German field marshal in World War I and president of the Weimar Republic
Paul von Hindenburg commanded German land forces during World War I and was elected president of the Weimar Republic in 1925, serving until 1934. In the early 1930s he authorized governments lacking parliamentary support to rule through presidential emergency decrees, and on January 30, 1933, appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor. Hitler’s government soon expanded its power through terror and political manipulation.
Activities and affiliations
- Military command · Germany state institutions
Career Timeline
- 1916Appointed commander of all German land forces
- 1925Elected president of the Weimar Republic
- 1933Appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor
Related historical events
Presidential cabinets and the erosion of parliamentary power
When the grand coalition led by Hermann Müller collapsed in late March 1930 over an increase in unemployment-insurance contributions, Hindenburg pursued a cabinet that would not depend on a parliamentary majority. On March 29 he appointed Heinrich Brüning chancellor. Lacking majority support in parliament, Brüning’s cabinet governed on the basis of the president’s confidence and the emergency powers in Article 48 of the constitution. Brüning imposed austerity measures by emergency decree; as power shifted from parliament to the president, parliamentary government weakened further. Hindenburg appointed Franz von Papen chancellor in June 1932 and Kurt von Schleicher that December. Both successor cabinets had even less parliamentary support than Brüning’s, and Papen and Schleicher pursued policies aimed at ending the Weimar Republic. On January 30, 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler head of a new presidential cabinet that included members of the Nazi Party and the German National People’s Party. This decision dealt a fatal blow to an already weakened parliamentary democracy.