Ferdinand von Bredow

Ferdinand von Bredow

Ferdinand von Bredow
Born (1884-05-16)16 May 1884
Neuruppin
Died 30 June 1934(1934-06-30) (aged 50)
Berlin
Allegiance German Empire
Weimar Republic
Service/branch Reichswehr
Rank Generalmajor
Commands held Abwehr

Ferdinand von Bredow (16 May 1884, in Neuruppin 30 June 1934, in Berlin) was a German Generalmajor and former head of the Abwehr (the military intelligence service) in the Reich Defence Ministry (Reichswehrministerium) and deputy defence minister in Kurt von Schleicher's cabinet (December 1932 - January 1933).

Bredow was, along with Schleicher, among Adolf Hitler's bitterest adversaries at the time of the Weimar Republic's downfall. Towards the end of this régime, Bredow, as the leader of Schleicher's personal "information service" was head of a number of coexisting secret service organizations, among them even the SS's Sicherheitsdienst, which was under Reinhard Heydrich's leadership.

Bredow, along with Schleicher, was murdered in Berlin-Lichterfelde by SS men from the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. Bredow was tied to a chair and shot five times in the chest on the Night of the Long Knives, a purge in which Hitler eliminated some of his most prominent opponents.

Awards and decorations


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