Canaris appears to have embraced Nazism during his spell in conventional naval service. He was then posted to the fortress at Swinemünde and could reasonably have expected his career to end in provincial exile. The resignation of Abwehr chief Conrad Patzig after repeated conflict with Reinhard Heydrich reopened the succession question. Erich Raeder did not regard Canaris as an ideal member of his own circle, but he preferred him to an army nominee or the absorption of military intelligence by Heydrich's organization. The appointment exposed an institutional struggle inside the German state and the continuing value of Canaris's naval background and intelligence experience.
Chapter · 17:12-19:14
Taking over the German intelligence service
Canaris returned from apparent provincial exile because Erich Raeder preferred a difficult naval insider to surrendering the military intelligence service to Reinhard Heydrich or an army officer.