Führer

( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader principle"), and Hitler was generally known as just ("the Leader").

In compound words, the use of "" remains common in German and is used in words such as ( mountain guide) or ( leader of the opposition). However, because of its strong association with Hitler, the isolated word itself usually has negative connotations when used with the meaning of "leader", especially in political contexts.

The word has cognates in the Scandinavian languages, spelled '' fører'' in Danish and Norwegian, which have the same meaning and use as the German word, but without necessarily having political connotations. In Swedish, '' förare'' normally means "driver" (of a vehicle). However, in the compound word '' härförare'', that part does mean "leader", and is a cognate of the German "Heerführer".

History

Origin of the title

The first example of the political use of was with the Austrian Georg von Schönerer (1842–1921), a major exponent of pan-Germanism and German nationalism in Austria, whose followers commonly referred to him as the , and who also used the Roman salute – where the right arm and hand are held rigidly outstretched – which they called the "German greeting". According to historian Richard J. Evans, this use of "" by Schönerer's Pan-German Association, probably introduced the term to the German far-right, but its specific adoption by the Nazis may also have been influenced by the use in Italy of "", also meaning "leader", as an informal title for Benito Mussolini, the Fascist Prime Minister, and later (from 1922) dictator, of that country.

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.

Within the Party's paramilitary organizations, the (SA) and its later much more powerful offshoot, the (SS), "" was the root word used in the names of their officer rankings, such as in , meaning "assault unit leader", equivalent to major, or , "senior leader", equivalent to senior colonel/brigadier.

Regional Nazi Party leaders were called , "" also meaning "leader".

As a political office

In 1933, Hitler was appointed as (Chancellor of the Reich) by Paul von Hindenburg. A month later, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, which allowed the cabinet to promulgate laws by decree; in practice, Hitler himself issued such decrees. 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. Gesetz über das Staatsoberhaupt des Deutschen Reichs
1 August 1934:
"§ 1 The office of the Reichspräsident is merged with that of the Reichskanzler. Therefore the previous rights of the Reichspräsident pass over to the Führer and Reichskanzler Adolf Hitler. He names his deputy." Thus, upon Hindenburg's death, Hitler became – although eventually was quietly dropped. 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.

Hitler saw himself as the sole source of power in Germany, similar to the Roman emperors and German medieval leaders. He used the title (Leader and Chancellor), highlighting the positions he already held in party and government, though in popular reception, the element was increasingly understood not just in reference to the Nazi Party, but also in reference to the German people and the German state. Soldiers had to swear allegiance to Hitler as "" (Leader of the German Reich and People). The title was changed on 28 July 1942 to "" (Leader of the Greater German Reich). In his political testament, Hitler also referred to himself as (Leader of the Nation).

Hitler took great care to give his dictatorship the appearance of legal sanction. 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.

One of the Nazis' most-repeated political slogans was – "One People, One Realm, One Leader". American historian 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 party over practically every sector of German society and culture – with the churches being the most notable exception. Hitler's word was absolute, superseding even the Constitution. However, he had a narrow range of interest – mostly involving diplomacy and the military – and so his subordinates interpreted his will to fit their own interests. This led to vicious power wrangles that were immensely beneficial to Hitler in aiding him to ensure that no one person held too much power to the extent of becoming a threat to his absolute rule.

Military usage

According to the Constitution of Weimar, the President was Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Unlike "President", Hitler did take this title () 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. 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 (Leader and Supreme Commander of the ), yet a simple "Führer" after May 1942.

Germanic Führer

An additional title was adopted by Hitler on 23 June 1941 when he declared himself the "Germanic Führer" (), in addition to his duties as Führer of the German state and people.De Jong, Louis (1974) (in Dutch). ''Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de tweede wereldoorlog: Maart '41 – Juli '42'', p. 181. M. Nijhoff. 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 in 1933. 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.De Jong 1974, pp. 199–200. He had wanted to address Hitler as ("Führer of all Germanics"), but Hitler personally decreed the former style. Historian Loe de Jong speculates on the difference between the two: implied a position separate from Hitler's role as ("Führer and Reich Chancellor of the Greater German Empire"), while 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.

Military usage

has been used as a military title (compare Latin Dux) in Germany since at least the 18th century. The usage of the term "Führer" in the context of a company-sized military subunit in the German Army referred to a commander lacking the qualifications for permanent command. For example, the commanding officer of a company was (and is) titled " Kompaniechef" (literally, Company Chief), but if he did not have the requisite rank or experience, or was only temporarily assigned to command, he was officially titled "Kompanieführer". Thus operational commands of various military echelons were typically referred to by their formation title followed by the title , in connection with mission-type tactics used by the German military forces. The term was also used at lower levels, regardless of experience or rank; for example, a was the leader of a squad of infantry (9 or 10 men).

Under the Nazis, the title was also used in paramilitary titles (see Freikorps). Almost every Nazi paramilitary organization, in particular the SS and SA, had Nazi party paramilitary ranks incorporating the title of . The SS including the Waffen-SS, like all paramilitary Nazi organizations, called all their members of any degree except the lowest of something; thus confusingly, was also an official rank title for a specific grade of general. The word 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.

Modern German usage

In Germany, the isolated word "" is usually avoided in political contexts, due to its intimate connection with Nazi institutions and with Hitler personally. However, the suffix is used in many compound words. Examples include (mountain guide), (tourist guide), (CEO or EO), (train driver), (travel guide book), and (team captain — also referred to as ) or as a prefix such as in (driver's license) and or (driver's cab). Since German is a language with grammatical gender, refers to a male leader; the feminine form is

The use of alternative terms like "" (a borrowing from the French, as is the English "chief", e.g. ) or (often in compound words like , or ) is usually not the result of replacing of the word "Führer", but rather using terminology that existed before the Nazis. The use of to refer to a political party leader is rare today and (chairman) is the more common term. However, the word ("leader of the (parliamentary) opposition") is more commonly used.

See also

Terms derived from
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* Deputy ''Führer''
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* ''Führer'' Headquarters
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* ''Führer'' Directives
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Other
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* President for life
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* Supreme Leader (disambiguation)
* Vozhd
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* List of German expressions in English

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuhrer
Adolf Hitler
Dictatorship
Fascism
Heads of government
Heads of state
Nazism
Government of Nazi Germany
Positions of authority
Titles of national or ethnic leadership
German words and phrases
Nazi terminology