The Abwehr (pronounced [ˈapveːɐ̯])[lower-alpha 1] was the German military intelligence service for the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht from 1920 to 1945.[1][lower-alpha 2] Despite the fact that the Treaty of Versailles prohibited the Germans altogether from establishing an intelligence organization of their own,[lower-alpha 3] they formed an espionage group in 1920 within the Ministry of Defense, calling it the Abwehr.[lower-alpha 4] The initial purpose of the Abwehr was defense against foreign espionage—an organizational role which later evolved considerably.[4] Under General Kurt von Schleicher the individual military services' intelligence units were combined and, in 1929, centralized under his Ministry of Defense, forming the foundation for the more commonly understood manifestation of the Abwehr.