Kurt Gebhard Adolf Philipp Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord[1] (26 September 1878 – 24 April 1943) was a German general (Generaloberst) who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Reichswehr, the Weimar Republic's armed forces.

[4] His parents were the head forester (Oberförster) of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Heino von Hammerstein, and his wife Ida, née Gustedt (also from a noble family).

In the Weimar Republic, the renaming was necessary as the Great General Staff had been prohibited by the Allies in the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War.

His predecessor was General Werner von Blomberg, who had come into conflict with the government over the possibility of a two-front war against both France and Poland, which he deemed as favorable.

By contrast, Reichswehrminister Wilhelm Groener and Chancellor Heinrich Brüning preferred Hammerstein's aversion to political extremism and military risks.

Hammerstein worked out first tactical concepts for the army to provide for a sustained defence in case of an attack until the League of Nations intervened.

[7] However, barely four days later, on 30 January 1933, pursuant to a request by Hindenburg, Hitler formed a cabinet as Chancellor in a coalition with the German National People's Party.

[8] From 30 June 1934, Hitler implemented a program of large-scale arrests, murders, intimidation and elimination of suspected and known opponents, under the pretext of an imminent coup by SA-Chief Ernst Röhm.

Some prominent opponents like Hammerstein and former Chancellor Franz von Papen were not affected by the purge, possibly thanks to a personal request by Hindenburg, according to some historians.

[10] Hammerstein and Field Marshal August von Mackensen attempted first to reach Hindenburg personally to stop the purge.

On 13 July 1934, Hitler tried to justify the purge in a Reichstag speech, notably by accusing Schleicher and Bredow of subversive collaboration with Röhm and conspiracy with other countries for the purpose of a "national-Bolshevik coup".

Criticism of said accusations by military personnel was not supported by Minister of War Werner von Blomberg, who upheld Hitler's claims and promised evidence.

In a closed meeting about another topic, with leading elements of the government, the party and the Reichswehr present, Hitler said "studies" had shown that Generals Schleicher and von Bredow had been shot "by mistake".

He confided to Colonel-General Ludwig Beck, a retired army chief of staff and leading conspirator, that "a fatal accident will occur" when the Führer visited his base.

Although his medical team admitted that the cancer had advanced beyond any hope of recovery, Hammerstein underwent radiation treatment, causing serious side-effects and great discomfort.

Among them, the art historian Udo von Alvensleben noted in his diary after meeting him in mid-February 1943: "I am ashamed to have belonged in an army, that witnessed and tolerated all the crimes", is Hammerstein's final conclusion.

He supplied his daughter Maria-Therese von Hammerstein-Paasche with the names of Jews who were scheduled for deportation or arrest to enable her to warn or to hide them.

Two of his sons, Ludwig and Kunrat, took part in the plot to replace the Nazi regime with a new government on 20 July 1944, and fled Germany after its failure.

[4] Two of his daughters, Marie Luise von Hammerstein and Helga von Hammerstein, had been members of the secret service of the Communist Party of Germany since the late 1920s and helped to inform the Soviet Union on Hitler's political and military intentions, which the latter had detailed in a secret speech to leading generals on 3 February 1933.

Helga worked for the secret service of the KPD under the code name "Grete Pelgert" at least until 1937, when Roth was executed as a traitor in Moscow.

Ludwig von Hammerstein-Equord (1919–1996) had served as an infantry officer on the Russian front and was equally barred from frontline service following a war injury, but joined the military resistance against Hitler.

Hammerstein-Equord personally warned Adolf Hitler in December 1932 against trying a coup, promising he would give the order to shoot in that case.

Anyone who is both clever and lazy is qualified for the highest leadership duties, because he possesses the mental clarity and strength of nerve necessary for difficult decisions.

[32]A fictionalized version of Hammerstein is featured in the German neo-noir series Babylon Berlin as Generalmajor Wilhelm von Seegers.