Wilhelm Canaris never served as a naval chief of staff. His career would not fit the slide structure used for the service chiefs because it moved from the Imperial German Navy into intelligence rather than senior fleet command. The biographies make him a useful case for examining why German officers supported particular regimes and how some later broke with them. He reflected the officer corps that produced him while remaining difficult to classify.
Chapter · 0:13-1:28
Why Wilhelm Canaris sits outside the series
Wilhelm Canaris never led a navy, but his career in the Imperial German Navy and military intelligence makes him useful for understanding Axis naval leadership.