Wilhelm Franz Canaris ( 1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945 ) was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and a member of the German Resistance.

Canaris was born in Aplerbeck ( now a part of Dortmund ) in Westphalia, the son of wealthy industrialist Carl Canaris and his wife Auguste ( née Popp ).

Until 1938 Canaris believed that his family was related to the Greek admiral, freedom fighter and politician Constantine Kanaris, which influenced his decision to join the navy.

In 1905, aged seventeen, Canaris joined the German Imperial Navy and by the outbreak of World War I was serving on board the SMS Dresden as an intelligence officer.

During the 1930 – 33 period, Canaris was following a course quite parallel to the one followed by the future Nazi Party leaders although never a party member himself.

After Adolf Hitler's rise to power in 1933, Canaris was made head of the Abwehr, Germany's official military intelligence agency, on 1 January 1935.

During the 1938 crisis over Czechoslovakia that culminated in the Munich Agreement, Canaris was together with the army chief of staff, General Ludwig Beck and the Foreign Office ’ s state secretary Ernst von Weizsäcker, a leader of the " anti-war " group in the German government, which was determined to avoid a war in 1938 that it felt Germany would lose.

Munich was a severe disappointment for Kleist and Canaris.

There are claims that Canaris, who was extremely shocked by this ' dishonest and stupid decision ' ( his own words ), decided to be cautious and wait for a better time to act against Hitler.

All this information was false, and it was intended by Canaris to achieve a change in British foreign policy.

In the meantime, Reinhard Heydrich, previously a naval cadet who had served under Canaris and was at the time the Sicherheitsdienst ( SD ) leader, despite being his protégé, friend and neighbour, became his rival.

Presumably, the Canaris posting in Abwehr had the secret approval of the dynamic Heydrich, who preferred him to his predecessor, Commander Pfatz, who was not in line with the Nazi party members.

Heydrich wanted a controllable Abwehr and was keeping a close eye on Canaris.

In Bassett's account, Canaris was deeply frustrated by a briefing from Hitler before the attack on Poland.

During the briefing, he was informed about a series of exterminations that had been ordered and which Canaris was required to take notes on.

It is thought that during the invasion of Russia, Canaris received a detailed report of all the enemy positions that was known only to the British.

After 1942, Canaris visited Spain frequently and was probably in contact with British agents from Gibraltar.

In 1943, while in occupied France, Canaris is said to have made contact with British agents: he was conducted blindfolded to the Convent of the Nuns of the Passion of our Blessed Lord, 127 Rue de la Santé, where he met the local head of the British Intelligence Services, code name " Jade Amicol ", in reality Colonel Claude Olivier.

A Czech agent — Paul Thümmel — was arrested by Heydrich, but Canaris intervened to save him, claiming he was a double agent actually working for Abwehr.

* January 23 – " Dutch War Scare ": Admiral Wilhelm Canaris of the Abwehr leaks misinformation to the effect that Germany plans to invade the Netherlands in February, with the aim of using Dutch air-fields to launch a strategic bombing offensive against Britain.

In January 1939, Canaris manufactured the " Dutch War Scare ", which gripped the British government.

In this, Canaris and Oster achieved their purpose as Goerdeler's misinformation resulted in first the " Dutch War Scare " which gripped the British government in late January 1939, which in turn led to the public declarations by the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in February that any German attack upon France, Switzerland, and the Low Countries would be automatically considered the casus belli for an Anglo-German war, leading to the British " continental commitment " to defend France with a large ground force.

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris of the Abwehr leaks misinformation to the effect that Germany planned to invade the Netherlands in February with the aim of using Dutch air-fields to launch a strategic bombing offensive against Britain.

** Wilhelm Canaris, head of German military intelligence in World War II ( d. 1945 )

When World War II started, Gisevius joined the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, which was headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, who was an opponent of Hitler.

On 22 July, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, the head of the Abwehr and an acknowledged expert on Spain, travelled with several other German officers to Madrid, Spain, where they held talks with Spanish ruler General Francisco Franco and General Juan Vigón, his Minister of War.

During World War II, Müller was heavily involved in espionage and counter-espionage, particularly since the Nazi regime increasingly distrusted the military intelligence service — the Abwehr — which under Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was indeed a hotbed of activity for the German Resistance.

Potter in particular appears to be based on Wilhelm Canaris, but his role in the failed attempt on Featherston's life bears striking resemblances to Erwin Rommel's role in the July 20 Plot.

By this time, Admiral Canaris had begun to push von Hippel aside and take a direct role in the Brandenburgers ' operations himself.

When Winston Churchill came to power after the resignation of Chamberlain in May 1940, Canaris ' hopes were renewed, given the new Prime Minister's strong position against Hitler.

It was planned that General Jodl would go to Spain to make preparations for the attack on Gibraltar as soon as Canaris had obtained Franco's agreement.

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr ( German military intelligence ), is ordered to make a feasibility study of the seemingly impossible task of capturing British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and bringing him to the Reich.

The rangers were nicknamed Canaris ( i. e. Canaries ) because of their yellow uniforms.

Years later, Wilhelm Canaris said he had obtained photocopies proving Heydrich's Jewish ancestry, but these photocopies never surfaced.

** Abwehr conspirators Wilhelm Canaris, Hans Oster and Hans Dohanyi are hanged at Flossenberg concentration camp, along with pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

** Wilhelm Canaris, head of the German Abwehr ( hanged ) ( b. 1887 )

Though officially a citizen of Czechoslovakia, Schindler also became a spy for the Abwehr, then commanded by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris.

One source contends that he also continued to work for Canaris and the Abwehr, paving the way for the Wehrmacht's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.

As such, the SD came into immediate, fierce competition with German military intelligence arm, the Abwehr, headed by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris.

Most of the crew became prisoners in Chile in March 1915, but Canaris escaped in August 1915, using his fluency in Spanish ; with the aid of some German merchants he returned to Germany in October 1917 via, among other countries, Great Britain.

During the German Revolution of 1918 – 1919, Canaris helped organise the formation of vigilante forces in order to suppress the revolutionary movements.

In 1919, Canaris married Erika Waag, also the child of an industrialist.

Canaris remained in the military after the war, first as a member of the Freikorps and then as part of the Reichsmarine.

Arguments used by Franco to counter Hitler's demands for German access to Spanish territory were influenced directly by Canaris, who met with a number of his top advisors.

There, the name of Canaris became widely known as the executive hand of von Kleist in the event of an anti-Nazi plot.