Fritz Todt


Fritz Todt, was a German construction engineer and senior Nazi, who rose from the position of "Inspector General for German Roadways", where he directed the construction of the German Autobahns, to become the Reich Minister for Armaments and Ammunition. From that position he directed the entire German wartime military economy. At the beginning of World War II he initiated what Hitler named Organisation Todt, a military-engineering company, which supplied industry with forced labor and administered construction of the Nazi concentration camps in the late phase of Nazi Germany. Todt died in a mysterious aircraft crash in 1942.

Biography

Early life and education

Todt was born in Pforzheim in the Grand Duchy of Baden, today's Baden-Württemberg to Emil Todt and his wife Elise née Unterecker. His father owned a small ring factory.
During 1910, he volunteered for one-year military service.
From 1911 to 1914, Todt studied engineering at Technical University of Munich and at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, graduating with a Diplom degree in construction engineering from the latter.
During World War I, he served initially with the infantry and then as front line reconnaissance observer within the Luftstreitkräfte, winning the Iron Cross. After the war he resumed his studies, graduating during 1920.

Career

During 1921 he initially worked on waterpower stations for the Grün & Bilfinger AG, Mannheim company and, later during 1921, the civil engineering company and worked there until 1933. On 5 January 1922, he joined the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, or "Nazi Party". In 1931, he became an Oberführer in the Sturmabteilung, which was then commanded by Ernst Röhm. During 1932, Todt completed his thesis at Technical University of Munich "Fehlerquellen beim Bau von Landstraßendecken aus Teer und Asphalt" – "Sources of defects in the construction of tarmac and asphalt road surfaces" and became a Doctor of Engineering.
, Heinrich Himmler, Philipp Bouhler, Reich Minister Todt and Reinhard Heydrich, listening to Konrad Meyer at a Generalplan Ost exhibition, 20 March 1941.
In July 1933, five months after Hitler became Reichskanzler, Todt was appointed "Inspector General for German Roadways". This public authority was privileged to be outside the hierarchy of Reich Ministries; Todt was subordinated directly to Hitler. Alan S. Milward characterized this phase as follows:
"His personal views on business questions and, what was more important, the success of the motorway project kept Todt in the inner circle of the Führer. At the same time, his deliberate pose as a technical expert, as a man without interest in internal power struggles, saved him from the adversaries of the more important party leaders for long time. "
He was given the task of organizing a new construction company for the motorways. He edited the journal Die Strasse, which was a publication of his agency from 1934 to 1942.
For his work on the autobahnen, Todt was recognized with the German National Prize for Art and Science by Hitler, next to Ernst Heinkel, Ferdinand Porsche and Willy Messerschmitt. Hitler donated the award during 1937, devised as a replacement for the Nobel Prize, which Hitler forbade Germans from accepting starting during 1936.
In 1938, he became Leiter des Hauptamts für Technik in der Reichsleitung der NSDAP and during December Generalbevollmächtigter für die Regelung der Bauwirtschaft. At the beginning of World War II in Europe, he was also appointed to the rank of Generalmajor of the Luftwaffe. During May 1938, he initiated the Organisation Todt, joining together government firms, private companies and the Reichsarbeitsdienst. OT used up to 800,000 forced laborers from countries Germany occupied during World War II. Todt was responsible for the construction of the "West Wall" to defend the Reich territory.
at Peenemünde, 21 March 1941
On 17 March 1940, Todt was appointed Reichsminister für Bewaffnung und Munition which meant he managed the entire military economy.
After the invasion of the USSR during June 1941, Todt was appointed to manage the restoration of the infrastructure there. At the end of July 1941 he was named Inspector General for water and energy. During that year, he became increasingly distant from the commanders of the Wehrmacht and in particular, from Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe. After an inspection tour of the Eastern Front, Todt complained to Hitler that without better equipment and supplies for the armed forces it would be better to end the war with the Soviet Union. Hitler rejected such an assessment and continued the offensive against the Soviets.

Personal life

Todt was married and had three daughters and one son.
On the occasion of his 50th birthday in 1941, he founded the Dr. Fritz Todt Foundation. The goal of the organisation was to promote young talents of technicians, especially young people from poor families by a training subsidy.

Death

On 8 February 1942, soon after takeoff from the Wolfsschanze airfield near Rastenburg in East Prussia, Todt's aircraft crashed. He was buried in the Invalids' Cemetery in the Scharnhorst-Strasse in Berlin. Posthumously, he became the first recipient of the newly-created Deutscher Orden, the highest award the Nazi Party could bestow on a person for "duties of the highest order to the state and party".
It has been suggested that Todt was the victim of an assassination orchestrated by Hitler, but that has never been confirmed. Todt's successor as Reichsminister was Albert Speer, whom Hitler awarded an Org.Todt ring during May 1943. Speer mentioned the Reich Air Ministry enquiry into the airplane accident, which he said ended with the sentence: "The possibility of sabotage is ruled out. Further measures are therefore neither requisite nor intended". Speer, who was present and had declined to ride on the same flight, thought that the wording was "curious".

Legacy

On 8 February 1944, the second anniversary of Todt's death, Hitler awarded the Dr.-Fritz-Todt-Preis as a Badge of Honor of the Nazi Party for "Innovative accomplishments, which are of great importance for the Volk community because of the improvement of their weapons, ammunition and military equipment, and the saving of labor, raw materials and energy". The Badge of Honor came with a material prize and a certificate, was awarded as a medal made of gold, silver, or steel. The Golden Award of Honor was presented by Hitler in person upon proposal by the responsible Gauleiter, upon the joint proposal of Robert Ley, the director of the corresponding Deutsche Arbeitsfront and NSDAP leaders, and the director of the "Main office for Technology in the NSDAP", Albert Speer.

Major awards