Preußenschlag

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The Preußenschlag, or "Prussian coup", was one of the major steps towards the destruction of the German Weimar Republic (1919-33) and the rise of Adolf Hitler to power. On July 20, 1932, Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg issued an emergency decree which dismissed the cabinet of the Free State of Prussia, the largest German state.

The pretense for this measure was violent unrest which was occurring in some areas of Prussia and the alleged inability of the Prussian government to handle the matter. The main trigger was a shootout between SA demonstrators and communists in Altona, then belonging to the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein, on 17 July 1932, thenceforth known as the "Bloody Sunday of Altona" (Altonaer Blutsonntag), which claimed 18 lives.

The true reason, however, was that the Prussian government, headed by Ministerpräsident Otto Braun, with authority over the powerful Prussian police force, was one of the last major republican forces against Reichskanzler Franz von Papen.

The move was further facilitated by the unstable situation of the Prussian government. The government coalition of Social Democrats, Centre Party and liberal German Democratic Party had lost its majority in the recent elections to the Prussian Landtag (state parliament), but remained in office, as no alternative majority could be formed. The opposition, mainly comprised of Communists and National Socialists could not cooperate with each other or with other parties.

Papen lacked majority support in the Reichstag. His only means to govern was through presidential emergency powers and the decrees issued by the senile Hindenburg, on whom Papen had great influence. Papen and his supporters, mostly right-wing nationalists and monarchists (his cabinet, packed with aristocrats, was dubbed "Kabinett der Barone" ("cabinet of the barons"), loathed the democratic system established by the Weimar constitution and aimed to replace it by an authoritarian regime. The emergency decree of July 20 declared Papen Reichskommissar (Reich Commissioner) for Prussia, which vested in him all the competences of the Prussian ministries and thus gave him direct control over the Prussian authorities.

The Preußenschlag was later declared partially unconstitutional by the German Staatsgerichtshof (Constitutional Court), 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 cabinet retained the right to represent Prussia in the Reichsrat.

Prussia remained under direct administration of the federal government until April 1933, when the Prussian parliament, now controlled by the Nazis elected Hermann Göring as Ministerpräsident. However, under Hitler's rule, German states were stripped of all genuine powers and were reduced to mere administrative units, so Göring's post was largely ceremonial. The state of Prussia was finally dissolved by the Allies after the end of World War II.

[edit] Sources

• Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte – Ploetz, Verlag Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau, Österreich 2001 (German)