Collection MF321-MF322 - HALDER, GENERALOBERST FRANZ: JOURNAL, 1938-1942

The Private War Journal of Generaloberst Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff of the Supreme Command of the German Army, 1939- 1942 is a microfilmed copy of the desk journal of Generaloberst Franz Halder. In 1938, Generaloberst [Col Gen] Franz Halder took office as Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), openly declaring himself opposed to the Nazi leadership of the German Armed Forces. By 1939, however, Hitler had begun to direct much of the operational decision making of the OKH. Although Halder would continue to voice opposition to the more impractical military directives, he nonetheless complied with the strategic demands proposed by Hitler and the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces. From 1938-1942, Halder's duties were confined to operational decision making and desk planning, analysing reports sent to him by his subordinates and conferring with officers of the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), the Supreme Command of the German Army, over administrative, operational, and logistical matters. Halder's short-hand notes and daily entries in his Kriegstagebücher summarised each day's work and acted as an aide mémoire to events, 1938-1942. The journal reflects the detail, routine, and bureaucracy encountered by Halder and his staff, as well as the decision making process between Halder, the General Staff, and Adolf Hitler. Kept by Halder personally, the journal should not be confused with the official War Diaries kept by the Supreme Command of the German Army. Intended to serve as a notebook, the diary does not furnish a complete record of all activities, 1939-1942; rather it reflects the German High Command decision making structure as well as the character of many German senior officers, including FM (Karl Rudolf) Gerd von Runstedt, FM Erich von Manstein, and Col Gen Heinz Guderian. After the war, the journal was introduced by the Prosecution as a documentary exhibit in the record of the case entitled the United States of America vs Wilhelm von Leeb et al, brought before Military Tribunal V (FM Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Commander Army Group North, was tried for minor war crimes in 1948). The journal was subsequently translated and reduced to typewritten form from the original notes under the guidance of Phillip Willner, Chief of the Reporting Branch (German) of the Office of Chief of Counsel for War Crimes, Office of the Military Government for Germany. It was then reviewed with Halder for continuity and published soon thereafter.