Funkspeil manufacturing plant The British also experimented with balloon bombs, hoping to burn down the Black Forest in Germany FÜHRER “Leader.” The official title adopted by Adolf Hitler when he abolished the office of president upon the death of Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg in 1934 He then combined the dead president’s position with his own as chancellor of the Third Reich The full, new title was “Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht” or “Leader and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.” “Führer” mimicked “Il Duce,” the appellation used by Hitler’s fellow dictator, Benito Mussolini The title fell to Admiral Karl Dönitz for a short span after Hitler’s death on April 30, 1945 It was cast on the dust heap of history with Dönitz’s acceptance of the unconditional surrender of the moral and physical rubble to which Germany was reduced by slavish devotion to the cult of the Führer The Nazi Party and Waffen-SS added “führer” as a component of various Party and military titles, in accordance with the Führerprinzip FÜHRERPRINZIP “Leader principle.” The idea in Nazism that the entire nation was to be organized along military lines and in absolute obedience to the supreme Führer and national leader, Adolf Hitler Lesser “führers” were in charge at all lowers levels The “leader” was thus conceived not so much as a head of state or government, but as a combination of tribal chieftain, high priest, and warlord The essence of the principle was an utter contempt for democracy and for individualism Hitler’s rule was supported by five chancelleries that administered his Führer orders, rather than giving any input to policy The two principal ones were concerned with political and military affairs and were headed by Martin Bormann and Wilhelm Keitel, respectively Other ad hoc agencies, commissioners, or inspectors were set up by Hitler to oversee special tasks See also fascism FUKURYU “Special Harbor Defense and Underwater Attack Units.” Japanese suicide divers The Imperial Japanese Navy developed a plan for hundreds of divers armed with mines to wait in neat lines underwater at likely landing sites on the home islands Their duty and discipline was to stay submerged until enemy invasion ships passed overhead, then blow up themselves along with one enemy ship FUNKSPEIL “Radio game.” Abwehr counterintelligence ran several “radio games” against British intelligence after turning several captured British SOE and M16 agents, whom the Germans tortured into cooperation The most successful Funkspeil operation was run from the Netherlands against the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Like German double agents run by the British XX Committee, British agents turned by the Abwehr passed military and political disinformation back to the host agencies Other radio games were played against the Red Army in the east, including turning some anti-Nazi guerillas of the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland (NKFD) who were captured along with their transmitters after being air dropped into East Prussia by the Soviets 419