Relations With National Socialists
Von Leeb's attitude towards the Nazi regime was ambivalent: in spite of his open contempt for Hitler and the dictator's cronies, he did accept a present of 250,000 Reichsmarks for his sixty-fifth birthday in 1941. In 1944, von Leeb allowed the Nazis to use his popularity for propaganda purposes, when he was presented with a great Bavarian estate worth 638,000 Reichsmarks. After the failed July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler in 1944, von Leeb sent an affirmation of loyalty to the Führer, although ostensibly this was in order to save his own life and that of his family.
After the war, von Leeb was tried by an American military tribunal in Nuremberg in the High Command Trial. Due to a confusion of documents, von Leeb was found guilty on one of four charges and sentenced to three years imprisonment; but he was released after the judgment because he had already spent more time in custody. He spent his last years living quietly with his family. Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb died in Füssen on 29 April 1956, following a heart attack.
Read more about this topic: Wilhelm Ritter Von Leeb
Famous quotes containing the words relations, national and/or socialists:
“Think of the many different relations of form and content. E.g., the many pairs of trousers and what’s in them.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)
“Why grab possessions like thieves, or divide them like socialists when you can ignore them like wise men?”
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)