Why were German Generals in WWII so loyal to Hitler?

Question

Even he never listened to them?

Answer 1

He has them sign a loyalty oath while he was still chancellor.

Answer 2

The loyal officers got promoted to the rank of General. So did the ruthless ones. That's why they were so atrocious. The more cruelty they exhibited, the more they were rewarded. A few, such as Heydrich and Eichmann were even worse than Hitler himself. Rommel was ultimately disloyal. If only he had turned traitor earlier, he could have prevented much death.

Answer 3

As said before, the secret police and execution of disloyal generals definitely would of helped. The other main factor was propoganda. After America won World War 1, Hitler decided that they had won by having a better propoganda system than theirs and that he'd get his own going. An extensive system of fierce nationalism combined with fear led alot of Germans to generally believe that what they were doing was for their own 'safety.' They were told over and over again that the jews, and other countries were going to kill them if they didn't strike first. Sound fimiliar? Remarkably similar to the current Bush's administration setting up Muslim's as 'other' and 'pre-emptive' strikes.

Answer 4

The Waffen SS Generals and General Staff within his entourage in the later years of the were Nazi fanatics. The regular Werhmact General staff were obedient military men...."just following orders." General like Rommel eventually turned on Hitler, but it was a last resort with the war already lost.

Answer 5

Because Hitler was the legal head of state. He was extremely successful in his early stages and very popular which greatly enfluenced officers that would have been otherwsie unsupportive.
His charisma had the effect of overwhelming the carefully crafted arguments of others. The officers that opposed Hilter's policies were too afraid of being called traitors. So very few actually joined the military opposition even when it was clear Hitler would ruin Germany.

Answer 6

Because there were informers within the Germany's Military Machine.
Their loyalty was not based on love and trust, but fear. A General could easily be replaced than an infantryman.

Some of Hitler's greatest Generals were Jewish.

Thousands of men of Jewish descent and hundreds of what the Nazis called "full Jews" SERVED IN THE GERMAN MILITARY WITH ADOLF HITLER'S KNOWLEDGE AND APPROVAL.

Answer 7

It is so sad that our people can be brainwashed so easily,I conclude after reading the answers listed to your question, we all know that history is always written by the winner with no input from the loser, but by talking to some older people who was around before the war and after,there are many different versions of what happened , here may be one you haven't heard, from old news papers and older folks around Germany and America, The Jew's were in complete control of Germany in the 20s and early 30s and they were so mean to the Germans by having curfews on them off the street by 10:p.m, working them for a pittance it took a 'German 3 days to earn enough for a pound of butter, the German women worked as maids and servants for the Jew.s but the Jew,s would not let them take crumbs from the table for their hungry kids, times were terrible for Germans then , Hitler broke curfew and was put in jail for 3 days when he got out he tried to get the Germans to organize against the Jew,s and was put in prison for 3 years, when he got out his people had steadily been organizing, he went thru the towns and cities using a mega horn telling the people if he was elected fuhrer of Germany he would return Germany back to the Germans, He was elected by 80%of the vote, he nationilized every buisness such as the coal and electricity, gas, banks etc, and he started deporting the Jew,s who had been so instrimental in enslaving the Germans, there were a lot of Jew,s who was high ranking generals etc in Hitlers army, eve the famous nazi hunter , Simon Wezenthal has been said to have been in Hitlers army,intellligentce, any general could have left Germany at anytime they felt they wanted to, and they could also get their families out and many did to prevent them from being bombed by the allies,so it was not fear but dedication that kept them, but since America joined against Germany and they were fighthting 80 %of the world some generals did run to other countries with their families, so Hitler didn't know who he could trust anymore so he made a lot of mistakes,especially since his top general Rommel told him it was over,and they could not win, he did not want to give up,so in desperation he made to many mistakes, but, enen tho there is no way Germany could have won with so many odds against him, but, I believe 90% at least of the stories told are not true,

Answer 8

Because the officers that weren't loyal began to be systematically eliminated as early as January 1933, when he took office. When someone holds a Luger to your head, and asks if you agree, well, the ones who agreed didn't get voted off the island shall we say.

Answer 9

Some believed in What Hitler had to say, and some just feared him and new the consequences for disloyalty

Answer 10

Many did not know who they could and could not trust, and were afraid of what would happen to them. There was a plot to kill him, but it was foiled by a Gestapo insider. Those involved in the planned assassination were executed in very cruel ways.

Answer 11

Pretty simple
If you were not loyal you did not become a Generar, if you were a General and you became disloyal you also became dead.