1932 Prussian coup d'état: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Takeover by German chancellor von Papen}} |
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{{use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} |
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{{Short description|1932 takeover of the Free State of Prussia by Weimar chancellor Franz von Papen}} |
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{{Infobox civil conflict |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13680, Berlin, Verordnung über Ausnahmezustand.jpg|thumb|right|300px|An emergency decree as declared by [[Paul von Hindenburg]] on an [[advertising column]] in [[Berlin]]. Prussian government officials, including [[Carl Severing]], [[Albert Grzesinski]], [[Bernhard Weiß (police executive)|Bernhard Weiss]] and [[Magnus Heimannsberg]], were all arrested during the coup by military authorities.]] |
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| title = 1932 Prussian coup d'état |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12081, Berlin, Ausflug deutscher und englischer Politiker.jpg|thumb|right|300px|In July 1931 British politicians visited Prussia. In the photograph, from left to right: [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany)|German Foreign Minister]] [[Julius Curtius]], [[Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|British Foreign Secretary]] [[Arthur Henderson]], [[Chancellor of Germany|German Chancellor]] [[Heinrich Brüning]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[James Ramsay MacDonald]] and (later dismissed) [[Minister President of Prussia|Ministerpräsident of Prussia]] [[Otto Braun]]. The photo was taken during a ship excursion on the [[Großer Wannsee|Wannsee]], Berlin.]] |
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| subtitle = |
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{{Expand German|Preußenschlag|date=September 2018}} |
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| partof = [[Weimar Republic#Reasons for failure|failure of Weimar Republic]] |
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| image = Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13680, Berlin, Verordnung über Ausnahmezustand.jpg |
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| caption = The Emergency Decree of President von Hindenburg (Berlin, July 1932) |
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| date = 20 July 1932 |
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| place = [[Free State of Prussia|Prussia]] |
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| coordinates = |
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| causes = *Growth of political extremism |
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* [[1932 Prussian state election]] |
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| goals = Future restoration of monarchy |
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| methods = [[Reichsexekution]] |
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| status = |
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| result = Reich victory |
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* Prussia brought under [[direct rule]] |
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* von Papen installed as [[Reichskommissar]] |
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* End of democracy in Prussia |
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| side1 = {{flag|Weimar Republic|name=German Reich}} |
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| side2 = {{flagcountry|Free State of Prussia|1918}} |
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| leadfigures1 = [[Paul von Hindenburg]]<br>[[Franz von Papen]]<br>[[Kurt von Schleicher]] |
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| leadfigures2 = [[Otto Braun]]<br>[[Carl Severing]] |
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The '''1932 Prussian coup d'état''' or '''{{lang|de|Preußenschlag}}''' ({{IPA-de|ˈpʁɔʏsənˌʃlaːk}}) took place on 20 July 1932, when Reich President [[Paul von Hindenburg]], at the request of [[Franz von Papen]], then Reich Chancellor of Germany, replaced the legal government of the [[Free State of Prussia]] with von Papen as Reich Commissioner. A second decree the same day transferred executive power in Prussia to the Reich Minister of the Armed Forces [[Kurt von Schleicher]] and restricted fundamental rights. |
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Papen had two rationales for the coup. One was that the [[1932 Prussian state election]] had left a divided parliament with no viable possibilities for a coalition. This led to a caretaker government under the coalition that had held power before the election, with no clear path to replacing it with a new governing coalition. The second and major rationale was that in parts of Prussia there were violent street demonstrations and clashes taking place that Papen said the caretaker government could not control. |
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The '''''Preußenschlag''''' of 1932 ({{IPA-de|ˈpʁɔʏsənˌʃlaːk}}, "Prussian [[coup]]"), also known in [[English language|English]] as the '''coup in Prussia''' or the '''putsch in Prussia''', was the takeover of the [[Free State of Prussia]], the largest [[states of Germany|State]] of the [[German Reich]], by [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Franz von Papen]] using an emergency decree issued by [[President of Germany|President]] [[Paul von Hindenburg]] under [[Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)|Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution]] on 20 July 1932. |
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The coup had the effect of weakening the federalist [[Weimar Constitution|Constitution]] of the [[Weimar Republic]] and facilitating the centralization of the Reich under [[Adolf Hitler]] after he was [[Chancellor of Germany#Nazi Germany (1933–1945)|appointed chancellor in January 1933]]. The immediate result, however, was elimination of the last resistance in Prussia to Papen's attempt to establish a "New State", essentially a precursor to a restored monarchy. Contrary to Papen's intent, the move ultimately had the effect of easing Hitler's path to power. |
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It was a major step towards the end of the [[Weimar Republic]], as it later facilitated the Nazification ({{lang|de|[[Gleichschaltung]]}}) of Germany after [[Adolf Hitler]]'s [[Machtergreifung|rise to power]] on 30 January 1933. |
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== Historical context == |
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The pretext for this measure was violent unrest in some areas of Prussia and the alleged inability of the Prussian government to handle the matter. The main trigger was the "{{lang|de|Altonaer Blutsonntag}}" ("[[Altona Bloody Sunday]]"), a violent clash between the ''[[Sturmabteilung]]'' (SA) and [[Communist Party of Germany|Communists]] in [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], then a Prussian city near [[Hamburg]], on 17 July 1932. 18 people died, 16 of whom were shot by police.<ref>[[Heinrich Breloer]], Horst Königstein: ''Blutgeld. Materialien zu einer deutschen Geschichte'', 1982, {{ISBN|3-922009-46-8}}, p. 22.</ref> It is more likely{{Editorializing|date=January 2021}} however that the Prussian government headed by [[Prime Minister of Prussia|Minister-President]] [[Otto Braun]], with authority over the powerful Prussian police force, was simply one of the last major forces standing in the way of Papen's plans for [[German nationalism|nationalist]] rule.<ref>{{Citation| title =20. Juli 1932: Die preußische Regierung wird von der rechtskonservativen Regierung abgesetzt| trans-title =20 July 1932: The Prussian government is deposed by the right-wing conservative government| language=de| url =http://www.preussen-chronik.de/episoden/010600.jsp| access-date =4 May 2013| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20011007142111/http://www.preussen-chronik.de/episoden/010600.jsp| archive-date=7 October 2001| url-status=dead}}: |
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:''Immer wieder haben Konservative, Monarchisten und zuletzt sogar offen der Hohenzollern-Kronprinz eine Beseitigung der "republikanischen Festung Preußen", dieses "marxistischen Spuks", gefordert.'' [Again and again, conservatives, monarchists, and lately even the Hohenzollern crown prince have openly demanded the ousting of the "republican stronghold of Prussia", of this "Marxist spook".]</ref> |
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=== Discussions about a reorganization of the Reich === |
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The move was facilitated by the unstable situation of the Prussian government. The centre-left coalition of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]], [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]] and liberal [[German Democratic Party]] had ruled Prussia without interruption since 1918, but had lost its majority in the [[Landtag of Prussia|Landtag]] (state [[parliament]]) in [[1932 Prussian state election|the election on 24 April 1932]]. However, under the Prussian constitution, a government could be removed from office only if there was a positive majority for a prospective successor. This provision, known as a "[[constructive vote of no confidence]]," was intended to ensure that a government had sufficient support to govern. |
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Since the late 1920s the relationship between the Reich and [[Free State of Prussia|Prussia]] had been the subject of discussion by the League for the Renewal of the Reich ({{Lang|de|Bund zur Erneuerung des Reiches}}), a group to which [[Franz von Papen|von Papen]] belonged. The aim of the circle, often called the Luther League after its founder [[Hans Luther]], a former Reich chancellor and president of the [[Reichsbank]] (1930–1933), was to strengthen the Reich's central power, reorganize northern Germany, especially Prussia, which was by far the largest state in Germany, and create an authoritarian presidential regime. The program included having the Reich president, the Reich government and the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]] replace the Prussian government and parliament, and empowering the chancellor to appoint provincial commissioners. It was assumed that Prussia, contrary to the interest of the entire nation, was as a state pursuing hegemony within the existing national structure. A comprehensive segmentation and disempowerment was proposed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bund zur Erneuerung des Reiches, Leitsätze |trans-title=League for the Renewal of the Reich, Guiding Principles |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/images/8/80/Artikel_44406_bilder_value_1_bund-zur-erneuerung.pdf |access-date=25 March 2016 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref> |
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In 1928 a conference of the states, consisting of members of the Reich cabinet and all of the state minister presidents, came to the joint resolution that the relationship between the Reich and the states in the Republic was unsatisfactory and in need of fundamental reform, and that a "strong Reich power" was necessary.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Holtmann |first=Everhard |date= |title=Die Weimarer Republik. Band 3, Kapitel 5: Die Krise des Föderalismus und der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung |trans-title=The Weimar Republic. Volume 3, Chapter 5: The Crisis of Federalism and Local Self-Government |url=http://www.blz.bayern.de/blz/web/100083/05.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317091400/http://www.blz.bayern.de/blz/web/100083/05.html |archive-date=2016-03-17 |access-date=2022-08-22 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Medicus |first=Franz Albrecht |title=Reichsreform und Länderkonferenz |publisher=C. Heymann |year=1930 |location=Berlin |pages=5 f |language=de |trans-title=Reich reform and the state conference}}</ref> A constitutional committee was appointed to draw up workable proposals for constitutional and administrative reform and for prudent financial management.<ref name=":0" /> |
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The [[Communist Party of Germany|Communists]] and [[Nazi Party|National Socialists]] held over half the seats between them, but would not cooperate with each other or with other parties. Thus, no politically realistic alternative government was possible, and the Braun-led coalition remained in office. |
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On 21 June 1930 the assessments were presented. The four main points as laid out by the architect of the reform plan [[Arnold Brecht]], then Ministerial Director of the Prussian State Chancellery and later the main representative of the Prussian government in the lawsuit against the emergency decree, were as follows: |
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However, Papen also lacked majority support in the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]. His only means to govern was through the emergency provisions of Article 48, and hence via decrees issued by the ''Reichspräsident'' Hindenburg, over whom Papen had great influence. The emergency decree of 20 July dismissed the Braun government and declared Papen ''Reichskommissar'' (Reich Commissioner) for Prussia, vested in him all the competences of the Prussian ministries, and gave him direct control over the Prussian government.<ref>{{Citation |
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* unite the central administration of the Prussian state government with the central administration of the Reich government |
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| last = Walter |
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* unite the central authorities of the Prussian state government with those of the Reich |
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| first = Franz |
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* eliminate Prussia as a state |
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| date = 2007-07-19 |
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* place the thirteen Prussian provinces, including Berlin, under the direct control of the Reich government as new states<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brecht |first=Arnold |title=Föderalismus, Regionalismus und die Teilung Preußens |publisher=Ferd. Dümmlers |year=1949 |location=Bonn |pages=135 f |language=de |trans-title=Federalism, Regionalism and the Partition of Prussia}}</ref> |
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| title = Putsch am 20. Juli 1932: Wie der Mythos Preußen zerschlagen wurde |
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|trans-title=The coup of 20 July 1932: How the myth of Prussia was smashed |
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| journal = [[Der Spiegel]] |
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| publication-place = Hamburg |
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| language = de |
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| url = http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/putsch-am-20-juli-1932-wie-der-mythos-preussen-zerschlagen-wurde-a-495275.html |
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| access-date = 4 May 2013 |
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}}: |
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:''Ein Tag als Lehrstück: für die antidemokratische Skrupellosigkeit der Konservativen jener Jahre, für die Hilflosigkeit und Ermattung der stets nur rhetorisch kraftvoll auftretenden Sozialdemokratie, für die Erosion und den Zerfall der republiktreuen Mitte – schon Monate vor der Etablierung des NS-Regimes.'' [One day as an object lesson: in the antidemocratic unscrupulousness of the conservatives of those years, in the helplessness and fatigue of the Social Democrats, who only rhetorically ever seemed powerful, in the erosion and breakup of the republican center — months before the establishment of the Nazi regime.]</ref> |
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The reform effort faced objections primarily from [[Bavaria]] and Prussia. Bavaria, the second largest state, objected because it feared that the proposal would immediately unify the northern German states while the south would gain only a reprieve from becoming part of a unified, non-federal Reich.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gelberg |first=Karl-Ulrich |date=3 July 2006 |title=Bund zur Erneuerung des Reiches (Luther-Bund), 1928–1933/34 |trans-title=League for the Renewal of the Reich (Luther League), 1928–1933/34 |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Bund_zur_Erneuerung_des_Reiches_(Luther-Bund),_1928-1933/34 |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns}}</ref> |
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The decree was declared partially unconstitutional on 25 October 1932 by the German {{Interlanguage link multi|Constitutional Court|2=de|3=Staatsgerichtshof für das Deutsche Reich|preserve=1}}, but only in so far as the formal existence of the Prussian cabinet was concerned. The transfer of power to Papen was upheld, while the Braun cabinet retained the right to represent Prussia in the [[Reichsrat (Germany)|Reichsrat]]. |
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Political developments made implementation of the program impossible, but, as the political scientist Everhard Holtmann wrote, "core elements of the reform package, such as the abolition of Prussia's statehood, were [...] henceforth employed in a targeted manner in the domestic power struggle."<ref name=":0" /> |
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Prussia remained under direct administration of the federal government until April 1933. The [[Enabling Act of 1933]] gave Hitler the effective power to enact legislation (including extraconstitutional laws) without the consent of the Reichstag. One of Hitler's uses of the Enabling Act was to dissolve all of the state parliaments (except Prussia's) and reconstitute them based on the results of [[German federal election, March 1933| the partly-free federal election held in March]] (with the exception of Communist seats). Prussia was excluded from this measure because it had held state elections at the same time, with a similar result (a Nazi plurality). With the Communists now banned and most Social Democrats either jailed or in exile (the SPD would be banned outright in June), the Nazis now had a majority in the Prussian parliament, which elected [[Hermann Göring]] as Minister-President. However, under Hitler's rule, German states were effectively replaced by Nazi ''Gaue'', so Göring's post was largely ceremonial. |
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=== Papen's idea of a 'New State' === |
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The state of Prussia [[Abolition of Prussia|was finally dissolved]] by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] after the end of [[World War II]]. |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1988-0113-500, Franz v. Papen.jpg|thumb|Franz von Papen]] |
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Papen's initiative for the Prussian coup is to be understood within the context of the plan for the establishment of a ‘New State’, a concept propagated above all by Walther Schotte – a journalist and historian who provided Papen with ideas and theories – and [[Edgar Jung]], a lawyer and anti-democratic journalist. They did not favor the [[Nazism|National Socialists]] but rather wanted to create the precursor to a monarchy, an authoritarian presidential regime with a chancellor dependent on the confidence of the president and a parliament severely limited in its rights, similar to the government under the [[constitution of the German Empire]]. Papen's long-term goal was to restore the [[House of Hohenzollern|Hohenzollern]] monarchy. The ‘New State’ was to stand above particularist interests and provide the necessary security, order, and tranquility for economic development.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scholl |first=Stefan |title=Begrenzte Abhängigkeit. "Wirtschaft" und "Politik" im 20. Jahrhundert |publisher=Campus Verlag |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-593-50289-2 |location=Frankfurt am Main |language=de |trans-title=Limited Dependence. "Economy" and "Politics" in the 20th Century}}</ref> |
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== Situation in Prussia after the state elections of 24 April 1932 == |
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The Free State of Prussia had been governed since 1920 by a stable coalition of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)]] , the Catholic [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]] and the [[German Democratic Party]] (DDP). In the [[1932 Prussian state election]] of 24 April, the [[Nazi Party|Nazi Party (NSDAP)]] won 162 seats and the [[Communist Party of Germany|Communist Party of Germany (KPD)]] 57, a total of 219 out of 423, or 52%. All other parties together won only 204 seats, or 48%. The NSDAP and KPD would not work together, and none of the other parties could form a government with a parliamentary majority without the support of one of the anti-democratic parties, something that none of them was willing to accept.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Der "Preußenschlag" |url=https://weimar.bundesarchiv.de/WEIMAR/DE/Content/Dokumente-zur-Zeitgeschichte/1932-07-20_preussenschlag.html |access-date=17 May 2023 |website=bundesarchiv.de}}</ref> That meant that after the formal resignation of the previous state government – the third cabinet of [[Otto Braun]] – it remained in office on a caretaker basis in accordance with Article 59 of the state constitution.<ref>{{Cite wikisource|title=Constitution of the Free State of Prussia}}</ref> With parliamentary rules having recently been changed to require an absolute majority for the election of a minister president, it was possible that the caretaker government could continue on indefinitely.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |title=Weimar 1918–1933 |publisher=C. H. Beck |year=1993 |isbn=9783406438844 |location=Munich |pages=457–461 |language=de}}</ref> The situation was similar to that in Bavaria, [[Free State of Saxony|Saxony]], [[People's State of Hesse|Hesse]], [[Free People's State of Württemberg|Württemberg]] and [[Hamburg]], although the Reich government did not concern itself with them. |
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== Papen's and Hindenburg's approach == |
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A center-right government in Prussia consisting of the NSDAP (162 seats) and the Centre Party (67 seats) with a 53% majority was technically possible. Together with the 31 seats of the nationalist-conservative [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP), the coalition would have had as many as 260 of 423 seats. Reich Chancellor von Papen sought such a coalition, but the NSDAP claimed power for itself alone. On 7 June 1932, Papen, although not formally authorized to do so, asked [[Hanns Kerrl]], president of the state parliament and a member of the NSDAP, to replace the caretaker Prussian government with an elected one, something Kerrl was unable to guarantee due to the failure of coalition negotiations to that point. |
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[[File:Erich Salomon Paul von Hindenburg 20.jpg|thumb|left|Paul von Hindenburg in 1931]] |
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As a result, Papen considered other possibilities. The first was to carry out the long-debated Reich reform which would have dissolved or divided Prussia. Because such a path would have achieved its goal only in the long term, was difficult to accomplish and highly controversial, he favored another option. He planned to appoint a Reich commissioner in place of the previous government and to enforce the new order, if necessary with the help of the [[Reichswehr]]. |
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For this he had certain precedents. Reich President [[Friedrich Ebert]] of the SPD had issued a [[Reichsexekution|Reich execution]] ({{Lang|de|Reichsexekution}}) – an intervention against an individual state led by the central government to enforce national law – during 1923's [[German October]]. In the face of Communist Party participation in democratically elected left-wing governments in [[Saxony]] and [[Thuringia]], the forcible removal of the governments had been justified by the fact that peace and order were endangered in the two states. |
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Papen found an analogous justification for Prussia in the clashes culminating in the [[Altona Bloody Sunday]] of 17 July 1932 which involved the [[Sturmabteilung|Nazi SA]], which had just had the ban against it lifted by the Papen government, and the Communists and their supporters. The deadly confrontations and ensuing police action differed markedly from the Reich execution against Saxony in 1923. Then there had indeed been doubts about the loyalty of Saxony's left-wing government to the constitution and its willingness to take police action,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=14 September 2014 |title=Der 'deutsche Oktober' 1923 |trans-title=The 'German October' 1923 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/deutscher-oktober-1923.html |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> but there was no question of this in Prussia's case. |
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Three days earlier, on 14 July, Reich President Paul von Hindenburg had at Papen's request signed an undated emergency decree pursuant to [[Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)|Article 48]] of the [[Weimar Constitution]], which allowed the Reich president, with the chancellor's co-signature, to take the necessary measures, including use of the military, to restore public security and order if they were endangered. By means of the decree Hindenburg authorized the Reich Chancellor to become Reich Commissioner for Prussia and enabled him to remove the caretaker Prussian government from office.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyta |first=Wolfram |title=Hindenburg. Herrschaft zwischen Hohenzollern und Hitler |publisher=Siedler |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-88680-865-6 |location=Munich |pages=712 f |language=de |trans-title=Hindenburg. Rule between Hohenzollerns and Hitler}}</ref> By not dating the decree, Hindenburg left to Papen the choice of the time at which to make use of the power. Papen chose July 20. |
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The third option, which would have consisted of waiting and leaving Prussia's caretaker minority government in office and trusting that it would get the situation under control even without a parliamentary majority, was one that Papen from the outset did not consider. |
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== Course of the coup == |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R11405, Carl Severing.jpg|thumb|Carl Severing, 1919]] |
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On 20 July 1932 Prussia's Deputy Minister President Heinrich Hirtsiefer, in place of the acting but ill Minister President Otto Braun, along with Interior Minister [[Carl Severing]] and his colleague from the finance department Otto Klepper, went to see Papen at his request. Papen informed the constitutional ministers about the Hindenburg decree that allowed him to be installed as Reich commissioner and for the caretaker government to be removed. He said that the step was necessary because it appeared that "public safety and order in Prussia could no longer be guaranteed". A state of emergency was declared with immediate effect, and the Reichswehr minister was appointed as holder of executive power.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |title=Weimar 1918–1933 |publisher=C. H. Beck |year=1993 |location=Munich |pages=496 ff |language=de}}</ref> Prussia's representatives objected to the coup saying that Prussia had not violated any of its responsibilities under the Reich constitution and its laws, and had done as much for security as the other states even though its jurisdiction included the areas of greatest unrest. The Braun government therefore challenged the constitutionality of the emergency decree. Severing responded negatively to Papen's suggestion that he voluntarily relinquish his official duties, saying that he would "yield only to force".<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 July 1932 |title=Der Gewaltakt gegen Preußen |language=de |trans-title=The Act of Violence against Prussia |pages=1 |work=Danziger Volksstimme |url=http://library.fes.de/danzig/pdf/1932/1932-169.pdf |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref> |
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Otto Klepper reported a year later in an essay in the exile newspaper ''The New Journal'' that he had hoped that Severing would resist after he made his declaration, especially since both Papen and Interior Minister [[Wilhelm von Gayl]], who was also present, had seemed very uncertain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=von Pufendorf |first=Astrid |title=Otto Klepper (1888–1957) – Deutscher Patriot und Weltbürger |publisher=Oldenbourg |year=1997 |isbn=978-3486562415 |location=Munich |pages=134 f |language=de |trans-title=[Otto Klepper (1888–1957) – German Patriot and Global Citizen]}}</ref> "I suggested that we recess the meeting with Papen for an hour to discuss further action by the Prussian government and went to the door. But Severing declared that he had nothing more to discuss with me, and remained seated. Only then – after it was certain that no resistance was in the offing – was State Secretary Erwin Planck given the order to set the command to the Reichswehr in motion."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Klepper |first=Otto |date=July 1933 |title=Erinnerung an den 20. Juli 1932 |language=de |trans-title=Memories of 20 July 1932 |pages=90 ff |work=Das Neue Tagebuch |publisher=Leopold Schwarzschild |location=Paris / Amsterdam}}</ref> |
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In the afternoon of the same day, Severing, who as interior minister commanded a force of 90,000 Prussian police officers, let himself be led out of his office and ministry by a delegation consisting of the police chief whom Papen had just appointed and two police officers. At 11:30 a.m. Papen had imposed a military state of emergency under the Reichswehr – a national force of 100,000 men – and, after the Prussian government backed down, occupied the Prussian Interior Ministry, the Berlin police headquarters and the headquarters of the ''[[Schutzpolizei]]'' (protective police). |
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The Berlin police chief [[Albert Grzesinski]], his deputy [[Bernhard Weiß (police executive)|Bernhard Weiß]], and the commander of the protective police, the ''Centre Party'' politician [[Magnus Heimannsberg]], were taken into custody and released the next day, after they had bound themselves in writing to engage in no more official acts. Immediately after the dismissal of the state government, a large-scale purge began. Numerous officials who had belonged to the previous coalition parties, especially the SPD, were put on temporary retirement and replaced by conservative officials, the majority of them German nationalists. This step, in addition to affecting the cabinet of Otto Braun, was directed especially against Social Democratic provincial presidents and leading Social Democrats within police organizations. Following a decree issued on 12 November 1932, those who had been placed on retirement were either dismissed or delegated to the provinces. In this way 69 ministerial officials with republican sentiments were sidelined. In addition to members of the Braun cabinet, they included among others Carl Steinhoff, vice-president of the province of [[East Prussia]], and Carl Freter, district administrator of [[Calau]] in [[Brandenburg]]. |
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The purge continued well into 1933. With targeted interventions against the police, especially the political police, an essential part of the power apparatus in Prussia had already been "cleansed" before Adolf Hitler's chancellorship. There was hardly any resistance, mainly because the SPD's executive board had decided on July 16 not to resist with the resources available to it in order to avoid provoking a civil war.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Dierske |first=Ludwig |date=1970 |title=War eine Abwehr des "Preussenschlages" vom 20. Juli 1932 Möglich? |trans-title=Was a Defence against the "Prussian Strike" of 20 July 1932 Possible? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24224965 |journal=Zeitschrift für Politik |language=de |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=220–221 |jstor=24224965 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> |
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== Members of the first commissioner's government == |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13710, Berlin, Reichstagswahl, Franz Bracht.jpg|thumb|312x312px|Franz Bracht (far right, holding hat), Berlin, 1932 Reichstag election]] |
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* Interior Ministry and Franz von Papen's Deputy Reich Commissioner and Deputy Reich Chancellor: [[Franz Bracht]], former Lord Mayor of [[Essen]] |
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* Commerce: Friedrich Ernst, Reich Commissioner for Banking Supervision in [[Heinrich Brüning]]'s cabinet |
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* Finance: Franz Schleusener, State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Finance |
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* Justice: Heinrich Hölscher, State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Justice |
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* Culture: Aloys Lammers, State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Science, Art and Education |
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* Agriculture: Fritz Mussehl, Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture |
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* Public Welfare: Adolf Scheidt, Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Welfare |
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== Reaction of the Prussian state government == |
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Despite its previous declarations, the Prussian government refused to respond with violence of its own to the violence that the national emergency and emergency decree had officially sanctioned. Deployment of the Prussian police and the ''[[Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold]]'' – an organization formed by three center and left of center parties to defend parliamentary democracy – was rejected. Even non-violent resistance in the form of a general strike was not considered because it did not seem feasible in view of the high unemployment during the [[Great Depression]]. There was also little prospect of success in a call for civil disobedience by civil servants. If open resistance were to occur, the government anticipated the outbreak of civil war, especially in the event of an armed clash between the Reichswehr and the state police, which it wanted to avoid at all costs. Moreover, legal recourse had not yet been exhausted.<ref name=":3" /> |
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[[Joseph Goebbels]] noted in his diary on July 21: "The Reds have missed their great hour. It will never come again."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Funke |first=Hajo |date=23 February 2023 |title=Mitte 1932: Niedergang der Weimarer Republik und Aufstieg der NSDAP |trans-title=Mid-1932: Decline of the Weimar Republic and Rise of the NSDAP |url=https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/tagebuecher/Mitte-1932-Niedergang-der-Weimarer-Republik-und-Aufstieg-der-NSDAP,kujau426.html |access-date=20 May 2023 |website=Norddeutsche Runkfunk (NDR) |language=de}}</ref> |
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== Legal proceedings: Prussia contra Reich == |
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=== Request for a preliminary injunction === |
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On 21 July 1932 the Prussian government filed an application for a preliminary injunction and a constitutional complaint with the State Court of the Reich Supreme Court ({{Lang|de|Staatsgerichtshof des Reichsgerichts}}). The petitioners included the State of Prussia, represented by [[Arnold Brecht]] of the Prussian State Ministry, the parliamentary groups of the Social Democratic Party and the Centre Party in the [[Prussian Landtag]], and also the states of [[Bavaria]] and [[Republic of Baden|Baden]]. They disputed the constitutionality of the decree on the grounds that Prussia was not ungovernable as presupposed in the decree. They therefore applied for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the appointed Reich commissioner from performing his duties. The application was rejected on 25 July 1932 because the court did not want to anticipate its final decision: in order to declare the emergency decree of the Reich president invalid, reasons would have to be brought forward that were not yet available to the court. The court stated in addition that a temporary injunction was only to be issued if it appeared necessary to avert substantial harm, but any harm Prussia might incur under the emergency decree could not be proven at the time. |
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=== Oral proceedings === |
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In the stormy and highly publicized oral hearing, Arnold Brecht pointed out in defense of the State of Prussia that the civil war-like conditions in Prussia that led to the emergency decree had been ignited by the lifting of the ban on uniforms and on the SA on 14 June. The alleged "inner unfreedom" of the Prussian government had not existed, but that of the Reich government in its association with the National Socialists had. Brecht tried to prove that the Reich government, in agreement with the National Socialists, had purposefully worked towards removing the Prussian government from office with its preceding measures. In doing so, it had wanted to take the wind out of the National Socialists' sails. |
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Georg Gottheiner, an administrative lawyer and [[DNVP]] member, spoke as the main representative of the Reich government. He disputed Brecht's argumentation, saying that there had been no collusion with the National Socialists. Their "excitement" had built up precisely because of the Party's "one-sided treatment" by the Prussian government. Prussia had fought National Socialism and favored communism. The lifting of the SA ban was supposed to serve as an "outlet" for the Nazi's anger.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Blasius |first=Dirk |url= |title=Weimars Ende: Bürgerkrieg und Politik 1930–1933 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |year=2005 |isbn=9783525362792 |location=Göttingen |pages= |language=de |trans-title=Weimar's End: Civil War and Politics 1930–1933}}</ref> |
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=== Court decision === |
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In its examination of the existence of a significant disturbance or endangerment of public security and order, the State Court found that the government of Prussia was capable of acting and remained able to act assertively. Paragraph 1 of the emergency decree therefore did not apply: "In the event of a State not fulfilling the obligations imposed upon it by the Reich Constitution or by the laws of the Reich, the president of the Reich may make use of the armed forces to compel it to do so" ([[Article 48 (Weimar Constitution)|Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution]]). |
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The court found that the facts of paragraph 2 were present: "If public security and order are seriously disturbed or endangered …, the president of the Reich may take measures necessary for their restoration, intervening if need be with the assistance of the armed forces" (Article 48). In the words of Richard Wienstein, who was ministerial councilor for constitutional and administrative law issues in the Reich chancellery:<blockquote>The decree of the Reich president of 20 July 1932 for the restoration of public safety and order in the territory of the State of Prussia is compatible with the Reich Constitution insofar as it appoints the Reich chancellor as Reich commissioner for the State of Prussia and authorizes him to temporarily withdraw official powers from Prussian ministers and to assume these powers himself or to transfer them to other persons as commissioners of the Reich. The authorization, however, should not extend to depriving the Prussian State Ministry and its members of the representation of the State of Prussia in the Reichstag, the Reichsrat, or with respect to other states.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 November 1932 |title=Nr. 177 Notiz des Ministerialrats Wienstein über eine Besprechung am 27. Oktober 1932, 12.30 Uhr, betreffend Urteil des Staatsgerichtshofs in der Streitsache Preußen gegen das Reich |trans-title=No. 177 Note by Ministerial Counsellor Wienstein on a meeting on 27 October 1932, 12.30 p.m., concerning the judgement of the State Court in the case of Prussia against the Reich |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/aktenreichskanzlei/1919-1933/00a/vpa/vpa2p/kap1_1/para2_48.html |access-date=26 May 2023 |website=Das Bundesarchiv |language=de}}</ref> </blockquote>The cooperation between the Braun government and the Reich commissioner that was indirectly called for in the judgement was from the outset not possible. The Reich government overrode the provisions of the judgement and did not intend to return governmental power to the legitimate government after the commissioner's temporary work was completed.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=Handbuch der preußischen Geschichte. Band III: Vom Kaiserreich zum 20. Jahrhundert und Große Themen der Geschichte Preußens |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2001 |isbn=978-3-11-014092-7 |editor-last=Neugebauer |editor-first=Wolfgang |location=Berlin/New York |pages=170 |language=de |trans-title=Handbook of Prussian History. Volume III: From the Empire to the 20th Century and Major Themes in Prussian History}}</ref> |
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The ruling partially justified both sides and preserved the dualism of Prussia and the Reich. Since the removal of the government was considered illegitimate, the restoration of the government should in fact have been called for. In the end, the court capitulated to the facts that had been created. The judgement basically tolerated a breach of the constitution because the court shied away from charging the Reich president with the act.<ref name=":4" /> Historian Michael Stolleis assessed the judgement as a "landmark in the constitutional history describing the downfall of the Republic. The commentators of the time sensed it, and it was seen as even more so from a distance."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stolleis |first=Michael |url={{Google books|mkQM_86wxqEC|page=121|plainurl=yes}} |title=Geschichte des öffentlichen Rechts in Deutschland |publisher=C. H. Beck |year=1999 |location=Munich |pages=121 f |language=de |trans-title=History of Public Law in Germany}}</ref> |
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=== Public reaction === |
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According to historian Dirk Blasius' account, the verdict was perceived by almost everyone as either a welcome defeat or a clumsy failure of the Reich government. Only the press that supported the government called for an additional decisive step towards an authoritarian state. The "political passages" of the judgement were disseminated by most newspapers and prepared the ground for the later popular view that in a time of insecurity and disorder, emergency law had to be used to crack down.<ref name=":1" />{{Page number|date=June 2023}} |
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Political scientist and historian [[Karl Dietrich Bracher]] assessed the compromise<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oeter |first=Stefan |title=Integration und Subsidiarität im deutschen Bundesstaatsrecht: Untersuchungen zu Bundesstaatstheorie unter dem Grundgesetz |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=1998 |isbn=978-3-16-146885-8 |location=Tübingen |language=de |trans-title=Integration and Subsidiarity in German State Law: Studies on Federal Theory under the Constitution}}</ref> verdict as one of "grotesque ambivalence", since its legal section upheld the Prussian point of view, "while its basic political tenor, with its acquiescence to what had already happened, accommodated the coup-like whim of a government that was propped up only by the authority of the Reich president and the power of the Reichswehr."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bracher |first=Karl Dietrich |title=Schriften des Instituts für Politische Wissenschaft |publisher=Duncker & Humblot |year=1955 |location=Berlin |language=de |trans-title=Publications of the Institute for Political Science}}</ref> |
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[[Carl Schmitt]], who had represented Papen in the trial along with Erwin Jacobi and Carl Bilfinger, later endorsed the legality of the coup in an expert opinion.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 December 2010 |title=Carl Schmitt |url=http://www.plettenberg-lexikon.de/personen/schmitt.htm |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=www.plettenberg-lexikon.de |archive-date=2022-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125101627/http://plettenberg-lexikon.de/personen/schmitt.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> |
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== After the court ruling == |
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Between the promulgation of the decree and the court ruling, Papen's provisional government replaced Prussia's top administrative and police officials. |
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The Braun government, rehabilitated in terms of state law but deprived of its real power, convened for its weekly cabinet meetings as a so-called "sovereign government". The true power, however, lay with the representatives of the Reich execution – the "Commissar Government" under Franz Bracht. It was not until Adolf Hitler [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power#Seizure of control (1931–1933)|seized power in 1933]] that [[Hermann Göring]], with Papen's help, secured a new emergency decree from Hindenburg that officially deposed Braun's "sovereign government". His response was again limited to filing a complaint with the State Constitutional Court on 7 February 1933. |
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== Text of the emergency decree of 20 July 1932 == |
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Decree of the president of the Reich concerning the restoration of public safety and order in Greater Berlin and the [[Province of Brandenburg]] of 20 July 1932:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten ... Vom 20. Juli 1932 |trans-title=Decree of the Reich President ... of 20 July 1932 |url=https://www.1000dokumente.de/index.html?c=dokument_de&dokument=0004_pre&object=pdf&st=&l=de |access-date=30 May 2023 |website=100(0) Schlüsseldokumente zur Deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert |pages=4–5 |language=de}}</ref> |
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On the basis of Article 48 (1) and (2) of the Reich Constitution, I decree the following for the restoration of public safety and order in Greater Berlin and the Province of Brandenburg: |
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§ 1. Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich shall be suspended until further notice. Therefore, restrictions to personal freedom of the right to free expression of opinion including freedom of the press of the right of association and assembly; interference with the secrecy of correspondence, mail, telegraph and telephone; orders for house searches, and seizures and limitations of property are permissible outside the legal limits otherwise determined for them. |
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§ 2. Upon the promulgation of this decree, executive power shall pass to the Reich minister of defense, who may transfer it to military commanders. For the implementation of the measures necessary for the restoration of public safety, the entire protective police [{{Lang|de|Schutzpolizei}}] of the designated area shall be directly subordinated to the holder of executive power. |
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§ 3. Whoever contravenes orders issued by the Reich minister of defense or the military commanders in the interests of public safety or incites or encourages such contravention, shall be punished by imprisonment [{{Lang|de|Gefängnis}}{{Efn|The conditions in a ''Gefängnis'' were geared to the improvement of the offender and thus relatively more favorable for the inmates than the ''Zuchthaus''.}}] or a fine of up to 15,000 Reichsmarks, unless the existing laws provide for a higher penalty. Whoever causes a common danger to human life by an offence according to para. 1 shall be punished with imprisonment [{{Lang|de|Zuchthaus}}{{Efn|''Zuchthaus'' was the most severe form of punishment and included stricter confinement and compulsory work for the inmates. It was also considered to be dishonoring.}}], in extenuating circumstances with {{Lang|de|Gefängnis}} of not less than 6 months and, if the offence causes the loss of human life, with death, in extenuating circumstances with {{Lang|de|Zuchthaus}} of not less than 2 years. In addition, confiscation of property may be imposed. Any person who incites or encourages an offence dangerous to the public (para. 2) shall be punished by {{Lang|de|Zuchthaus}}, and in extenuating circumstances by {{Lang|de|Gefängnis}} for not less than 3 months. |
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§ 4. The crimes punishable by life imprisonment under Criminal Code §§ 81 (high treason), 302 (arson), 311 (explosion), 312 (flooding), 315 para. 2 (damage to railway installations) shall be punishable by death if committed after the enactment of the decree; under the same condition, the death penalty may be imposed in the case of Criminal Code § 92 (treason); likewise in the cases of § 125 para. 2 (mob ringleaders and those who commit acts of violence as parts of mobs) and § 115 para. 2 (ringleaders and resisters during riots), if the perpetrator has committed the act of resistance by force or threat with weapons or in a conscious and deliberate encounter with armed persons. |
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§ 5. Upon request of the holder of executive power, extraordinary courts shall be established by the Reich minister of justice. The jurisdiction of these courts shall include, in addition to the offences listed in § 9 of the Decree of the president of the Reich of 29 March 1921 (Reich Law Gazette. p. 371), the misdemeanors and felonies under § 3 of this decree. |
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§ 6. This Decree shall enter into force upon enactment. |
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Neudeck and Berlin, 20 July 1932: Reich President von Hindenburg – Reich Chancellor von Papen – Reich Minister of the Interior Baron von Gayl – Reich Minister of the Armed Forces [[von Schleicher]] |
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{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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== Sources == |
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*''Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte'' – Ploetz, Verlag Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, Österreich 2001 {{in lang|de}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:1930s coups d'état and coup attempts]] |
[[Category:1930s coups d'état and coup attempts]] |
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[[Category:Politics of Prussia]] |
[[Category:Politics of Free State of Prussia]] |
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[[Category:July 1932 events]] |
[[Category:July 1932 events]] |
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[[Category:Conflicts in 1932]] |
[[Category:Conflicts in 1932]] |
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[[Category:Battles of the Political violence in Germany (1918–1933)]] |
Revision as of 03:55, 12 July 2024
1932 Prussian coup d'état | |||
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Part of failure of Weimar Republic | |||
![]() The Emergency Decree of President von Hindenburg (Berlin, July 1932) | |||
Date | 20 July 1932 | ||
Location | |||
Caused by |
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Goals | Future restoration of monarchy | ||
Methods | Reichsexekution | ||
Resulted in | Reich victory
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Parties | |||
Lead figures | |||
The 1932 Prussian coup d'état or Preußenschlag (German pronunciation: [ˈpʁɔʏsənˌʃlaːk]) took place on 20 July 1932, when Reich President Paul von Hindenburg, at the request of Franz von Papen, then Reich Chancellor of Germany, replaced the legal government of the Free State of Prussia with von Papen as Reich Commissioner. A second decree the same day transferred executive power in Prussia to the Reich Minister of the Armed Forces Kurt von Schleicher and restricted fundamental rights.
Papen had two rationales for the coup. One was that the 1932 Prussian state election had left a divided parliament with no viable possibilities for a coalition. This led to a caretaker government under the coalition that had held power before the election, with no clear path to replacing it with a new governing coalition. The second and major rationale was that in parts of Prussia there were violent street demonstrations and clashes taking place that Papen said the caretaker government could not control.
The coup had the effect of weakening the federalist Constitution of the Weimar Republic and facilitating the centralization of the Reich under Adolf Hitler after he was appointed chancellor in January 1933. The immediate result, however, was elimination of the last resistance in Prussia to Papen's attempt to establish a "New State", essentially a precursor to a restored monarchy. Contrary to Papen's intent, the move ultimately had the effect of easing Hitler's path to power.
Historical context
Discussions about a reorganization of the Reich
Since the late 1920s the relationship between the Reich and Prussia had been the subject of discussion by the League for the Renewal of the Reich (Bund zur Erneuerung des Reiches), a group to which von Papen belonged. The aim of the circle, often called the Luther League after its founder Hans Luther, a former Reich chancellor and president of the Reichsbank (1930–1933), was to strengthen the Reich's central power, reorganize northern Germany, especially Prussia, which was by far the largest state in Germany, and create an authoritarian presidential regime. The program included having the Reich president, the Reich government and the Reichstag replace the Prussian government and parliament, and empowering the chancellor to appoint provincial commissioners. It was assumed that Prussia, contrary to the interest of the entire nation, was as a state pursuing hegemony within the existing national structure. A comprehensive segmentation and disempowerment was proposed.[1]
In 1928 a conference of the states, consisting of members of the Reich cabinet and all of the state minister presidents, came to the joint resolution that the relationship between the Reich and the states in the Republic was unsatisfactory and in need of fundamental reform, and that a "strong Reich power" was necessary.[2][3] A constitutional committee was appointed to draw up workable proposals for constitutional and administrative reform and for prudent financial management.[2]
On 21 June 1930 the assessments were presented. The four main points as laid out by the architect of the reform plan Arnold Brecht, then Ministerial Director of the Prussian State Chancellery and later the main representative of the Prussian government in the lawsuit against the emergency decree, were as follows:
- unite the central administration of the Prussian state government with the central administration of the Reich government
- unite the central authorities of the Prussian state government with those of the Reich
- eliminate Prussia as a state
- place the thirteen Prussian provinces, including Berlin, under the direct control of the Reich government as new states[2][4]
The reform effort faced objections primarily from Bavaria and Prussia. Bavaria, the second largest state, objected because it feared that the proposal would immediately unify the northern German states while the south would gain only a reprieve from becoming part of a unified, non-federal Reich.[5]
Political developments made implementation of the program impossible, but, as the political scientist Everhard Holtmann wrote, "core elements of the reform package, such as the abolition of Prussia's statehood, were [...] henceforth employed in a targeted manner in the domestic power struggle."[2]
Papen's idea of a 'New State'
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1988-0113-500%2C_Franz_v._Papen.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1988-0113-500%2C_Franz_v._Papen.jpg)
Papen's initiative for the Prussian coup is to be understood within the context of the plan for the establishment of a ‘New State’, a concept propagated above all by Walther Schotte – a journalist and historian who provided Papen with ideas and theories – and Edgar Jung, a lawyer and anti-democratic journalist. They did not favor the National Socialists but rather wanted to create the precursor to a monarchy, an authoritarian presidential regime with a chancellor dependent on the confidence of the president and a parliament severely limited in its rights, similar to the government under the constitution of the German Empire. Papen's long-term goal was to restore the Hohenzollern monarchy. The ‘New State’ was to stand above particularist interests and provide the necessary security, order, and tranquility for economic development.[6]
Situation in Prussia after the state elections of 24 April 1932
The Free State of Prussia had been governed since 1920 by a stable coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) , the Catholic Centre Party and the German Democratic Party (DDP). In the 1932 Prussian state election of 24 April, the Nazi Party (NSDAP) won 162 seats and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) 57, a total of 219 out of 423, or 52%. All other parties together won only 204 seats, or 48%. The NSDAP and KPD would not work together, and none of the other parties could form a government with a parliamentary majority without the support of one of the anti-democratic parties, something that none of them was willing to accept.[7] That meant that after the formal resignation of the previous state government – the third cabinet of Otto Braun – it remained in office on a caretaker basis in accordance with Article 59 of the state constitution.[8] With parliamentary rules having recently been changed to require an absolute majority for the election of a minister president, it was possible that the caretaker government could continue on indefinitely.[9] The situation was similar to that in Bavaria, Saxony, Hesse, Württemberg and Hamburg, although the Reich government did not concern itself with them.
Papen's and Hindenburg's approach
A center-right government in Prussia consisting of the NSDAP (162 seats) and the Centre Party (67 seats) with a 53% majority was technically possible. Together with the 31 seats of the nationalist-conservative German National People's Party (DNVP), the coalition would have had as many as 260 of 423 seats. Reich Chancellor von Papen sought such a coalition, but the NSDAP claimed power for itself alone. On 7 June 1932, Papen, although not formally authorized to do so, asked Hanns Kerrl, president of the state parliament and a member of the NSDAP, to replace the caretaker Prussian government with an elected one, something Kerrl was unable to guarantee due to the failure of coalition negotiations to that point.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Erich_Salomon_Paul_von_Hindenburg_20.jpg/220px-Erich_Salomon_Paul_von_Hindenburg_20.jpg)
As a result, Papen considered other possibilities. The first was to carry out the long-debated Reich reform which would have dissolved or divided Prussia. Because such a path would have achieved its goal only in the long term, was difficult to accomplish and highly controversial, he favored another option. He planned to appoint a Reich commissioner in place of the previous government and to enforce the new order, if necessary with the help of the Reichswehr.
For this he had certain precedents. Reich President Friedrich Ebert of the SPD had issued a Reich execution (Reichsexekution) – an intervention against an individual state led by the central government to enforce national law – during 1923's German October. In the face of Communist Party participation in democratically elected left-wing governments in Saxony and Thuringia, the forcible removal of the governments had been justified by the fact that peace and order were endangered in the two states.
Papen found an analogous justification for Prussia in the clashes culminating in the Altona Bloody Sunday of 17 July 1932 which involved the Nazi SA, which had just had the ban against it lifted by the Papen government, and the Communists and their supporters. The deadly confrontations and ensuing police action differed markedly from the Reich execution against Saxony in 1923. Then there had indeed been doubts about the loyalty of Saxony's left-wing government to the constitution and its willingness to take police action,[10] but there was no question of this in Prussia's case.
Three days earlier, on 14 July, Reich President Paul von Hindenburg had at Papen's request signed an undated emergency decree pursuant to Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which allowed the Reich president, with the chancellor's co-signature, to take the necessary measures, including use of the military, to restore public security and order if they were endangered. By means of the decree Hindenburg authorized the Reich Chancellor to become Reich Commissioner for Prussia and enabled him to remove the caretaker Prussian government from office.[11] By not dating the decree, Hindenburg left to Papen the choice of the time at which to make use of the power. Papen chose July 20.
The third option, which would have consisted of waiting and leaving Prussia's caretaker minority government in office and trusting that it would get the situation under control even without a parliamentary majority, was one that Papen from the outset did not consider.
Course of the coup
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R11405%2C_Carl_Severing.jpg/220px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R11405%2C_Carl_Severing.jpg)
On 20 July 1932 Prussia's Deputy Minister President Heinrich Hirtsiefer, in place of the acting but ill Minister President Otto Braun, along with Interior Minister Carl Severing and his colleague from the finance department Otto Klepper, went to see Papen at his request. Papen informed the constitutional ministers about the Hindenburg decree that allowed him to be installed as Reich commissioner and for the caretaker government to be removed. He said that the step was necessary because it appeared that "public safety and order in Prussia could no longer be guaranteed". A state of emergency was declared with immediate effect, and the Reichswehr minister was appointed as holder of executive power.[12] Prussia's representatives objected to the coup saying that Prussia had not violated any of its responsibilities under the Reich constitution and its laws, and had done as much for security as the other states even though its jurisdiction included the areas of greatest unrest. The Braun government therefore challenged the constitutionality of the emergency decree. Severing responded negatively to Papen's suggestion that he voluntarily relinquish his official duties, saying that he would "yield only to force".[13]
Otto Klepper reported a year later in an essay in the exile newspaper The New Journal that he had hoped that Severing would resist after he made his declaration, especially since both Papen and Interior Minister Wilhelm von Gayl, who was also present, had seemed very uncertain.[14] "I suggested that we recess the meeting with Papen for an hour to discuss further action by the Prussian government and went to the door. But Severing declared that he had nothing more to discuss with me, and remained seated. Only then – after it was certain that no resistance was in the offing – was State Secretary Erwin Planck given the order to set the command to the Reichswehr in motion."[15]
In the afternoon of the same day, Severing, who as interior minister commanded a force of 90,000 Prussian police officers, let himself be led out of his office and ministry by a delegation consisting of the police chief whom Papen had just appointed and two police officers. At 11:30 a.m. Papen had imposed a military state of emergency under the Reichswehr – a national force of 100,000 men – and, after the Prussian government backed down, occupied the Prussian Interior Ministry, the Berlin police headquarters and the headquarters of the Schutzpolizei (protective police).
The Berlin police chief Albert Grzesinski, his deputy Bernhard Weiß, and the commander of the protective police, the Centre Party politician Magnus Heimannsberg, were taken into custody and released the next day, after they had bound themselves in writing to engage in no more official acts. Immediately after the dismissal of the state government, a large-scale purge began. Numerous officials who had belonged to the previous coalition parties, especially the SPD, were put on temporary retirement and replaced by conservative officials, the majority of them German nationalists. This step, in addition to affecting the cabinet of Otto Braun, was directed especially against Social Democratic provincial presidents and leading Social Democrats within police organizations. Following a decree issued on 12 November 1932, those who had been placed on retirement were either dismissed or delegated to the provinces. In this way 69 ministerial officials with republican sentiments were sidelined. In addition to members of the Braun cabinet, they included among others Carl Steinhoff, vice-president of the province of East Prussia, and Carl Freter, district administrator of Calau in Brandenburg.
The purge continued well into 1933. With targeted interventions against the police, especially the political police, an essential part of the power apparatus in Prussia had already been "cleansed" before Adolf Hitler's chancellorship. There was hardly any resistance, mainly because the SPD's executive board had decided on July 16 not to resist with the resources available to it in order to avoid provoking a civil war.[16]
Members of the first commissioner's government
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-13710%2C_Berlin%2C_Reichstagswahl%2C_Franz_Bracht.jpg/312px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-13710%2C_Berlin%2C_Reichstagswahl%2C_Franz_Bracht.jpg)
- Interior Ministry and Franz von Papen's Deputy Reich Commissioner and Deputy Reich Chancellor: Franz Bracht, former Lord Mayor of Essen
- Commerce: Friedrich Ernst, Reich Commissioner for Banking Supervision in Heinrich Brüning's cabinet
- Finance: Franz Schleusener, State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Finance
- Justice: Heinrich Hölscher, State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Justice
- Culture: Aloys Lammers, State Secretary in the Prussian Ministry of Science, Art and Education
- Agriculture: Fritz Mussehl, Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture
- Public Welfare: Adolf Scheidt, Ministerial Director in the Prussian Ministry of Welfare
Reaction of the Prussian state government
Despite its previous declarations, the Prussian government refused to respond with violence of its own to the violence that the national emergency and emergency decree had officially sanctioned. Deployment of the Prussian police and the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold – an organization formed by three center and left of center parties to defend parliamentary democracy – was rejected. Even non-violent resistance in the form of a general strike was not considered because it did not seem feasible in view of the high unemployment during the Great Depression. There was also little prospect of success in a call for civil disobedience by civil servants. If open resistance were to occur, the government anticipated the outbreak of civil war, especially in the event of an armed clash between the Reichswehr and the state police, which it wanted to avoid at all costs. Moreover, legal recourse had not yet been exhausted.[16]
Joseph Goebbels noted in his diary on July 21: "The Reds have missed their great hour. It will never come again."[17]
Legal proceedings: Prussia contra Reich
Request for a preliminary injunction
On 21 July 1932 the Prussian government filed an application for a preliminary injunction and a constitutional complaint with the State Court of the Reich Supreme Court (Staatsgerichtshof des Reichsgerichts). The petitioners included the State of Prussia, represented by Arnold Brecht of the Prussian State Ministry, the parliamentary groups of the Social Democratic Party and the Centre Party in the Prussian Landtag, and also the states of Bavaria and Baden. They disputed the constitutionality of the decree on the grounds that Prussia was not ungovernable as presupposed in the decree. They therefore applied for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the appointed Reich commissioner from performing his duties. The application was rejected on 25 July 1932 because the court did not want to anticipate its final decision: in order to declare the emergency decree of the Reich president invalid, reasons would have to be brought forward that were not yet available to the court. The court stated in addition that a temporary injunction was only to be issued if it appeared necessary to avert substantial harm, but any harm Prussia might incur under the emergency decree could not be proven at the time.
Oral proceedings
In the stormy and highly publicized oral hearing, Arnold Brecht pointed out in defense of the State of Prussia that the civil war-like conditions in Prussia that led to the emergency decree had been ignited by the lifting of the ban on uniforms and on the SA on 14 June. The alleged "inner unfreedom" of the Prussian government had not existed, but that of the Reich government in its association with the National Socialists had. Brecht tried to prove that the Reich government, in agreement with the National Socialists, had purposefully worked towards removing the Prussian government from office with its preceding measures. In doing so, it had wanted to take the wind out of the National Socialists' sails.
Georg Gottheiner, an administrative lawyer and DNVP member, spoke as the main representative of the Reich government. He disputed Brecht's argumentation, saying that there had been no collusion with the National Socialists. Their "excitement" had built up precisely because of the Party's "one-sided treatment" by the Prussian government. Prussia had fought National Socialism and favored communism. The lifting of the SA ban was supposed to serve as an "outlet" for the Nazi's anger.[18]
Court decision
In its examination of the existence of a significant disturbance or endangerment of public security and order, the State Court found that the government of Prussia was capable of acting and remained able to act assertively. Paragraph 1 of the emergency decree therefore did not apply: "In the event of a State not fulfilling the obligations imposed upon it by the Reich Constitution or by the laws of the Reich, the president of the Reich may make use of the armed forces to compel it to do so" (Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution).
The court found that the facts of paragraph 2 were present: "If public security and order are seriously disturbed or endangered …, the president of the Reich may take measures necessary for their restoration, intervening if need be with the assistance of the armed forces" (Article 48). In the words of Richard Wienstein, who was ministerial councilor for constitutional and administrative law issues in the Reich chancellery:
The decree of the Reich president of 20 July 1932 for the restoration of public safety and order in the territory of the State of Prussia is compatible with the Reich Constitution insofar as it appoints the Reich chancellor as Reich commissioner for the State of Prussia and authorizes him to temporarily withdraw official powers from Prussian ministers and to assume these powers himself or to transfer them to other persons as commissioners of the Reich. The authorization, however, should not extend to depriving the Prussian State Ministry and its members of the representation of the State of Prussia in the Reichstag, the Reichsrat, or with respect to other states.[19]
The cooperation between the Braun government and the Reich commissioner that was indirectly called for in the judgement was from the outset not possible. The Reich government overrode the provisions of the judgement and did not intend to return governmental power to the legitimate government after the commissioner's temporary work was completed.[20]
The ruling partially justified both sides and preserved the dualism of Prussia and the Reich. Since the removal of the government was considered illegitimate, the restoration of the government should in fact have been called for. In the end, the court capitulated to the facts that had been created. The judgement basically tolerated a breach of the constitution because the court shied away from charging the Reich president with the act.[20] Historian Michael Stolleis assessed the judgement as a "landmark in the constitutional history describing the downfall of the Republic. The commentators of the time sensed it, and it was seen as even more so from a distance."[21]
Public reaction
According to historian Dirk Blasius' account, the verdict was perceived by almost everyone as either a welcome defeat or a clumsy failure of the Reich government. Only the press that supported the government called for an additional decisive step towards an authoritarian state. The "political passages" of the judgement were disseminated by most newspapers and prepared the ground for the later popular view that in a time of insecurity and disorder, emergency law had to be used to crack down.[18][page needed]
Political scientist and historian Karl Dietrich Bracher assessed the compromise[22] verdict as one of "grotesque ambivalence", since its legal section upheld the Prussian point of view, "while its basic political tenor, with its acquiescence to what had already happened, accommodated the coup-like whim of a government that was propped up only by the authority of the Reich president and the power of the Reichswehr."[23]
Carl Schmitt, who had represented Papen in the trial along with Erwin Jacobi and Carl Bilfinger, later endorsed the legality of the coup in an expert opinion.[24]
After the court ruling
Between the promulgation of the decree and the court ruling, Papen's provisional government replaced Prussia's top administrative and police officials.
The Braun government, rehabilitated in terms of state law but deprived of its real power, convened for its weekly cabinet meetings as a so-called "sovereign government". The true power, however, lay with the representatives of the Reich execution – the "Commissar Government" under Franz Bracht. It was not until Adolf Hitler seized power in 1933 that Hermann Göring, with Papen's help, secured a new emergency decree from Hindenburg that officially deposed Braun's "sovereign government". His response was again limited to filing a complaint with the State Constitutional Court on 7 February 1933.
Text of the emergency decree of 20 July 1932
Decree of the president of the Reich concerning the restoration of public safety and order in Greater Berlin and the Province of Brandenburg of 20 July 1932:[25]
On the basis of Article 48 (1) and (2) of the Reich Constitution, I decree the following for the restoration of public safety and order in Greater Berlin and the Province of Brandenburg:
§ 1. Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Constitution of the German Reich shall be suspended until further notice. Therefore, restrictions to personal freedom of the right to free expression of opinion including freedom of the press of the right of association and assembly; interference with the secrecy of correspondence, mail, telegraph and telephone; orders for house searches, and seizures and limitations of property are permissible outside the legal limits otherwise determined for them.
§ 2. Upon the promulgation of this decree, executive power shall pass to the Reich minister of defense, who may transfer it to military commanders. For the implementation of the measures necessary for the restoration of public safety, the entire protective police [Schutzpolizei] of the designated area shall be directly subordinated to the holder of executive power.
§ 3. Whoever contravenes orders issued by the Reich minister of defense or the military commanders in the interests of public safety or incites or encourages such contravention, shall be punished by imprisonment [Gefängnis[a]] or a fine of up to 15,000 Reichsmarks, unless the existing laws provide for a higher penalty. Whoever causes a common danger to human life by an offence according to para. 1 shall be punished with imprisonment [Zuchthaus[b]], in extenuating circumstances with Gefängnis of not less than 6 months and, if the offence causes the loss of human life, with death, in extenuating circumstances with Zuchthaus of not less than 2 years. In addition, confiscation of property may be imposed. Any person who incites or encourages an offence dangerous to the public (para. 2) shall be punished by Zuchthaus, and in extenuating circumstances by Gefängnis for not less than 3 months.
§ 4. The crimes punishable by life imprisonment under Criminal Code §§ 81 (high treason), 302 (arson), 311 (explosion), 312 (flooding), 315 para. 2 (damage to railway installations) shall be punishable by death if committed after the enactment of the decree; under the same condition, the death penalty may be imposed in the case of Criminal Code § 92 (treason); likewise in the cases of § 125 para. 2 (mob ringleaders and those who commit acts of violence as parts of mobs) and § 115 para. 2 (ringleaders and resisters during riots), if the perpetrator has committed the act of resistance by force or threat with weapons or in a conscious and deliberate encounter with armed persons.
§ 5. Upon request of the holder of executive power, extraordinary courts shall be established by the Reich minister of justice. The jurisdiction of these courts shall include, in addition to the offences listed in § 9 of the Decree of the president of the Reich of 29 March 1921 (Reich Law Gazette. p. 371), the misdemeanors and felonies under § 3 of this decree.
§ 6. This Decree shall enter into force upon enactment.
Neudeck and Berlin, 20 July 1932: Reich President von Hindenburg – Reich Chancellor von Papen – Reich Minister of the Interior Baron von Gayl – Reich Minister of the Armed Forces von Schleicher
- ^ The conditions in a Gefängnis were geared to the improvement of the offender and thus relatively more favorable for the inmates than the Zuchthaus.
- ^ Zuchthaus was the most severe form of punishment and included stricter confinement and compulsory work for the inmates. It was also considered to be dishonoring.
References
- ^ "Bund zur Erneuerung des Reiches, Leitsätze" [League for the Renewal of the Reich, Guiding Principles] (PDF). Historisches Lexikon Bayerns (in German). Retrieved 25 March 2016.
- ^ a b c d Holtmann, Everhard. "Die Weimarer Republik. Band 3, Kapitel 5: Die Krise des Föderalismus und der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung" [The Weimar Republic. Volume 3, Chapter 5: The Crisis of Federalism and Local Self-Government] (in German). Archived from the original on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ Medicus, Franz Albrecht (1930). Reichsreform und Länderkonferenz [Reich reform and the state conference] (in German). Berlin: C. Heymann. pp. 5 f.
- ^ Brecht, Arnold (1949). Föderalismus, Regionalismus und die Teilung Preußens [Federalism, Regionalism and the Partition of Prussia] (in German). Bonn: Ferd. Dümmlers. pp. 135 f.
- ^ Gelberg, Karl-Ulrich (3 July 2006). "Bund zur Erneuerung des Reiches (Luther-Bund), 1928–1933/34" [League for the Renewal of the Reich (Luther League), 1928–1933/34]. Historisches Lexikon Bayerns. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ Scholl, Stefan (2015). Begrenzte Abhängigkeit. "Wirtschaft" und "Politik" im 20. Jahrhundert [Limited Dependence. "Economy" and "Politics" in the 20th Century] (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Campus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-593-50289-2.
- ^ "Der "Preußenschlag"". bundesarchiv.de. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Wikisource. – via
- ^ Winkler, Heinrich August (1993). Weimar 1918–1933 (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. pp. 457–461. ISBN 9783406438844.
- ^ "Der 'deutsche Oktober' 1923" [The 'German October' 1923]. Deutsches Historisches Museum (in German). 14 September 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ Pyta, Wolfram (2007). Hindenburg. Herrschaft zwischen Hohenzollern und Hitler [Hindenburg. Rule between Hohenzollerns and Hitler] (in German). Munich: Siedler. pp. 712 f. ISBN 978-3-88680-865-6.
- ^ Winkler, Heinrich August (1993). Weimar 1918–1933 (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. pp. 496 ff.
- ^ "Der Gewaltakt gegen Preußen" [The Act of Violence against Prussia] (PDF). Danziger Volksstimme (in German). 21 July 1932. p. 1. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ von Pufendorf, Astrid (1997). Otto Klepper (1888–1957) – Deutscher Patriot und Weltbürger [[Otto Klepper (1888–1957) – German Patriot and Global Citizen]] (in German). Munich: Oldenbourg. pp. 134 f. ISBN 978-3486562415.
- ^ Klepper, Otto (July 1933). "Erinnerung an den 20. Juli 1932" [Memories of 20 July 1932]. Das Neue Tagebuch (in German). Paris / Amsterdam: Leopold Schwarzschild. pp. 90 ff.
- ^ a b Dierske, Ludwig (1970). "War eine Abwehr des "Preussenschlages" vom 20. Juli 1932 Möglich?" [Was a Defence against the "Prussian Strike" of 20 July 1932 Possible?]. Zeitschrift für Politik (in German). 17 (3): 220–221. JSTOR 24224965 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Funke, Hajo (23 February 2023). "Mitte 1932: Niedergang der Weimarer Republik und Aufstieg der NSDAP" [Mid-1932: Decline of the Weimar Republic and Rise of the NSDAP]. Norddeutsche Runkfunk (NDR) (in German). Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ a b Blasius, Dirk (2005). Weimars Ende: Bürgerkrieg und Politik 1930–1933 [Weimar's End: Civil War and Politics 1930–1933] (in German). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 9783525362792.
- ^ "Nr. 177 Notiz des Ministerialrats Wienstein über eine Besprechung am 27. Oktober 1932, 12.30 Uhr, betreffend Urteil des Staatsgerichtshofs in der Streitsache Preußen gegen das Reich" [No. 177 Note by Ministerial Counsellor Wienstein on a meeting on 27 October 1932, 12.30 p.m., concerning the judgement of the State Court in the case of Prussia against the Reich]. Das Bundesarchiv (in German). 11 November 1932. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b Neugebauer, Wolfgang, ed. (2001). Handbuch der preußischen Geschichte. Band III: Vom Kaiserreich zum 20. Jahrhundert und Große Themen der Geschichte Preußens [Handbook of Prussian History. Volume III: From the Empire to the 20th Century and Major Themes in Prussian History] (in German). Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter. p. 170. ISBN 978-3-11-014092-7.
- ^ Stolleis, Michael (1999). Geschichte des öffentlichen Rechts in Deutschland [History of Public Law in Germany] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. pp. 121 f.
- ^ Oeter, Stefan (1998). Integration und Subsidiarität im deutschen Bundesstaatsrecht: Untersuchungen zu Bundesstaatstheorie unter dem Grundgesetz [Integration and Subsidiarity in German State Law: Studies on Federal Theory under the Constitution] (in German). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-146885-8.
- ^ Bracher, Karl Dietrich (1955). Schriften des Instituts für Politische Wissenschaft [Publications of the Institute for Political Science] (in German). Berlin: Duncker & Humblot.
- ^ "Carl Schmitt". www.plettenberg-lexikon.de. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "Verordnung des Reichspräsidenten ... Vom 20. Juli 1932" [Decree of the Reich President ... of 20 July 1932]. 100(0) Schlüsseldokumente zur Deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert (in German). pp. 4–5. Retrieved 30 May 2023.