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Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military officer and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. He played a key role in the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 through his appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.
Hindenburg was born to a family of minor Prussian nobility in the Grand Duchy of Posen. Upon completing his education as a cadet, he enlisted in the Third Regiment of Foot Guards. He saw combat during the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars. In 1873, he was admitted to the prestigious War Academy in Berlin, where he studied before being appointed to the General Staff Corps. In 1885, he was promoted to major and became a member of the German General Staff. After teaching at the War Academy, Hindenburg rose to become a lieutenant general by 1900. In 1911, Hindenburg retired.
After World War I began in 1914, Hindenburg was recalled and achieved fame on the Eastern Front as the victor of Tannenberg. He oversaw crushing victories against the Russians that made him a national hero and the center of a pervasive cult of personality. By 1916, his popularity had risen to the point that he replaced General Erich von Falkenhayn as Chief of the Great General Staff. He and his deputy, General Erich Ludendorff, exploited Kaiser Wilhelm II's immense delegation of power to the Supreme Army Command to establish a de facto military dictatorship. Under their leadership, Germany secured Russia's defeat and achieved the largest advance on the Western Front since the early days of the war. However, after the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, Germany's fortunes were sharply reversed after its army was decisively defeated in the Second Battle of the Marne and the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. Following the armistice, Hindenburg stepped down as Chief of Staff, before retiring again in 1919.
In 1925, Hindenburg returned to public life to become the second elected president of the Weimar Republic. Opposed to Hitler and the Nazi Party, Hindenburg nonetheless played a major role in the instability that resulted in their rise to power. After twice dissolving the Reichstag in 1932, Hindenburg agreed in January 1933 to appoint Hitler as chancellor in coalition with the German National People's Party. In response to the February 1933 Reichstag fire, Hindenburg approved the Reichstag Fire Decree which suspended various civil liberties. He likewise signed the Enabling Act of 1933 which gave the Nazi regime emergency powers. After Hindenburg died the following year, Hitler combined the presidency with the chancellery before declaring himself Führer (lit. 'Leader') of Germany and transforming the republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party dictatorship based upon the totalitarian, autocratic, and fascistic ideology of Nazism.
Hindenburg was born in Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, the son of Prussian junker Hans Robert Ludwig von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1816–1902) and his wife Luise Schwickart (1825–1893), the daughter of physician Karl Ludwig Schwickart and wife Julie Moennich. His paternal grandparents were Otto Ludwig Fady von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1778–1855), through whom he was remotely descended from the illegitimate daughter of Count Heinrich VI of Waldeck, and his wife Eleonore von Brederfady (d. 1863).[clarification needed] Hindenburg's younger brothers and sister were Otto (b. 1849), Ida (b. 1851) and Bernhard (b. 1859). His family were all Lutheran Protestants in the Evangelical Church of Prussia, which since 1817 included both Calvinist and Lutheran parishioners.[citation needed]
Hindenburg was proud of his family and could trace his ancestors back to 1289. The dual surname was adopted in 1789 to secure an inheritance and appeared in formal documents, but in everyday life, they were von Beneckendorffs.[clarification needed] True to family tradition, his father supported his family as an infantry officer; he retired as a major. In the summer, they visited his grandfather at the Hindenburg estate of Neudeck in East Prussia. At age 11, Paul entered the Cadet Corps School at Wahlstatt (now Legnickie Pole, Poland). At 16, he was transferred to the School in Berlin, and, at 18, he served as a page to the widow of King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Graduates entering the army were presented to King William I, who asked for their father's name and rank. He became a second lieutenant in the Third Regiment of Foot Guards.[citation needed]
When the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 broke out, Hindenburg wrote to his parents: 'I rejoice in this bright-coloured future. For the soldier war is the normal state of things[...]If I fall, it is the most honorable and beautiful death.' During the decisive Battle of Königgrätz, he was briefly knocked unconscious by a bullet that pierced his helmet and creased the top of his skull. Quickly regaining his senses, he wrapped his head in a towel and resumed leading his detachment, winning a decoration. He was a battalion adjutant when the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) broke out. After weeks of marching, the Guards attacked the village of Saint Privat (near Metz). Climbing a gentle slope, they came under heavy fire from the superior French rifles. After four hours the Prussian artillery came up to blast the French lines while the infantry, filled with the "holy lust of battle", swept through the French lines. His regiment suffered 1096 casualties, and he became a regimental adjutant. The Guards were spectators at the Battle of Sedan and for the following months sat in the siege lines surrounding Paris. He was his regiment's elected representative at the Palace of Versailles when the German Empire was proclaimed on 18 January 1871; at 1.98m (6 feet 6 inches) tall with a muscular frame and striking blue eyes, he was an impressive figure. After the French surrender, he watched from afar the suppression of the Paris Commune.[citation needed]
In 1873, he passed the highly competitive entrance examination for admission to the Kriegsakademie in Berlin. After three years of study, his grades were high enough for an appointment with the General Staff. He was promoted to captain in 1878 and assigned to the staff of the II Corps. He married the intelligent and accomplished Gertrud von Sperling (1860–1921), daughter of General Oskar von Sperling, in 1879. The couple would have two daughters, Irmengard Pauline (1880) and Annemaria (1891), and one son, Oskar (1883). Next, he commanded an infantry company, in which his men were ethnic Poles.[citation needed]
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Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military officer and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. He played a key role in the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 through his appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany.
Hindenburg was born to a family of minor Prussian nobility in the Grand Duchy of Posen. Upon completing his education as a cadet, he enlisted in the Third Regiment of Foot Guards. He saw combat during the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars. In 1873, he was admitted to the prestigious War Academy in Berlin, where he studied before being appointed to the General Staff Corps. In 1885, he was promoted to major and became a member of the German General Staff. After teaching at the War Academy, Hindenburg rose to become a lieutenant general by 1900. In 1911, Hindenburg retired.
After World War I began in 1914, Hindenburg was recalled and achieved fame on the Eastern Front as the victor of Tannenberg. He oversaw crushing victories against the Russians that made him a national hero and the center of a pervasive cult of personality. By 1916, his popularity had risen to the point that he replaced General Erich von Falkenhayn as Chief of the Great General Staff. He and his deputy, General Erich Ludendorff, exploited Kaiser Wilhelm II's immense delegation of power to the Supreme Army Command to establish a de facto military dictatorship. Under their leadership, Germany secured Russia's defeat and achieved the largest advance on the Western Front since the early days of the war. However, after the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies, Germany's fortunes were sharply reversed after its army was decisively defeated in the Second Battle of the Marne and the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. Following the armistice, Hindenburg stepped down as Chief of Staff, before retiring again in 1919.
In 1925, Hindenburg returned to public life to become the second elected president of the Weimar Republic. Opposed to Hitler and the Nazi Party, Hindenburg nonetheless played a major role in the instability that resulted in their rise to power. After twice dissolving the Reichstag in 1932, Hindenburg agreed in January 1933 to appoint Hitler as chancellor in coalition with the German National People's Party. In response to the February 1933 Reichstag fire, Hindenburg approved the Reichstag Fire Decree which suspended various civil liberties. He likewise signed the Enabling Act of 1933 which gave the Nazi regime emergency powers. After Hindenburg died the following year, Hitler combined the presidency with the chancellery before declaring himself Führer (lit. 'Leader') of Germany and transforming the republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party dictatorship based upon the totalitarian, autocratic, and fascistic ideology of Nazism.
Hindenburg was born in Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, the son of Prussian junker Hans Robert Ludwig von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1816–1902) and his wife Luise Schwickart (1825–1893), the daughter of physician Karl Ludwig Schwickart and wife Julie Moennich. His paternal grandparents were Otto Ludwig Fady von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1778–1855), through whom he was remotely descended from the illegitimate daughter of Count Heinrich VI of Waldeck, and his wife Eleonore von Brederfady (d. 1863).[clarification needed] Hindenburg's younger brothers and sister were Otto (b. 1849), Ida (b. 1851) and Bernhard (b. 1859). His family were all Lutheran Protestants in the Evangelical Church of Prussia, which since 1817 included both Calvinist and Lutheran parishioners.[citation needed]
Hindenburg was proud of his family and could trace his ancestors back to 1289. The dual surname was adopted in 1789 to secure an inheritance and appeared in formal documents, but in everyday life, they were von Beneckendorffs.[clarification needed] True to family tradition, his father supported his family as an infantry officer; he retired as a major. In the summer, they visited his grandfather at the Hindenburg estate of Neudeck in East Prussia. At age 11, Paul entered the Cadet Corps School at Wahlstatt (now Legnickie Pole, Poland). At 16, he was transferred to the School in Berlin, and, at 18, he served as a page to the widow of King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Graduates entering the army were presented to King William I, who asked for their father's name and rank. He became a second lieutenant in the Third Regiment of Foot Guards.[citation needed]
When the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 broke out, Hindenburg wrote to his parents: 'I rejoice in this bright-coloured future. For the soldier war is the normal state of things[...]If I fall, it is the most honorable and beautiful death.' During the decisive Battle of Königgrätz, he was briefly knocked unconscious by a bullet that pierced his helmet and creased the top of his skull. Quickly regaining his senses, he wrapped his head in a towel and resumed leading his detachment, winning a decoration. He was a battalion adjutant when the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) broke out. After weeks of marching, the Guards attacked the village of Saint Privat (near Metz). Climbing a gentle slope, they came under heavy fire from the superior French rifles. After four hours the Prussian artillery came up to blast the French lines while the infantry, filled with the "holy lust of battle", swept through the French lines. His regiment suffered 1096 casualties, and he became a regimental adjutant. The Guards were spectators at the Battle of Sedan and for the following months sat in the siege lines surrounding Paris. He was his regiment's elected representative at the Palace of Versailles when the German Empire was proclaimed on 18 January 1871; at 1.98m (6 feet 6 inches) tall with a muscular frame and striking blue eyes, he was an impressive figure. After the French surrender, he watched from afar the suppression of the Paris Commune.[citation needed]
In 1873, he passed the highly competitive entrance examination for admission to the Kriegsakademie in Berlin. After three years of study, his grades were high enough for an appointment with the General Staff. He was promoted to captain in 1878 and assigned to the staff of the II Corps. He married the intelligent and accomplished Gertrud von Sperling (1860–1921), daughter of General Oskar von Sperling, in 1879. The couple would have two daughters, Irmengard Pauline (1880) and Annemaria (1891), and one son, Oskar (1883). Next, he commanded an infantry company, in which his men were ethnic Poles.[citation needed]