On this day in 1938, Adolf Hitler declared himself the Supreme Commander of the German Armed Forces and reorganized the entire German military command system. Hitler created the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), the High Command of the Armed Forces, to replace the Reich War Ministry. The OKW worked under Hitler and had nominal control over the Army, Navy, and Air Force, which each had their own High Command. Hitler created these four positions in order to spread out the power and ensure that every decision went through him. This gave Hitler control over every action the German military took; he had the final word on all decisions made by the branches of the military. Hitler structured the military hierarchy this way to ensure that he would always have the power to decide the course of the war.