# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/wilhelm-canaris
# Generated: 2026-08-31T23:26:47.815Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/wilhelm-canaris"
name: "Wilhelm Canaris"
slug: "wilhelm-canaris"
description: "The German admiral who ran Hitler's military intelligence — then quietly worked to undermine him. Canaris spent the war in a position built for loyalty and used it for sabotage, a betrayal that ended at the gallows as Allied troops closed in."
tagline: "German admiral, head of military intelligence service (1887–1945)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1979-013-43%2C_Wilhelm_Canaris.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Germany"
  isoCode: "DE"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1887-01-01"
deathDate: "1945-04-09"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           59.22
  momentum:             1.906238922367955
  historical:           25.477852
  currentAttention:     10.59021623537753
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Historical Figures"
    slug: "historical-figures"
  - name: "Historical Figure"
    slug: "historical-figure"
  - name: "Germany"
    slug: "germany"
  - name: "Europe"
    slug: "europe"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q57129"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Wilhelm%20Canaris"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%87%D9%84%D9%85_%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B3"
    title: "فيلهلم كاناريس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilhelm_Kanaris"
    title: "Vilhelm Kanaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D1%96%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BC_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%81"
    title: "Вільгельм Канарыс"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BC_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81"
    title: "Вилхелм Канарис"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
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    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%92%CE%AF%CE%BB%CF%87%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%BC_%CE%9A%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AC%CF%81%CE%B9%CF%82"
    title: "Βίλχελμ Κανάρις"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%87%D9%84%D9%85_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%B3"
    title: "ویلهلم کاناریس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%95%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%9D_%D7%A7%D7%A0%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%A1"
    title: "וילהלם קנריס"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wilhelm Canaris"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AB%E3%83%98%E3%83%AB%E3%83%A0%E3%83%BB%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9"
    title: "ヴィルヘルム・カナリス"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A%E1%83%B0%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%9B_%E1%83%99%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%90%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98"
    title: "ვილჰელმ კანარისი"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vilhelm_Kanaris"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://bg.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BC_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://de.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Canaris"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Wilhelm Franz Canaris was born 1 January 1887 and rose to admiral in the German navy, taking command of the Abwehr in 1935 as an early Hitler supporter. The 1939 invasion of Poland flipped him: he turned against the regime and began acts of resistance from inside its own intelligence apparatus. His position gave him rare leverage to sabotage the Nazi war effort while the leadership trusted him with secrets. As Germany's collapse neared, the scope of his betrayal surfaced. On 9 April 1945, with Allied forces pushing through southern Germany, Canaris was hanged for high treason at Flossenbürg concentration camp.