After the end of World War I, he was retained in the Reichswehr, eventually reaching the rank of colonel.

On 28 February 1938, he was promoted to Generalmajor (major general) and appointed head of the Army Personnel Office.

The liaison officer in the military district XX at the time was Lieutenant Colonel Hasso von Boehmer, who by his friend Henning von Tresckow for his resistance to Adolf Hitler, recruited the brothers Stauffenberg to carry out the assassination of Hitler.

On the day of the assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler (20 July 1944) Keitel was on an inspection tour in his command area.

On 1 December 1944 Bodewin Keitel was moved into the Führerreserve of the Army High Command (OKH).