Senior Nazi Party Figure. Todt was a veteran of World War 1, having initially served in the Infantry, then as a front-line reconnaissance observer, and finally with the German Air Service, wherein he was decorated with the Iron Cross 1st Class. Todt studied engineering at the Technical Hochschule of Munich and Karlsruhe, graduating with a degree in construction engineering. He joined the Nazi Party in 1923 and advanced through the ranks, later serving as an SS Colonel on the staff of Heinrich Himmler. On July 5, 1933, after Adolf Hitler had became the Reichskanzler, Todt was appointed Inspector General for German Roadways. Then, in November, his public authority was raised to the status of a "Supreme Reich Authority," making him subordinate directly to Hitler himself. One of his duties was creating the new autobahn systems (super highways), for which he would later be recognized with the German National Prize for Art and Science. In December 1936, he was made Director of the Head Office for Engineering in the National Directorate of the NSDAP. In May 1938, he initiated the creation of Organisation Todt (OT), joining government firms, private companies, and the Reich Labour Service (RAD). In 1939, he was also appointed to the rank of Generalmajor in the German Air Force (Luftwaffe). As head of the OT, he was responsible for the construction of the "West Wall" (commonly known as the "Siegfried Line") to defend the Reich territory, and later with the construction of fortifications of the "Atlantic Wall." The "OT" used upwards of 800,000 forced laborers from the occupied countries to build massive construction and armaments projects. On March 17, 1940, Todt was appointed Minister for Armaments and Munitions, through which he managed the entire German military production system and its related economy. On February 8, 1942, while departing after a brief visit to Hitler's eastern front headquarters (known as the "Wolf's Lair"), the fledgling pilot of Todt's Heinkel He 111 aircraft experienced difficulties from the serious freezing conditions soon after take-off from its airfield near Rastenburg, in East Prussia. The pilot, realizing the problems, attempted to turn and land abruptly but crashed, killing all aboard. After Todt's death, his minster's title and duties were passed onto Albert Speer. Todt was buried with full state and military honors in the Invaliden Cemetery in Berlin. His original grave marker was destroyed by the Soviets after the war. Sometime after the fall of the wall in 1991, a new marker was installed at his gravesite.