The Abwehr was the German military intelligence service during World War II.
The name Abwehr means “defence” or “resistance” in German, a deliberately defensive-sounding label chosen after World War I. It began in 1920 within Germany’s Ministry of Defence and later served the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht. Its responsibilities included espionage abroad, counterintelligence, and sabotage operations.
After the Wehrmacht’s creation in 1935, the Abwehr became part of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, Germany’s armed-forces high command. Admiral Wilhelm Canaris led it from 1935 until 1944. The organization operated through regional stations and specialized departments, commonly associated with espionage, sabotage, and counterintelligence.
The Abwehr is often confused with the Gestapo, SS, or Sicherheitsdienst (SD). Those organizations were Nazi political or security bodies, while the Abwehr was formally the military intelligence arm. In practice, rivalry between the Abwehr and SS intelligence organizations was intense. After repeated failures and internal conflict, Nazi authorities absorbed the Abwehr into the Reich Security Main Office in 1944. Its controversial history also includes anti-Nazi resistance by some officers, including Canaris and Hans Oster, alongside espionage and sabotage conducted for the German war effort.