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Hitler Oath
The Hitler Oath (German: or ''Führer'' Oath)—also referred in English as the Soldier's Oath—refers to the oaths of allegiance sworn by officers and soldiers of the ''Wehrmacht'' and civil servants of Nazi Germany between the years 1934 and 1945. The oath pledged personal loyalty to Adolf Hitler rather than loyalty to the Weimar Constitution of the country. Historians view the personal oath of the Nazi Germany as an important psychological element to obey orders for committing war crimes, atrocities, and genocide. During the Nuremberg trials, many German officers unsuccessfully attempted to use the oath as a defence against charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Background During the Weimar era, the oath of allegiance, sworn by the '' Reichswehr'', required soldiers to swear loyalty to the ''Reich'' Constitution and its lawful institutions. Following Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in 1933, the military oath changed, the troops now swearing loyalty to pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bundesarchiv Bild 102-16108A, Vereidigung Von Reichswehr-Soldaten Auf Hitler
The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") are the national archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media ( Claudia Roth since 2021) under the German Chancellery, and before 1998, to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. On 6 December 2008, the Archives donated 100,000 photos to the public, by making them accessible via Wikimedia Commons. History The federal archive for institutions and authorities in Germany, the first precursor to the present-day Federal Archives, was established in Potsdam, Brandenburg in 1919, a later date than in other European countries. This national archive documented German government dating from the founding of the North German Confederation in 1867. It also included material from the older German Confederation and the Imperial Chamber Court. The oldest documents in this collection dated back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ministry Of The Reichswehr
The Ministry of the Reichswehr () was the defence ministry of Germany from 1919 to 1938 during the Weimar Republic and early Nazi Germany periods. It was responsible for the '' Reichswehr'' under the leadership of the Minister of Defence and based in the Bendlerblock building in Berlin. The Ministry of the Reichswehr was formed from the Prussian Ministry of War in the aftermath of World War I as part of a centralisation of the armed forces to Berlin from the states of Germany. Its longest serving Weimar-era Defence Ministers were the civilian Otto Gessler (almost 8 years) and General Wilhelm Groener (4 years). It was renamed the Reich Ministry of War in 1935 under the Nazis and led by General Werner von Blomberg as the Minister of War. It was abolished in 1938 and replaced with the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' (Armed Forces High Command) under the direct command of Adolf Hitler. History Formation On 6 March 1919, the Weimar National Assembly – Germany's post-war i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deutschlandlied
The "", officially titled "", is a German poem written by August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben . A popular song which was made for the cause of creating a unified German state, it was adopted in its entirety in 1922 by the Weimar Republic, replacing the de facto anthem " Heil dir im Siegerkranz". The first stanza of "Deutschlandlied" was used alongside the " Horst-Wessel-Lied" during the Nazi regime from 1933 until the end of World War II. On the proclamation of the German Federal Republic, the entirety of the song was still the official anthem, though only the 3rd verse was sung. Since 1991 and the subsequent Reunification of Germany, the third verse is the national anthem, though the 1st and 2nd verses are sometimes performed accidentally. Its phrase "" ('Unity and Justice and Freedom') is considered the unofficial national motto of Germany, and is inscribed on modern German Army belt buckles and the rims of some German coins. The music is derived from that of " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unconditional Obedience
Corpse-like obedience (, also translated as corpse obedience, cadaver obedience, cadaver-like obedience, zombie-like obedience, slavish obedience, unquestioning obedience, absolute obedience or blind obedience) refers to an obedience in which the obeying person submits unreservedly to another's will, like a mindless, animated cadaver. Jesuit origin The term originated with the Jesuit work by Ignatius of Loyola from 1553, the Letter on Obedience. It has also been dated to 1558. That text said, in Latin: "" which can be translated as "We should be aware that each of those who live in obedience must allow himself to be led and guided by Divine Providence through the Superior, as if he were a dead body". The concept, described in the Jesuit context as "fabled and misunderstood", has since been criticised by detractors of the Jesuit order as blind obedience. Jesuit supporters, in turn, refer to it as the "perfect obedience". Modern use The term is often associated with Germany (where i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Führer
( , spelled ''Fuehrer'' when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or " guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially called himself ''der Führer und Reichskanzler'' (the Leader and Chancellor of the Reich) after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1934, as well as the subsequent merging of the offices of ''Reichspräsident'' and '' Reichskanzler''. Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader principle"), and Hitler was generally known as simply ("the Leader"). In compound words, the use of remains common in German and is used in words such as ( travel guide), ( museum docent), ( 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichsgesetzblatt
The (; abbreviated RGBl.), was the government gazette of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945, thus covering the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and Nazi Germany. All laws of the German Reich in a formal sense (i.e., all laws that have been passed through the prescribed legislative process) had to be promulgated in it to become legally existent. Legal function At least since the formation of the German Empire in 1871, the promulgation () of a law was the last step in the German legislative process. The legal existence of a law depended on its formal (and complete) promulgation – this promulgation had to happen in the . The respective mechanism was laid down in the empire's constitution: Article 2 Sentence 2 of the 1871 Constitution prescribed that laws had to be promulgated in the . If no special provision was made, they entered into force 14 days after their publication. The gazette thus had a significant role in the formation of the laws of the em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gleichschaltung
The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society "from the Economy of Nazi Germany, economy and German Labour Front, trade associations to the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, media, Reich Chamber of Culture, culture and Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture, education". Although the Weimar Constitution remained nominally in effect throughout Government of Nazi Germany, Hitler's dictatorship, near total Nazification was achieved by 1935 with the resolutions approved during that year's Nuremberg Rally, fusing the symbols of the party and the state (see Flag of Nazi Germany) and depriving German Jews of their citizenship (see Nuremberg Laws). The tenets of ''Gleichschaltung'', including the Nuremberg Laws, also applied to German-o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enabling Act Of 1933
The Enabling Act of 1933 ( German: ', officially titled ' ), was a law that gave the German Cabinet—most importantly, the chancellor, Adolf Hitler—the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or President Paul von Hindenburg. By allowing the Chancellor to override the checks and balances in the constitution, the Enabling Act was a pivotal step in the transition from the democratic Weimar Republic to the totalitarian dictatorship of Nazi Germany. Background On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), was appointed as Chancellor, the head of the German government. Hitler immediately asked President von Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag. A general election was scheduled for 5 March 1933. Reichstag fire On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building of the German parliament caught fire. Acting as chancellor, Hitler immediately accused the Communists of perpetrating the arson as part of a larger effort to overthrow th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Treaty Of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which led to the war. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. Although the Armistice with Germany (Compiègne), armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the actual fighting, and agreed certain principles and conditions including the payment of reparations, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations before signing the treaty. The treaty German disarmament, required Germany to disarm, make territorial concessions, extradite alleged war criminals, agree to Kaiser Wilhelm being p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Reich
German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("national people"), with that authority and sovereignty being exercised at any one time over a unitary German "state territory" with variable boundaries and extent. Although commonly translated as "German Empire", the word ''Reich'' here better translates as "realm" or territorial "reach", in that the term does not in itself have monarchical connotations. The name "German ''Reich''" was officially Proclamation of the German Empire, proclaimed on 18 January 1871 at the Palace of Versailles by Otto von Bismarck and William I, German Emperor, Wilhelm I of Prussia. After the Anschluss, annexation of Austria to Germany on 12–13 March 1938, the name "Greater German ''Reich''" () began to be used along with the official name "German ''Reich''". Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until his death in 1925. Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on the death in 1913 of August Bebel. In 1914, shortly after he assumed leadership, the party became deeply divided over Ebert's support of war loans to finance the German war effort in World War I. A moderate social democrat, Ebert was in favour of the ''Burgfriedenspolitik, Burgfrieden'', a political policy that sought to suppress discord over domestic issues among political parties in order to concentrate all forces in society on the conclusion of the war effort. He tried to isolate those in the party opposed to war and advocated a split. Ebert was a pivotal figure in the German revolution of 1918–1919. When Germany became a republic at the end of World War I, he became its firs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
President Of Germany (1919–1945)
The president of Germany (, ) was the head of state under the Weimar Constitution, which was officially in force from 1919 to 1945, encompassing the periods of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. The Weimar constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between president, Cabinet (government), cabinet and Reichstag (Weimar Republic), parliament. The president was directly elected under universal adult suffrage for a seven-year term, although Germany's first president, Friedrich Ebert, was elected by the Weimar National Assembly rather than the people. The intention of the framers of the constitution was that the president would rule in conjunction with the Reichstag (Weimar Republic), Reichstag (legislature) and that his extensive emergency powers would be exercised only in extraordinary circumstances. The political instability of the Weimar period and an increasingly severe factionalism in the legislature, however, led to the president occupying a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
