The Wehrmacht ("defence force") was the name of the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany, comprising the Heer (Army), Luftwaffe (Air Force), and Kriegsmarine (lit. "War Navy"). Technically, "wehrmacht" can refer to any national army, but in common usage the term is almost always associated with the German military during World War II.

The Wehrmacht was established in 1935 as the successor to the Reichswehr, representing Germany's accelerating rearmament under Adolf Hitler in contravention of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. While it was not overtly political by design like the Schutzstaffel, it was nevertheless influenced by Nazi iconography, in large part due to the sympathies of then-War Minister Werner von Blomberg. Ironically, Blomberg was forced to resign in 1938 when the military command was reorganized to give Hitler greater control over the armed forces.

Although the Wehrmacht had a frictious relationship with the Waffen-SS throughout the war, it nevertheless coordinated operations and colluded in atrocities, and prominent generals including Wilhelm Keitel and Alfred Jodl were convicted of war crimes in the Nuremberg Trials. Conversely, several Wehrmacht personnel helped to save Jews, Poles, and other persons at risk from Nazi occupation. Notably, the 20 July Plot of 1944 was an attempt by several disaffected Wehrmacht officers to assassinate Hitler and overthrow Nazi control of the government and military.

Following Germany's capitulation in 1945, the Wehrmacht was legally abolished, and officially dissolved on 20 August 1946. While former Wehrmacht officers would go on to serve in the West German Bundeswehr and East German Nationale Volksarmee, neither organization claimed succession from the Wehrmacht itself.