Ludwig Beck

Ludwig Beck
Beck in 1936 as Generaloberst
Chief of the General Staff of the German Army High Command
In office 1 July 1935 – 31 August 1938
Chancellor	Adolf Hitler
Leader	Werner von Fritsch as Supreme Commander of the Army
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Franz Halder
Chief of the Troop Office
In office 1 October 1933 – 1 July 1935
President	Paul von Hindenburg
Chancellor	Adolf Hitler
Preceded by	Wilhelm Adam
Succeeded by	Himself as Chief of the OKH General Staff
Personal details
Born	Ludwig August Theodor Beck (1880-06-29)29 June 1880 Biebrich, Hesse-Nassau, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	20 July 1944(1944-07-20) (aged 64) Berlin, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany
Spouse	Amelie Pagenstecher ​ ​ (m. 1916; died 1917)​
Domestic partner	Amalie Christine Auguste Luise Pagenstecher
Children	Gertrud Beck
Parent(s)	Ludwig Beck [de] Bertha Draudt
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Branch/service	Army
Years of service	1898–1938
Rank	Generaloberst
Battles/wars	World War I World War II

Ludwig August Theodor Beck (German: [ˈluːt.vɪç bɛk] ^ⓘ; 29 June 1880 – 20 July 1944) was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II. Although Beck never became a member of the Nazi Party, in the early 1930s he supported Adolf Hitler's forceful denunciation of the Treaty of Versailles and the need to re-arm, although he believed Germany needed more time to rearm before starting a war.

In serving as Chief of Staff of the German Army between 1935 and 1938, Beck became increasingly disillusioned and stood in opposition to the rising totalitarianism of the Nazi regime and to Hitler's aggressive foreign policy. Public foreign-policy disagreements with Hitler made Beck resign as Chief of Staff in August 1938. Beck became a major leader within the conspiracy against Hitler. The 20 July plot failed, however, and Beck shot himself in the head but succeeded only in severely wounding himself. One of General Friedrich Fromm's men then shot him in the back of the neck.