Blomberg–Fritsch affair

The Blomberg–Fritsch affair began soon after the marriage on 12 January 1938 of War Minister Werner von Blomberg to Erna Gruhn, when the Berlin police discovered she had a long criminal record and had posed for pornographic photographs.

The events surrounding Blomberg's marriage inspired Göring and Heinrich Himmler to arrange a similar affair for Commander-in-Chief of the German Army Werner von Fritsch.

Himmler wanted to weaken the Wehrmacht and its mainly-aristocratic generals to strengthen his Schutzstaffel (SS), as a competitor to the regular German Army (Heer).

Some senior officers of the Wehrmacht protested against the changes, most notably Beck, who circulated a petition signed by Colonel General Gerd von Rundstedt and others.

Himmler and Heydrich still pursued the case, conveniently discovering an individual, called Hans Schmidt, to serve as a witness in support of the charge.

Schmidt claimed to recognise Fritsch as an officer whom he had witnessed in a homosexual act in a public lavatory with a man, known in translation as "Bavarian Joe".

[10] Just after the German invasion of Poland, Fritsch was inspecting front-line troops when he was shot by a Polish bullet (either a machine gun or a sharpshooter) in the leg and died.