('defence') German military intelligence and counter-intelligence organisation

The intelligence wing of the German armed forces, led by Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, a naval veteran of the Great War, and hero of the Battle of the Falkland Isles. He was the captain of the Dresden, the only ship to escape the British fleet. Their emphasis on working to military and practical objectives frequently places them at odds with the Gestapoâ€(tm)s pursuance of ideological and political objectives in occupied territories, where their jurisdictions overlapped.

This was Nazi Germany's counter intelligence organisation. During the war the Abwehr managed the country's spies and organised sabotage operations, many of them behind enemy lines. It often came into conflict with other branches of the Nazi secret services, the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) and the Gestapo.

Intelligence service for the German Armed Forces - run by Admiral Canaris

The Abwehr was a German intelligence organization from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr (German for defence) was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only. After February 4, 1938, its name in title was Overseas Department/Office in Defence of the Armed Forces High Command ("Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht" in German).