Military transition to the 3rd Reich

by maximum_void

After the Nazis came to power, what was it like for the already existing German military. Were there a large scale reshuffling? Did the military as a whole accept the Nazis (and the rule of Hitler specifically) with open arms? And did any high ranking German generals or admirals refuse and what became of them?

Jon_Beveryman

Though more can always be said, I think you may find my recent answer to a similar question helpful for pointing you in the right direction. In short, the aims of Nazism (especially the aims most apparent in the early-mid 1930s) aligned with some of the aims of more traditional German conservativism and the military establishment - departure from Versailles terms, restoration of German pride and strategic preeminence in Central Europe, reclamation of lost territory, to name a few - and so much of the conservative military establishment went right along as fellow travelers, even if they themselves were not Nazis. The military pre-Hitler was the Reichswehr, limited by the Treaty Versailles to about 100,000 men. The Reichswehr, in particular the officer corps, formed an influential nucleus for the new German military; however, the vast majority of the Wehrmacht's men under arms by the beginning of the war were by necessity new recruits.