Fritz Todt

Fritz Todt (; 4 September 1891 – 8 February 1942) was a German construction engineer and senior figure of the Nazi Party. He was the founder of ''Organisation Todt'' (OT), a military-engineering organisation that supplied German industry with forced labour, and served as Reich Minister for Armaments and Ammunition in Nazi Germany early in World War II, directing the entire German wartime military economy from that position.

An engineer by training, Todt served in the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' during World War I and was a recipient of the Iron Cross. He joined the Nazi Party in 1922 and the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) in 1931. Steadily rising through the ranks, Todt became Inspector General for German Roadways after Adolf Hitler came to power. In that capacity, he was responsible for the construction of the German autobahns. In 1938, he founded ''Organisation Todt'' and directed large-scale engineering projects such as the ''Westwall'' (Siegfried Line) and the Atlantic Wall. In 1940, he was appointed Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production. During World War II Todt made extensive use of forced labour, with as many as 800,000 labourers from German-occupied territories in the service of his organisation.

Todt was killed in February 1942 near Rastenburg when his aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. He was succeeded as ''Reichsminister'' and head of the OT by Albert Speer. Provided by Wikipedia