KEITEL, WILHELM

born Sept. 22, 1882, Helmscherode, Ger. died Oct. 16, 1946, Nrnberg field marshal and head of the German armed forces high command during World War II. One of Adolf Hitler's most loyal and trusted lieutenants, he became chief of the Fhrer's personal military staff and helped direct most of the Third Reich's World War II campaigns. Serving mainly as a staff officer in World War I and in administrative posts under the Weimar Republic (191833), Keitel became chief of staff of the armed forces office, equivalent to minister of war, in 1935 and in 1938 advanced to head of the armed forces high command, which Hitler had created as a central control agency for Germany's military effort. In June 1940 Keitel dictated the terms of the French surrender. After the war he was convicted at the International Military Tribunal at Nrnberg of authorizing the shooting of hostages and other acts and was executed. He was generally regarded as a weak officer who had little tactical military experience and served chiefly as Hitler's lackey.