk Hitler into putting off the invasion of France. Hitler refused and berated Brauchitsch for incompetence. As a consequence, Halder and Brauchitsch discussed overthrowing Hitler because they feared the invasion was doomed. They decided against the idea. On 23 November 1939 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler met with Halder to ask him to reconsider his decision. He refused, saying that Hitler was a great leader, and "one does not rebel when face to face with the enemy". Halder's contemplation of resistance to Hitler owed more to political turf battles than it did to disagreement over the regime's racism and antisemitism.
  General Erich von Manstein's bold plan for invading France through the Ardennes Forest proved successful, and ultimately led to the fall of France. On 19 July 1940, Halder was promoted to generaloberst (colonel-general) and began to receive undisclosed monthly extralegal payments from Hitler that effectively doubled his already large wage. The payments helped ensure his loyalty to Hitler and reduced his qualms over sending millions of men to their deaths.
caption: Halder (far right) alongside Hitler, 1940
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