[1] During World War I, he served initially with the infantry and then as front line reconnaissance observer within the Luftstreitkräfte (the German Air Forces – DLSK), winning the Iron Cross.

[1] On 5 July 1933, five months after Adolf Hitler became Reichskanzler, Todt was appointed Generalinspektor für das deutsche Straßenwesen (Inspector General for German Roadways).

[2] Alan S. Milward characterized this phase as follows: "His personal views on business questions and, what was more important, the success of the motorway project kept Todt in the inner circle of the Führer.

[5] For his work on the autobahnen, Todt was recognized with the German National Prize for Art and Science by Hitler, next to Ernst Heinkel, Ferdinand Porsche and Willy Messerschmitt.

[1] In May 1938, he initiated the Organisation Todt (OT), joining government firms, private companies and the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service).

[1] Todt was responsible for the construction of the "West Wall" (commonly named the "Siegfried Line" in English-speaking countries) to defend the Reich territory.

[1] After an inspection tour of the Eastern Front, Todt complained to Hitler that without better equipment and supplies for the armed forces, it would be better to end the war against the Soviet Union.

On 8 February 1942, soon after take-off from the Wolfsschanze ("Wolf's Lair") airfield near Rastenburg, in East Prussia, Todt's Heinkel He 111 aircraft crashed and he was killed.

[10][11] A possible motive for killing Todt was that he had flown to the Wolf's Lair to recommend that Hitler sue for peace with the Soviet Union.

In his autobiography, Speer mentioned a Reich Air Ministry inquiry into the airplane accident, which he said ended with the sentence: "The possibility of sabotage is ruled out.

[14]: 279 On 8 February 1944, the second commemoration of Todt's death, Hitler awarded the Dr.-Fritz-Todt-Preis as a Badge of Honor of the Nazi Party for "Innovative accomplishments, which are of great importance for the Volk community because of the improvement of their weapons, ammunition and military equipment, and the saving of labor, raw materials and energy".