The Free State of Lippe () was created following the

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

of Prince Leopold IV of the

Principality of Lippe Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a state in Germany, ruled by the House of Lippe. It was located between the Weser river and the southeast part of the Teutoburg Forest. It originated as a state during the Holy Roman Empire, an ...

on 15 November 1918, following the German Revolution. It was a state in Germany during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. After the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Control Commission for Germany – British Element (CCG/BE) abolished the state of Lippe in January 1947 and incorporated it into the new German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

that had been created three months earlier.

Government

The Lippe Constitution was passed on 21 December 1920. It established a state parliament consisting of a ''

landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...

'' of 21 deputies elected for a term of four years by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. The state administration consisted of a collective three-man ''Landespräsidium'' (State Presidency), headed by a chairman, that was responsible to the ''landtag'' and could be removed by a vote of no confidence. Technically, the triumvirate as a whole was the head of state and laws were signed by all three members. Nevertheless, the chairman was a ''

primus inter pares is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. H ...

'', whose function was unofficially equivalent to that of a minister-president, though this designation was not used. For nearly the entire Weimar period, the State Presidency consisted of

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

s but the chairmanship almost always was held by a

Social Democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

. The last ''landtag'' election in Lippe under the Weimar Republic was held on 15 January 1933. Election results placed the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in first place with 39.5% of the vote. Nazi propaganda efforts tried to exploit this by presenting it as a great triumph in the lead-up to national '' Reichstag'' elections on 5 March. On 7 February, a new administration was formed containing two Nazi members. Ernst Krappe, the economics specialist in the Nazi Party's Gau Westphalia-North, became Chairman of the State Presidency. On 7 April, the Reich government enacted the " Second Law on the Coordination of the States with the Reich" that established more direct control over the states by means of the new powerful position of ''

Reichsstatthalter The ''Reichsstatthalter'' (, ''Reich lieutenant'') was a title used in the German Empire and later in Nazi Germany. ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (1879–1918) The office of ''Statthalter des Reiches'' (otherwise known as ''Reichsstatthalter'' ...

'' (Reich Governor). Alfred Meyer, the Nazi Party ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

'' for Gau Westphalia-North, was installed in this new post for both Lippe and

Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also called Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807 and a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present-day state of Lower Saxony, with its capi ...

on 16 May 1933. On 23 May 1933 he appointed Hans-Joachim Riecke as the single State President, and when Riecke left three years later, Meyer assumed the position himself on 1 February 1936, with the title "''Führer der Landesregierung''" (Leader of the State Government) in addition to his ''Reichsstatthalter'' portfolio. By the provisions of the "

Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich The Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich () of 30 January 1934, was a sweeping constitutional change to the structure of the German state by the government of Nazi Germany. It was one of the key pieces of legislation that served as the basis f ...

" of 31 January 1934, all state ''landtage'' were abolished and the sovereignty of the states was passed to the Reich government. With that, Lippe '' de facto'' lost its rights as a federal state, though it continued to exist ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' as an administrative unit of the Reich until the fall of the Nazi regime. After the war, Lippe was part of the British occupation zone and the state government was restored under the last SPD leader before the Nazi take-over. However, it lost its status as a separate German state when it was merged into the newly founded state of

on 21 January 1947 by British Military Government Ordinance No. 77. The British established a number of military bases in North Rhine-Westphalia, of which

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

(HQ and units of 20th Armoured Brigade) and

Lemgo Lemgo (; ) is a university and old Hanseatic League, Hanseatic town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of H ...

(infantry battalion barracks) were located within the former boundaries of the Free State of Lippe. North Rhine-Westphalia subsequently became a part of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

upon its establishment in May 1949. Lippe 1923-1946

Government Leaders

References

1918 establishments in Germany 1947 disestablishments in Germany Former states and territories of North Rhine-Westphalia States of the Weimar Republic States and territories disestablished in 1947 States and territories established in 1918 {{NorthRhineWestphalia-geo-stub

Government

Government Leaders

See also

References