Erich Fellgiebel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 4 October 1886 Pöpelwitz, Silesia, Prussia, Germany |
| Died | 4 September 1944 (aged 57) Plötzensee Prison, Berlin, Nazi Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany (to 1944) |
| Service | Army |
| Years of service | 1905–44 |
| Rank | General der Nachrichtentruppe |
| Commands | Chief of Wehrmacht communications, Chief of Army communications
(German: Chef of Wehrmacht-Nachrichten-Verbindunger) (abbr. Chef WNV), (German: Chef of Heeres-Nachrichten-Wesen) (abbr. Chef HNW) |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Relations | Walther-Peer Fellgiebel (son) |
Fritz Erich Fellgiebel (4 October 1886 – 4 September 1944) was a German Army general of signals and a resistance fighter, participating in both the 1938 September Conspiracy to topple dictator Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, and the 1944 20 July plot to assassinate the Fuhrer. In 1929, Fellgiebel became head of the cipher bureau (German: Chiffrierstelle) of the Ministry of the Reichswehr, which would later become the OKW/Chi. He was a signals specialist and was instrumental in introducing a common enciphering machine, the Enigma machine. However, he was unsuccessful in promoting a single cipher agency to coordinate all operations, as was demanded by OKW/Chi and was still blocked by Joachim von Ribbentrop, Heinrich Himmler and Hermann Göring until autumn 1943. It was not achieved until General Albert Praun took over the post[1] following Fellgiebel's arrest and execution for his role in the 20 July attempted coup.
- ^ Bauer, Friedrich L. (24 November 2006). Decrypted Secrets: Methods and Maxims of Cryptology. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 32. ISBN 978-3-540-48121-8. Retrieved 2 January 2018.