Inventory description: With the decree on the reorganization of the OKW of February 7, 1938, the Wehrmachtführungsamt (WFA) was created - initially referred to as the Office Group Command Staff. The Wehrmachtführungsamt was renamed Wehrmachtführungsstab (WFSt) on 7 August 1940. According to Hitler's instructions, he had to work on the operations and measures necessary for the entire conduct of the war and to participate in laws affecting the Wehrmacht as a whole. Among other things, he drafted the instructions for warfare and the special and combat instructions or "Führerweisungen" issued on Hitler's behalf. From 1940, the chief WFSt was responsible for the warfare on the so-called OKW war theatres in Scandinavia including Northern Finland, Africa and Italy, from July 1941 also in the Balkans and from 15 March 1941 in the West. In this respect, he informed Hitler daily about the course of the operations there on the basis of the situation reports; the head of the OKW had assigned this task to the head of the WFSt at the beginning of the war. Initially, the position of the WFSt was still weak, but with the plans to occupy Denmark and Norway it had already broken through the supremacy and largely independent action of the three parts of the armed forces. Only the war against the USSR and the Eastern Front remained a "OKH theatre of war" until shortly before the end of the war in the area of responsibility of the General Staff of the Army. A field or front squadron of the WFSt became a permanent institution with the Western campaign in the area of the "Führer Headquarters", whereby Hitler's influence on the command increased. In the course of the war, this squadron divided its working areas geographically. Initially, the WFA or WFSt consisted of the departments of National Defence (L), Wehrmacht Communications (WNV) and, from April 1939, Wehrmacht Propaganda (WPr). Division L was the operational task force in WFA/WFSt; it was subdivided into the operation groups Army (L IH), Air Force (L IL), Navy (L IK), Organisation Group and Quartermaster Group. The Chief of Dept. L was also responsible for the leader of the war diary, an office officer and the registry. On January 1, 1942, the departmental name of the chief of the Dept. L changed to ¿Deputy Chief of the WFSt¿, a little later the group WFSt/Ic (enemy situation) was established. The following groups/departments belonged to the WNV department: Deployment and organisation/central department, wire communication, radio department, war telecommunications department, encryption department. From 1942, the "Generalbevollmächtigter für technische Nachrichtenmittel" was assigned to it. In WPr (at the time of 1942) Group I was responsible for propaganda leadership, organization and the propaganda troops, Group II for domestic propaganda and troop support, Group III for military censorship (with censorship groups army, navy and air force), Group IV for foreign propaganda, Group V for army propaganda and Group VI for air force propaganda. The groups V and VI existed only for a short time and were dissolved already in 1942/43, a film staff was added at this time. Preprovenience: Wehrmachtführungsamt (Initially Office Group Joint Staff) Content Characterization: In addition to the remains of diaries and reference files of the chief WFSt, the status reports of the staff and his war diary, some Wehrmacht reports and special reports, numerous documents of the deputy chief of the WFSt on organizational matters of Wehrmacht leadership (13 vol., 1938-1945), the personnel and material equipment of the Wehrmacht (25 vol., 1938-1945), the military equipment of the Wehrmacht (25 vol., 1938-1945), the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, the Wehrmacht, the Wehrmacht's military equipment, and the military equipment of the Wehrmacht, 1935-1945), the organisation of the field army (19 vols., 1940-1945) as well as warfare on the individual theatres of war (West: 26 vols., 1940-1945; North: 17 vols., 1941-1945; Africa: 6 vols.; South East: 15 vols, 1941-1944; East: 10 vols.; Italy: 9 vols.), the Reichsverteidigung and Heimatkriegsgebiet (18 vols., 1935-1945), the Versorgungsführung (20 vols., 1940-1945) and administration of the affiliated and incorporated territories (10 vols., 1939-1945) as well as occupied territories (40 vols., 1938-1945). The instructions for warfare and basic orders (70 vols., 1939-1945) and individual companies (29 vols., 1939-1945) form separate series. In addition, the files of the Wehrmacht Propaganda Department deserve special mention: Organization (12 vol., 1937-1945), Personnel Affairs (13 vol., 1939-1944) and Internal Service (16 vol., 1939-1943); Propaganda Leadership in General (37 vol., 1939-1943), 1937-1945) and deployment of propaganda troops (71 vols., 1939-1944, mainly in the navy and occupied territories, with activity reports); cooperation with civilian authorities and the press (13 vols., 1939-1945), 1938-1942); radio (7 vols., 1939-1944), picture and film propaganda (11 vols., 1939-1941); collection of news about the situation in the Wehrmacht and at home and abroad (11 and 29 vols., 1939-1942); defence against enemy propaganda (10 vols., 1939-1942); defence against enemy propaganda (10 vols., 1939-1942), 1939-1945); exercise of military censorship (89 vol., 1939-1944, mainly on individual cases of examination, approval or prohibition of books, journal and newspaper articles and the publication of pictures). There are also series (a total of 26 vols., 1939-1945) of Wehrmacht propaganda situation reports, "Nachrichten des OKW", "Mitteilungen für das Offizierskorps" and "Mitteilungen für die Truppe". From the area WNV only fragments of written material are available (20 vol., 1939-1945). State of development: Online-Findbuch Scope, Explanation: 920 AU Citation method: BArch, RW 4/...
