Werner Edward Fritz von Blomberg was born inStargard, Pomerania, September 2, 1878. He was the first of four children of Lieutenant Colonel Emil Leopold von Blomberg (1840-1904) and his wife Emma von Chepe Weidenbach. He had two younger brothers: Hans (1886–1914) and Hugo (1888–1918), and younger sister Margaret (1875–1940). Children brought up in a military way. The father, who was constantly absent, took little part in the process. The family often changed their place of residence: Werner studied in Hanover, Kleve and Bensberg.
Werner von Blomberg: the biography of the military
At the age of 16, Werner entered the cadet school.corps in Lichterfeld, near Berlin, where he studied from 1894 to 1897. Upon completion, he was given the rank of lieutenant. For the next seven years he served in infantry in command and staff positions.
April 4, 1904 Blomberg married the daughter of Major Charlotte Helmich (1880-1932), with whom he would have five children: two sons and three daughters.
In 1904, Werner’s father died, and in the same year hewas sent to the Military Academy in Berlin, where he remained until 1907. On May 18 of the year he was promoted to lieutenant general, and in October he was shortly enrolled in the Hannover regiment.
On April 1, 1908, Werner von Blomberg was sent to the General Staff, where he and his military skills were noticed. In 1911 he became the head of the topographic department.
In 1912, Blomberg served as a captain in 1 Lothing Infantry Regiment in Metz, and in early 1914 he became a company commander.
First World
With the onset of World War I, Blomberg asThe officer of the General Staff of the 19th Infantry Reserve Division, was sent to the Western Front. In Belgium, the first battle took place in which Werner's brother Hans was killed.
За этим последовал Сент-Квентин, где его The compound was attacked by several French divisions. Werner's division with the battles managed to retreat. September 14, he was awarded the Iron Cross II degree. In October 1914 he received a light shrapnel wound.
In the winter of 1915Blomberg's division fought in Champagne. Germany’s advance to the west failed, and the war entered the trench phase. March 22, 1915 he was promoted to the rank of major. At the end of April, a battered division was transferred to the reserve in Alsace, and from mid-May it was deployed in the Vosges. Then Werner was transferred to the Eastern Front, where he fought for a short time in Lviv and Gorlitsy.
Бломберг зарекомендовал себя в боях на Эне и в Soissons during the summer offensive of 1918. He distinguished himself so much that Kaiser Wilhelm II on June 3, 1918 personally presented him with the highest Prussian military award - the Order of Merit.
When the war was finally lost, the 7th Army began a chaotic retreat. After its dissolution in January 1919, Blomberg returned to his family in Hannover.
Reichswehr service
In the summer of 1919 he was called to the borderKohlberg fortress, and then to Berlin as a representative of command in the Reichswehr, and was speaker at the newly created Ministry of Defense. Thus, he was able to participate in the creation of a new army.
С 1927 по 1929 Бломберг был начальником войсковой service - a small similarity of the general staff. In this capacity, he traveled to the Soviet Union. Here Werner had the impression that the Soviet communist regime was kept on two pillars - the party and the armed forces. He did not know that all commanders were members of the party, and that Stalin purged the commanding staff in 1929-1930.
Nevertheless, the trip inspired Blomberg. In contrast to most senior officers, filled with sentimental memories of a monarchy that had sunk into oblivion, Werner showed democratic tendencies.
In the autumn of 1930, Minister Grener sent him on a study tour to the United States.
The decisive factor in the future of Blombergwere his hostile relations with the influential Minister of Defense, Major General Kurt von Schleicher. Werner left Berlin and became the commander of the military district in East Prussia and the commander of the 1st Infantry Division located there.
In 1932, at the age of 43, Werner's wife, Charlotte, died.
Blomberg general
Soon, Werner was sent to the headquarters of the League of Nations in Geneva as head of the German military delegation to negotiate disarmament, according to the terms of the Versailles Treaty.
January 29, 1933Werner von Blomberg received a telegram requesting an immediate visit to President von Hindenburg in Berlin. Hitler was scheduled to be appointed Chancellor and von Papen as Vice-Chancellor, instead of General von Schleicher, and Blomberg was to become Minister of Defense. Formally, it violated the constitution, since only a civilian could hold this post, so a special decree was issued. At the same time, he was promoted to General of Infantry.
General Werner von Blomberg immediately called outKoenigsberg in Berlin, his friend Colonel Walter von Reichenau and entrusted him with the leadership of his office. Earlier during the election trip, Hitler met with Reichenau and assured him that if he was elected chancellor he would rearm Germany.
Punishment for SA
After the appointment before Blomberg arosethe problem is that Hitler already had his own Nazi army, the SA, which in January 1933 numbered 400,000 men. It was commanded by Captain Ernst Rem. And after the unification of the SA with the alliance of the “Steel Helmet” front-line soldiers, the number of brown shirts reached 2 million.
Между СА и рейхсвером начались трения.On the other hand, the SA was a volunteer reserve in the event of a renewed appeal. In addition to the army, the SA had other enemies - Aviation Minister Hermann Goering and SS leader Himmler, who intended to turn Hitler’s guard into the only significant armed national socialist force in the Reich. In the spring, Reichenau found out about the upcoming open conflict, and in June 1934, Blomberg managed to convince Hitler to make an alliance between the army and the party. In addition, he published an article about the two pillars of the Third Reich - an open warning to the SA. Confident in Rem’s conspiracy, Werner von Blomberg compiled a list of 78 persons to be arrested, and on 28 June he brought the Reichswehr to full alert.
But the SS saved the army from work. The bloody massacre of the SA leaders and conservatives, whose victims fell to von Schleicher and von Bredow, allowed Hitler to immediately declare himself the highest people's judge.
Field Marshal
In March 1935, the Führer announced the resumptionconscription and formation of 36 divisions and 12 army corps. The Ministry of Defense became the ministry of war. On the birthday of Hitler, April 22, 1936, Werner von Blomberg was promoted to field marshal and became commander in chief of the Wehrmacht.
In 1937 he represented Hitler at the coronation ceremony of King George VI in London.
Devil in rib
Simultaneously Blomberg led a secret life. Since 1934in the evenings, he changed into civilian clothes and ordered the chauffeur to take him to the indicated place, leaving instructions where to pick him up in a few hours. A widower looking for love adventures - a strange pastime for the Minister of War. During these escapades in early 1937, he met an attractive girl named Margaret Grun. 60-year-old Werner fell in love with this "tempted in love" creature. He became her slave, called her Eve and decided to marry.
In December 1937Werner informed General Keitel of his intention, and that his future spouse was of modest descent. To protect themselves from possible attacks, Blomberg invited Hitler and Goering to become witnesses at his wedding.
Fateful wedding
January 12, 1938a civil ceremony took place in the main hall of the Ministry. And two weeks later, the farce collapsed. It turned out that the newly-made Frau von Blomberg is known to the police and has a criminal record for distributing pornography.
Hitler was speechless from humiliation.On January 27, 1938, the field marshal was forced to leave, as stated, for "health reasons." Finally, after learning that General von Fritsch, the commander-in-chief of the army, was accused of homosexuality, he advised the Führer to personally head the Wehrmacht. Hitler did what Blomberg said.
Werner von Blomberg became persona non grata inGermany. His name was forbidden to mention. To hush up the scandal, the Führer personally paid Werner a world tour. Blomberg made only half the journey, settling in Bad Wiessee.
Opala and death
In early 1939he contacted Keitel with great precautions, naively proposing to dissolve the second marriage, provided that Hitler reinstated him. Naturally, he rejected the proposal, noticing Keitel that he had already proposed such a solution to Blomberg, and he refused. To hide the past of his second wife, Werner committed an unusual act: in the genealogical reference book of the European aristocracy (Gothic almanac) he gave Eva the name Elzbeth Grunov. Doubtful company, given that the records of this nature must have documentary evidence.
With the collapse of the Third Reich in 1945former war minister was arrested. He died in prison in Nuremberg on March 14, 1946 from a heart attack. Two of his officer sons died on the battlefield for "the Fuhrer, the people and the homeland."
