Home > Alfred Jodl

He was born in Würzburg, Germany. Educated at Cadet School in Munich, he graduated in 1910 and joined the army as an artillery officer. During WW I he was a battery officer and served on the Western Front 1914Events January 4 77 seal hunters freeze to death on ice near Labrador January 5 Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day's labor February 13 Copyright: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Compos- 19161916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. Impressionist Monet paints Water Lilies'. January 8 Allied forces withdraw from, twice being wounded. In 1917Events January 2 The Royal Bank of Canada takes over Quebec Bank. January 22 World War I: President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Europe. January 25 The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million January 25 Anti- he served briefly on the Eastern Front before returning to the west as a staff officer. After the war Jodl remained in the armed forces and joined the VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles of 1919 is the peace treaty created as a result of the six-month-long Paris Peace Conference of 1919 which put an official end to World War I. The ceremonial signing of the treaty with Germany occurred June 28, 1919. The treaty wa-limited ReichswehrThe Reichswehr (literally National Defence or National Militia formed the military organization of Germany from 1918 until 1935, when the government rebranded it as the Wehrmacht Defence Power . At the end of World War I, the forces of the German Empire h.

He became acquainted with Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler ( April 20, 1889 April 30, 1945) was the Fuhrer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. In that capacity he was Chancellor of Germany, head of government, and head of state, ruling as a in 1923Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 Events January 1 Grouping of all UK railway companies into four larg. He was regularly promoted and by 1935 he was Abteilung Landesverteidigung im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (Chief of the National Defense Section in the High Command of the Armed Forces). In the build-up to war he was assigned as a Artillerie Kommandeur of the 44th Division from October 1938 to August 1939 during the Anschluss, but from then until the end of the war he was Chef des Wehrmachtsführungstabes in OKW (Chief of Operation Staff of the High Command of the Armed Forces). Jodl was a key figure in German military operations from then on, supplying advice and technical information to Hitler. He was injured in the July Plot against Hitler.

Generaloberst Jodl signed the unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945 in Reims as the representative for Karl Dönitz. He was then arrested and transferred to Flensburg POW camp and later put before the International Military Tribunal at the Nuremberg Trials. He was accused of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression; war-crimes; and crimes against humanity. He pleaded not guilty "before God, before history and my people". Found guilty on all four charges, he was hanged, although he had asked the court to be executed by firing squad.

In 1953 a German arbitration board posthumously acquitted Jodl of all charges.