Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb

Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb (5 September 1876 – 29 April 1956) was a German Generalfeldmarschall ('Field Marshal') of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. Leeb was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph which granted him the title of nobility. During the Battle of France, he commanded Army Group C, responsible for the breakthrough of the Maginot Line.

During Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the Soviet Union – Leeb commanded Army Group North, which advanced through the Baltic States towards Leningrad (present day St. Petersburg), eventually laying siege to the city. Units under Leeb's command committed war crimes against the civilian population and closely cooperated with the SS Einsatzgruppen, death squads primarily tasked with the murder of the Jewish population as part of the Holocaust.

Leeb was a beneficiary of Adolf Hitler's bribery scheme for senior Wehrmacht officers, receiving secret, extra-legal gifts of 250,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ in 1941, equivalent to €1.07 million in 2021, and of an estate valued at 638,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ in 1943, equivalent to €3 million in 2021. Following the war, Leeb was tried in the High Command Trial as part of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. He was convicted of transmitting the Barbarossa Decree and its criminal application by subordinate units and sentenced to three years' imprisonment time served and was therefore released after the trial concluded.