Wilhelm Canaris

Wilhelm Canaris
Canaris in 1940
5th Chief of the Abwehr
In office 1 January 1935 – 12 February 1944
Deputy	Hans Oster
Preceded by	Conrad Patzig [de]
Succeeded by	Georg Hansen
Personal details
Born	Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1887-01-01)1 January 1887 Aplerbeck, Landkreis Dortmund, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died	9 April 1945(1945-04-09) (aged 58) Flossenbürg concentration camp, Flossenbürg, Nazi Germany 49°44′06″N 12°21′21″E / 49.734958°N 12.35577°E / 49.734958; 12.35577 (Execution Site of 20 July 1944 Plot (Nazi Germany Resistance))
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Military service
Allegiance	German Empire  Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Branch/service	Imperial German Navy  Reichsmarine  Kriegsmarine
Years of service	1905–1944
Rank	Admiral
Commands	U-38 UC-27 U-47 U-34 UB-128 Schlesien Swinemünde Fortress Abwehr
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of Coronel Battle of the Falkland Islands Battle of Más a Tierra World War II
Awards	Iron Cross (First Class) U-boat War Badge

Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a German admiral and the chief of the Abwehr (the German military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Canaris was initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi regime. Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, however, Canaris turned against Hitler and committed acts of both passive and active resistance during the war.

Being the head of Nazi Germany's military-intelligence agency, he was in a key position to participate in resistance. As the war turned against Germany, Canaris and other military officers expanded their clandestine opposition to the leadership of Nazi Germany. By 1945, his acts of resistance and sabotage against the Nazi regime came to light and Canaris was hanged in Flossenbürg concentration camp for high treason as the Allied forces advanced through Southern Germany.