Ferdinand von Bredow

Ferdinand von Bredow was a German Generalmajor and former head of the Abwehr in the Reich Defence Ministry (Reichswehrministerium) and deputy defence minister in Kurt von Schleicher's short-lived cabinet . He was promoted to captain in November 1918 and saw active service in the First World War. Bredow was among Schleicher's closest associates, being described by the British military historian John Wheeler-Bennett as a man "blindly devoted" to Schleicher. Wheeler-Bennett lived in Berlin between 1927 and 1934 and, as a man well connected to the German ruling class, knew Schleicher and his followers well. Schleicher appointed Bredow as his successor as head of the Ministerial Office in the Defence Ministry, which was the Reichswehr's favorite instrument for exerting influence on politics.