Franz Halder

German general (1884–1972)

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Lived 1884–1972, aged 88Germany

Germany WritersWriter / Author

Wikipedia
47 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1884–1972
Aged 88
Awards
4
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-08-23

Chief of staff who drew the blueprint for the invasion of the Soviet Union, drafted orders that legalised mass killing, then spent two decades rewriting the story for American audiences.

Biography

About

Franz Halder entered military service in 1914 and by 1937 had become a supporter of Adolf Hitler. Appointed chief of staff of the Army High Command in 1938, he planned the 1939 invasion of Poland with provisions allowing the SS to imprison or execute Poles, then turned to plotting the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. In July 1940 he began the Barbarossa planning; his staff drafted the Commissar Order and the Barbarossa decree, signed in spring 1941, which permitted German soldiers to execute Soviet citizens without prosecution. The directives fed the radicalisation of warfare on the Eastern…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Franz Halder

Franz Halder

said12 Apr 1946

There were daily quarrels all summer.

— To Leon Goldensohn, April 12, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004.

Franz Halder

said5 Apr 1946

It was a distance about twice as long as this room; then there was a wall, and just beyond it the crematory. When the wind blew in at the south I got smoke in my cell.

— To Leon Goldensohn, April 5, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004

Franz Halder

said5 Apr 1946

In Flossenbürg, you noticed things more; you had to notice every day so many people hanged in the courtyard. People were brought to their execution completely naked.

— To Leon Goldensohn, April 5, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004.

Franz Halder

saidAug 1941