Hindenburg as Reichs President

Discussions on every day life in the Weimar Republic, pre-anschluss Austria, Third Reich and the occupied territories. Hosted by Vikki.
Post Reply
YM
Member
Posts: 102
Joined: 16 May 2005, 14:26
Location: Israel

Hindenburg as Reichs President

#1

Post by YM » 23 May 2005, 18:48

Paul von Hindenburg's election as Reichs President in 1925 over
the moderate Catholic Center party candidate Wilhelm Marx
frightened those who supported the Weimar republican system,
primarily the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Catholic Center,
and German Democartic Party. Since it was known he was
a monarchist, they feared he would try to undermine
parliamentary democracy. I read recently that in the period
before the economic crisis created by the Depression, he
used the emergency Presidential Decree powers of
Article 48 of the Weimar constitution less than his
predecessor, SPD President Friedrich Ebert. Did Hindenburg
make all efforts to respect the Republican system, at least
before the final crisis of 1932-3?

Mad Zeppelin
Member
Posts: 1286
Joined: 08 Sep 2004, 21:05
Location: Germany

#2

Post by Mad Zeppelin » 28 May 2005, 17:35

Hindenburg was a monarchist, he was councelled by monarchists, and his aims were monarchistic. But... - the monarchists didn't have the majority in the Reichstag nor any chance ever to gain it. Initially, that kept them rather quiet and most people are led to think that Hindenburg respected the Weimar constitution and republic. But in 1930, after Stresemann's death (1929) and the resigning of Müller's cabinett, the monarchists decided to stage their "coup", - to return to "imperial" times by means of authoritarian governments backed by article 48 (emergency degree by the Reichspräsident) against the parliament. That was still in the first period of Hindenburgs service as Reichspräsident.
However, there were some flaws in the monarchists plans: a) They didn't have a presentable monarch (the Hohenzollern were out by general public disgust with their conduct). b) Their plans would not be tolerated by the democratic parties.
This changed when the economic crisis and the maneuvres of the monarchists led to an increase of votes for right and left wing extremists. Now, for fear of Hitler, the democrats came to support Hindenburg's second election, while the only monarchistic party, the DNVP, backed Hitler. So, the monarchists' plot had led to utter destabilization and to a reversal of the political situation, but had not succeeded with its goal.
To Hindenburg's credit it can be stated that he disliked and distrusted Hitler and several times refused to deal with him. He was only finally tricked into accepting Hitler by von Papen who - in a situation were the monarchists' plan seemed to have already failed - promised the old man that his cabinett (only 3 Nazis but 8 conservatives to outvote them) - and only his cabinett - would be able to pass the laws required to return to the "good old times". And in fact, the new gouvernment very soon passed the "Ermächtigungsgesetzt" through the Reichtag - which gave Reichskanzler Hitler all the power he needed to transform Germany into a terroristic state within 12 months.


User avatar
tigre
Member
Posts: 10546
Joined: 20 Mar 2005, 12:48
Location: Argentina

Re: Hindenburg as Reichs President

#3

Post by tigre » 02 Dec 2019, 03:53

Hello to all :D; a complement........................................

Visiting the president!

Source: https://www.zvab.com/servlet/BookDetail ... 1-_-image3

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
Attachments
image002.jpg
AH visiting the President of the Reich Hindenburg at Neudeck........................................
image002.jpg (40.71 KiB) Viewed 1916 times
image003.jpg
Minister Göring as a guest at Neudeck.........................................
image003.jpg (61.33 KiB) Viewed 1916 times

User avatar
tigre
Member
Posts: 10546
Joined: 20 Mar 2005, 12:48
Location: Argentina

Re: Hindenburg as Reichs President

#4

Post by tigre » 14 Apr 2020, 04:22

Hello to all :D; more.......................................

Reischswehr 1931.

Source: https://www.catawiki.nl/l/4350663-waffe ... -1958-1963

Cheers. Raúl M 8-).
Attachments
image051.jpg
During a parade shortly before Nazism, (from the right) von Hindenburg, von Schleicher, von Hammerstein, von Fritsch...........................
image051.jpg (41.67 KiB) Viewed 1545 times

iggy1871
Member
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 Jun 2020, 00:07
Location: USA

Re: Hindenburg as Reichs President

#5

Post by iggy1871 » 17 Jun 2020, 01:30

A great on this topic is Henry Ashby Turner's Hitler's Thirty Days to Power (1997). Turner covers the background story.

Post Reply

Return to “Life in the Third Reich & Weimar Republic”