Germany has a Fuhrer

Killerhistory has a busy agenda of World War II adventures planned for you this week.  And of course it would not be WWII without mentioning the little monster with the funny mustache. 

On August 2, 1934 Adolph Hitler became the Supreme Commander of Germany, the Fuhrer.  Since we often think of Hitler in terms of executing the Final Solution against European Jews and invading his neighbors I find my students are often surprised to learn that Hitler came to power through a bloodless revolution and a manipulation of the German Constitution.

Hitler was never elected to his position of German Chancellor, but was appointed by the beloved and ancient President Paul von Hindenburg who also died on August 2, 1934 at the age of 87.  Upon learning of the death of the much admired von Hindenburg Hitler made an announcement that stated the government’s intention that the positions of Chancellor and President would be combined into one position.

Paul von Hindenburg had intended on his death that Germany revert back to being a monarchy.  Hitler just ignored the old man’s wishes.  He forced German military officers to swear their allegiance to him and his government.  A vote of the German people was scheduled for August 19^th to legitimize his government. 

An intense publicity campaign in support of Hitler’s leadership was conducted in the German press.  The net result was 90% of German voters endorsed Hitler serving in the combined role of Chancellor and President. Nearly all of the registered voters turned out to the polls giving Hitler an unbelievable mandate.  Let me be specific here, 95% of the registered voters showed up at the polls with 90% voting for Hitler.  Does anyone else smell something funny about these numbers?

On August 20, 1934 Hitler required all Germans to sign loyalty pledges to his government.  In these pledges Germans vowed their support to Hitler, not to the German state or to the German Constitution.  Once his government was legitimized, he had the military in his control and the people under his thumb Hitler was able to begin his march toward becoming one of the most infamous world leaders of all time.

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