Alfred Jodl

Lore & Background

Alfred Jodl was educated at a military cadet school in Munich, graduating in 1910. He served on the Western Front from 1914 to 1916, receiving the Iron Cross 2nd Class for gallantry and for being wounded. After brief service on the Eastern Front in 1917, he returned west as a staff officer and was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class in 1918. He continued his career in the reduced Reichswehr after the German Empire's defeat. Jodl married twice: in 1913 and, after becoming a widower, in 1944.

In the last years of the Weimar Republic, Jodl served as a major in the operations branch of the Truppenamt under General Ludwig Beck. He first met Adolf Hitler in September 1939. On 23 August 1939, Hitler appointed him Chief of the Operations Staff of the newly formed Oberkommando der Wehrmacht. Jodl acted as chief of staff during the invasions of Denmark and Norway. He signed the Commissar Order of 6 June 1941 and the Commando Order of 28 October 1942. He was promoted to Generaloberst on 1 February 1944 and was slightly injured in the 20 July 1944 plot against Hitler. On 6 May 1945, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. Jodl signed the German Instrument of Surrender on 7 May 1945 in Reims on behalf of the OKW.

Reader's Guide

Alfred Jodl's significance lies in his role as the chief operational planner for the German armed forces during World War II and his subsequent conviction for war crimes. As Chief of the Operations Staff of the OKW, he was directly involved in planning and executing aggressive wars and signed orders that mandated the summary execution of prisoners of war, including Soviet commissars and Allied commandos. His trial at Nuremberg established legal precedent for holding senior military officers accountable for implementing unlawful orders. The posthumous legal actions—a 1953 denazification court declaring him not guilty of breaking international law, later revoked—highlight the contested nature of his legacy. Jodl's execution and the scattering of his ashes to prevent a permanent burial site reflect the Allies' determination to deny martyrdom to Nazi figures. His case remains a reference point in discussions of command responsibility and the limits of military obedience.

Did You Know?

• Jodl was the nephew of philosopher and psychologist Friedrich Jodl at the University of Vienna.
• He was raised Roman Catholic but rejected the faith later in life.
• Jodl was among those slightly injured during the 20 July 1944 plot against Hitler.
• His last words were reportedly 'I salute you, my eternal Germany'.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"(10 August 1938), as cited in Eugene Davidson The Trial of the Germans (1997), p. 347." — Alfred Jodl "Munich Conference (29 September 1938), as cited in William Lawrence Shirer The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (1990), p. 422." — Alfred Jodl "Order issued to the German Army (23 July 1941), as cited in George Ginsburgs The Nuremberg Trial and International Law (1990), p. 163." — Alfred Jodl "Speech to Gauleiters in Munich (7 November 1943), as cite in Eugene Davidson The Trial of the Germans (1997)." — Alfred Jodl