Photo: Unknown Unknown · CC BY-SA 3.0 de · Wikimedia Commons
Born in Germany · Nationality German — Wehrmacht / OKW / wars of aggression / war crimes
Documented profile covering 10 controversies, including “1945–1946: arrest, Nuremberg trial, conviction on all four counts and execution” and “1942–1944: Commando Order — execution of Allied commandos even when captured in uniform or seeking surrender”.
Profile No. 2651 · Updated on 12 October 2026
§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology
Case · 9 documented stages
May 1945–16 October 1946
Arrested in May 1945, Keitel was tried at Nuremberg and found guilty of conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Tribunal found no sufficient mitigating circumstances; he was hanged on 16 October 1946.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
18 October 1942–1944
Keitel disseminated and supported the order requiring members of Allied commando units to be killed, including in circumstances where they would normally be entitled to prisoner-of-war status. In 1944, he reaffirmed its application in several theatres.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1942–1944
The judgment found that Keitel ordered the use of Soviet prisoners in the war industry and compelled French, Dutch and Belgian civilians to work, particularly on construction of the Atlantic Wall; he was also present when demands were made for millions of additional forced labourers.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1944-07-30
Keitel signed a secret order providing that members of British, American or Soviet military missions captured with partisans were not to be treated as prisoners of war but under the elimination regime applicable to “terrorists and saboteurs”.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
February 1938–June 1941
Appointed head of the OKW when Hitler took direct control of the armed forces, Keitel participated in pressure against Austria and military preparations for several campaigns of aggression.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1941-05-13
Keitel signed the decree on jurisdiction in the Barbarossa zone: it authorised summary measures against suspected civilians and sharply reduced prosecution of German soldiers for crimes committed against the population.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1941-06-06
The OKW, under Keitel's authority, transmitted the Commissar Order, which excluded Soviet political commissars from the protection afforded to prisoners of war and provided for their elimination following capture.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1941-09-16
Keitel ordered that attacks against German soldiers in the East be punished by executing 50 to 100 “communists” for every German soldier killed, justifying this on the basis of a lower value attached to human life in those territories.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1941-12-07
The “Night and Fog” decree signed by Keitel provided that certain resistance members and opponents were either to be executed swiftly in occupied territory or secretly transferred to Germany, with their relatives left without information about their fate.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
1941
The “criminal orders” issued before and during Barbarossa included directives demanding ruthless action against categories of civilians, including Jews, and created a permissive framework for mass violence.
Last verified: 14 September 2026
No documented link with another published profile for now.
Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.
A new court decision, a missing source, a mistake? Tell us what should be updated: every request is read by the editorial team.
Controversia checks and updates its profiles independently. Support is optional and has no effect on the content of profiles.
DonateSearch covers names and aliases — not the content of profiles.