The Council of Ministers for the Defense of the Reich (German: Ministerrat für die Reichsverteidigung) was a six-member ministerial council created in Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler on 30 August 1939, in anticipation of the invasion of Poland – which provoked the beginning of World War II – with the purpose of allowing the continuation of the Nazi government, especially in relation to the war effort, while Hitler concentrated on prosecuting the war.[1] The council has been described as functioning as a "war cabinet,"[2] although this assessment is disputed.[3]
This institution should not be confused with the Reich Defense Council (Reichsverteidungsrat), which was established in 1938 and met only two times.[3]
- ^ Mertens, Bernd (2009). Rechtsetzung im Nationalsozialismus (in German). Mohr Siebeck. pp. 20–22. ISBN 978-3-16-150103-6.
- ^ Broszat, Martin (1981). The Hitler State: The Foundation and Development of the Internal Structure of the Third Reich. New York: Longman Inc. pp. 308–312. ISBN 0-582-49200-9.
- ^ a b Kershaw, Ian (2000) Hitler: 1936-45: Nemesis New York: Norton. pp.311-313 ISBN 0-393-04994-9