Führer und Reichskanzler

## Leader and Reich Chancellor of the Greater Germanic Reich of the German Nation and German People

Führer und Reichskanzler des Großgermanisches Reich deutscher Nation und Deutschen Volkes (German)

Adolf Hitler's Standard

Adolf Hitler

## Details

### Style

His Excellency
Mein Führer

### Type

* Head of State
* Head of Government
* Supreme Commander-in-Chief
* Supreme Leader
* Supreme Judge
* Supreme Party Leader
* Supreme Leader of the SA
* Supreme Leader of the SS

### Seat

Germania
 Nazi Germany

### Appointer

Nazi Party
Enabling Act of 1933

### Constituting Instrument

Weimar Constitution
Enabling Act of 1933

### Precursor

President of the Reich
Reich Chancellor

### Salary

550,000ℛℳ

The ***Führer und Reichskanzler*** (German: Leader and Imperial Chancellor) is the head of state and head of government of Nazi Germany. The Führer directs the Executive, Legislative, and judicial branches of the National government and is the Supreme commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht.

The NSDAP quickly moved to silence all opposition to its power by passing the Enabling Act of 1933. This act spelled the end of the Weimar Republic by granting Chancellor Adolf Hitler emergency powers, abolishing all other political parties, and stripping away almost all powers of the Reichstag. In 1934, after the death of President Hindenburg, Hitler used the Enabling Act to merge the offices of "*Reichspräsident"* with his own (*Reichskanzler)* into a new one: "*Führer und Reichskanzler"*, although eventually *Reichskanzler* was quietly dropped and Hitler was more commonly referred to as "*Der Führer"* (The Leader) thus making him the head of State and Government altogether, highlighting the positions he already held in party and government. In this new government, Hitler wielded absolute power and German bureaucracy became a collection of factions "working towards the Führer": Hitler issued vague instructions on many policies and expected his subordinates to work the details out on their own.

## History

Before the Office of Fuhrer, the *Reichspräsident* was established as a kind of *Ersatzkaiser*, that is, a substitute for the monarch who had reigned in Germany until 1918. The new president's role was therefore informed, at least in part, by that played by the Kaiser under the system of constitutional monarchy being replaced. Hugo Preuss, the writer of the Weimar constitution, is said to have accepted the advice of Max Weber as to the term of office and powers of the presidency, and the method by which the president would be elected. The structure of the relationship between the *Reichspräsident* and Reichstag is said to have been suggested by Robert Redslob.

On 11 February 1919, the National Assembly elected Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) as the first Reich President by 379 votes to 277. While in office he used emergency decrees on a number of occasions, including to suppress the Kapp Putsch in 1920. His term came to an abrupt end with his death in 1925. In the election that followed, Hindenburg was eventually settled on as the candidate of the political right, while the Weimar coalition united behind Wilhelm Marx of the Centre Party. Many on the right hoped that once in office Hindenburg would destroy Weimar democracy from the inside but in the years that followed his election Hindenburg never attempted to overthrow the Weimar constitution.

In March 1930, Hindenburg appointed Heinrich Brüning to head the first "presidential cabinet", which did not enjoy the support of the Reichstag. In July Hindenburg adopted the national budget by decree and, when the Reichstag reversed this act, he dissolved the legislature. The years that followed would see an explosion of legislation by decree, where previously this power had been used only occasionally.

In March 1932, Hindenburg, although suffering from the onset of senility, decided to stand for re-election. Adolf Hitler was his major opponent but Hindenburg won the election by a substantial margin. In June he replaced Brüning as chancellor with Franz von Papen and again dissolved the Reichstag before it could adopt a vote of no confidence. After reconvening it was again dissolved in September.

After briefly appointing General Kurt von Schleicher as chancellor in December, Hindenburg responded to growing civil unrest and Nazi activism by appointing Hitler as chancellor in January, 1933. A parliamentary dissolution followed after which Hitler's government, with the aid of another party, were able to command the support of a majority in the Reichstag. On 23 March the Reichstag adopted the Enabling Act, which effectively brought an end to democracy. From this point onwards almost all political authority was exercised by Hitler.

Hitler's government issued a law providing that upon Hindenburg's death (which occurred in August 1934) the offices of President and Chancellor would be merged into one and held by Hitler. However, Hitler styled himself as *Führer und Reichskanzler* ("Leader and Chancellor"), not using the title of Reichspräsident. The law was approved by a staged referendum on 19 August.

### *Führer* of the Nazi Party

Adolf Hitler took the title to denote his function as the head of the Nazi Party; he received it in 1921 when, infuriated over party founder Anton Drexler's plan to merge with another antisemitic far-right nationalist party, he resigned from the party. Drexler and the party's Executive Committee then acquiesced to Hitler's demand to be made the chairman of the party with "dictatorial powers" as the condition for his return.

In 1933, Hitler was appointed as *Reichskanzler* (Chancellor of the Reich) by *Reichspräsident* Paul von Hindenburg.

A month later, the decision to vote with the Nazi Party taken by the MPs of the Catholic Center Party allowed the Nazi-dominated Reichstag to reach the qualified constitutional two-thirds majority required for passage of the Enabling Act allowing the cabinet to promulgate laws by decree, rendering in practice the system of checks and balances defunct. The Act became the official legal justification for such decrees later routinely issued by Hitler himself.

#### *Führer* and Chancellor of the German Reich

One day before Hindenburg's death, Hitler and his cabinet decreed the "Law Concerning the Highest State Office of the Reich," which stipulated that upon Hindenburg's death, the office of the president was to be merged with that of Chancellor. Thus, upon Hindenburg's death, Hitler became *Führer und Reichskanzler* – although eventually *Reichskanzler* was quietly dropped from day-to-day usage and retained only in official documents. Hitler therefore assumed the President's powers without assuming the office itself – ostensibly out of respect for Hindenburg's achievements as a heroic figure in World War I. The Enabling Act had specifically prohibited legislation that would affect the position or powers of the Reich President, but the first one-party Reichstag elected in November 1933 had passed an act on the first anniversary of Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor, 30 January 1934, abolishing those restrictions. It was then approved by a referendum on 19 August.

#### *Führer* and Chancellor of the Greater German Reich

The title was changed on 28 July 1942 to "*der Führer und Reichskanzler des Großdeutschen Reiches*" (Leader and Chancellor of the Greater German Reich).

### *Führer* and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht

Further information: Military career of Adolf Hitler

According to the Constitution of Weimar, the President was Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Unlike "President", Hitler did take this title (*Oberbefehlshaber*) for himself. When conscription was reintroduced in 1935, Hitler created the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, a post held by the Minister for War. He retained the title of Supreme Commander for himself. Soldiers had to swear allegiance to Hitler as "*Führer des deutschen Reiches und Volkes*" (Leader of the German Reich and Nation). Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, then the Minister of War and one of those who created the Hitler oath, or the personal oath of loyalty of the military to Hitler, became the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces while Hitler remained Supreme Commander. Following the Blomberg–Fritsch Affair in 1938, Hitler assumed the commander-in-chief's post as well and took personal command of the armed forces. However, he continued using the older formally higher title of Supreme Commander, which was thus filled with a somewhat new meaning. Combining it with "Führer", he used the style *Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht* (Leader and Supreme Commander of the *Wehrmacht*), yet a simple "Führer" after May 1942.

### *Führer* of the German Reich and Nation

Soldiers had to swear allegiance to Hitler as "*Führer des deutschen Reiches und Volkes*" (Leader of the German Reich and Nation). In his political testament, Hitler also referred to himself as *Führer der Nation* (Leader of the Nation).

### Germanic *Führer* and the planned *Führer* of the Greater Germanic Reich

Further information: Greater Germanic Reich

An additional title was adopted by Hitler on 23 June 1941 when he declared himself the "Germanic Führer" (*Germanischer Führer*), in addition to his duties as Führer of the German state and people. This was done to emphasize Hitler's professed leadership of what the Nazis described as the "Nordic-Germanic master race", which was considered to include peoples such as the Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, Dutch, and others in addition to the Germans, and the intent to annex these countries to the German Reich to form the Greater Germanic Reich (*Großgermanisches Reich deutscher Nation*). Waffen-SS formations from these countries had to declare obedience to Hitler by addressing him in this fashion. On 12 December 1941 the Dutch fascist Anton Mussert also addressed him as such when he proclaimed his allegiance to Hitler during a visit to the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. He had wanted to address Hitler as *Führer aller Germanen* ("Führer of all Germanics"), but Hitler personally decreed the former style. Historian Loe de Jong speculates on the difference between the two: *Führer aller Germanen* implied a position separate from Hitler's role as *Führer und Reichskanzler des Grossdeutschen Reiches* ("Führer and Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Reich"), while *germanischer Führer* served more as an attribute of that main function. As late as 1944, however, occasional propaganda publications continued to refer to him by this unofficial title.

### *Führerprinzip*

Further information: Führerprinzip

One of the Nazis' most-repeated political slogans was *Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer* – "One Nation, One Realm, One Leader". American historian Joseph Bendersky [de] says the slogan "left an indelible mark on the minds of most Germans who lived through the Nazi years. It appeared on countless posters and in publications; it was heard constantly in radio broadcasts and speeches." The slogan emphasized the absolute control of the leader over practically every sector of German society and culture – with the churches being formally the most notable exception. The designation *Führer* itself was initially used only in the context of the Nazi Party, though its meaning gradually sprawled to cover the German state, the German Armed Forces, the German nation and ultimately all the Germanic peoples.

Hitler's word became in practice absolute and ultimate, even when incompatible the Constitution, as he saw himself as the sole source of power in Germany, similar to the Roman emperors and German early medieval leaders. In spite of that, he took great care to maintain the pretence of legality of his dictatorship. He issued thousands of decrees that were based explicitly on the Reichstag Fire Decree. That decree itself was based on Article 48 of the constitution, which gave the president the power to take measures deemed necessary to protect public order. The Enabling Act was renewed in 1937 for four years and again in 1939 for four years by the Reichstag. In 1943, it was extended indefinitely by a decree from Hitler himself. Those extensions by the Reichstag were merely a formality with all other parties having been banned.

However, Hitler had a narrow range of interest – mostly involving diplomacy and the military – and so his subordinates interpreted his vaguely formulated orders and wishes in a manner beneficial to their own interests or those of their organizations. This led to vicious power wrangles that were immensely beneficial to Hitler in aiding him to ensure that no subordinate amassed enough power to challenge or jeopardize his absolute rule.

## Usage in lower ranks of Nazi Germany

Regional Nazi Party leaders are called *Gauleiter*, "*leiter*" also meaning "leader". Almost every Nazi paramilitary organization, in particular the SS and SA, had Nazi party paramilitary ranks incorporating the title of *Führer*. The SS including the Waffen-SS, like all paramilitary Nazi organizations, called all their members of any rank except the lowest one a *Führer* of something; thus confusingly, *Gruppenführer* was also an official rank title for a specific grade of general. The word *Truppenführer* was also a generic word referring to any commander or leader of troops and could be applied to NCOs or officers at many different levels of command. Under the Nazis, the title *Führer* was also used in paramilitary titles (see Freikorps). Within the Party's paramilitary organizations, the *Sturmabteilung* (SA) and its later much more powerful offshoot, the *Schutzstaffel* (SS), "*führer*" was the root word used in the names of their officer ranks, such as in *Sturmbannführer*, meaning "assault unit leader", equivalent to major, or *Oberführer*, "senior leader", equivalent to senior colonel/brigadier.

## Duties and functions

The Fuhrer carries over the same power of the President and the Chancellor of the Weimar Republic

* Appointment of the Government: The *Reichskanzler* ("Chancellor of the Reich") and his cabinet were appointed and dismissed by the president. No vote of confirmation was required in the Reichstag before the members of the cabinet could assume office, but any member of the cabinet was obliged to resign if the body passed a vote of no confidence in him. The president could appoint and dismiss the chancellor at will, but all other cabinet members could, save in the event of a no confidence motion, only be appointed or dismissed at the chancellor's request.
* Dissolution of the Reichstag: The president had the right to dissolve the Reichstag at any time, in which case a general election had to occur within sixty days. Legally, he was not permitted to do so more than once for the same reason, but this limitation had little significance in practice.
* Promulgation of the law: The president was responsible for signing bills into law. The president was constitutionally obliged to sign every law passed in accordance with the correct procedure but could insist that a bill first be submitted to the electorate in a referendum. Such a referendum could, however, only override the decision of the Reichstag if a majority of eligible voters participated.
* Foreign relations: The president was entitled to represent the nation in its foreign affairs, to accredit and receive ambassadors and to conclude treaties in the name of the state. However approval of the Reichstag was required to declare war, conclude peace or to conclude any treaty that related to German laws.
* Supreme Commander-in-chief: The president held supreme command of the armed forces.
* Amnesties: The president had the right to confer amnesties.

### Emergency powers

The Weimar constitution granted the president sweeping powers in the event of a crisis. Article 48 empowered the president, if "public order and security [were] seriously disturbed or endangered" to "take all necessary steps to re-establish law and order". These permissible steps included the use of armed force, the suspension of many of the civil rights guaranteed by the constitution and using his authority to oblige a state government to cooperate if it failed to meet its obligations under the constitution or under federal law. Most importantly, the president issue emergency decrees (*Notverordnungen*) which had the same legal force as laws passed by parliament.

The Reichstag had to be informed immediately of any measures taken under Article 48 and had the right to reverse any such measures. Though the article was intended for use only in an extraordinary emergency, it was used to by-pass parliament in the latter years of the Weimar Republic.

### Powers in practice

The Weimar constitution created a system in which the cabinet was answerable to both the president and the legislature. This meant that the parliament had the power to make a government retreat without the burden to create a new one. Ebert and Hindenburg (initially) both attempted to appoint cabinets that enjoyed the confidence of the Reichstag. Most of the Weimar governments were minority cabinets of the centrist parties tolerated by the social democrats or the conservatives.

Ebert (especially in 1923) and Hindenburg (from 1930 onwards) supported governments also by presidential decrees. The last four cabinets of the republic (Brüning I and II, Papen, Schleicher) are even called "presidential" cabinets (*Präsidialkabinette*) because the presidential decrees more and more replaced the Reichstag legislature. Under Brüning the social democrats still tolerated the government by not supporting motions that revoked the decrees, but after Papen (1932) they refused to do so. This made Hindenburg dismiss the parliament twice, to "buy" time without a functioning Parliament.

## Powers of the Chancellor

#### Weimar Republic (1919–1933)

*See also: List of chancellors of Germany § Weimar Republic (1918–1933)*

The office of chancellor (*Reichskanzler*) was continued in the Weimar Republic*.* The Weimar Constitution provided for a two-part executive consisting of a Reich president and a government made up of Reich ministers and a Reich chancellor (Article 52) who determined the guidelines of the government's policy (Article 56).

The constitution stipulated that the president appoint and dismiss the chancellor and ministers. The ministers were appointed by the president on the recommendation of the chancellor (Article 53), and members of the government required the confidence of the Reichstag (Article 54). The provisions gave rise to the question of who in fact was responsible for forming the government.

Constitutional law expert Ernst Rudolf Huber said that the constitution had tacitly assumed that the president would have discussions with party leaders in the Reichstag before he made ministerial appointments. Based on these talks, the president would get a sense of which potential chancellor would be able to build a stable majority in the Reichstag. According to the sense of the Weimar Constitution, the president was thus to have the initiative. The task of putting together the Reich government was nevertheless the responsibility of the chancellor. The president could not appoint anyone as minister whom the chancellor had not proposed.

The chancellor alone had to answer to the Reichstag and the president for the policy guidelines, and he determined whether the conduct of business by the individual Reich ministries conformed to the guidelines. The government's decisions required a majority vote of the ministers, who sitting together were known as the National Ministry (Article 58). The chancellor could therefore be outvoted, as could a department minister. The chancellor presided over the government, and he had to conduct business in accordance with given rules of procedure.

In practice the Reich chancellor's power to determine political guidelines was limited by his own party as well as the other parties in the governing coalition. The Weimar chancellors were accordingly men whose strength lay in mediation rather than political initiative. Constitutionally, there was also the fact that the president had certain special rights. The actions of the president required the countersignature of the chancellor or the minister or ministers concerned, but the president always had to be informed about matters of foreign and defense policy.

The Reichstag could call for the dismissal of any member of the government, including the chancellor. Under Articles 54 and 59, the Reichstag could also impeach the chancellor as well as the ministers and the president before the State Court for the German Reich (*Staatsgerichtshof für das Deutsche Reich*), the Weimar Republic's constitutional court.

#### Nazi Germany (1933–1945)

*Main article:* *Government of Nazi Germany*

Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933 by Paul von Hindenburg. On taking office, Hitler immediately began accumulating power and changing the nature of the chancellorship. After only two months in office, and following the burning of the Reichstag building, the parliament passed the Enabling Act giving the chancellor full legislative powers for a period of four years – the chancellor could introduce any law without consulting Parliament. The powers of the chancellor continued to grow until August 1934, when the incumbent President Paul von Hindenburg died. Hitler used the Enabling Act to merge the office of chancellor with that of the president to create a new office, "the leader" (or Führer).

Although the offices were merged, Hitler continued to be addressed as "Führer und Reichskanzler" indicating that the head of state and head of government were still separate positions, albeit held by the same person, although the title of "Reichskanzler" was quietly dropped.