Führer


Führer is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title it is associated with the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Germany cultivated the Führerprinzip, and Hitler was generally known as just der Führer.
The word Führer in the sense of "guide" remains common in German, and it is used in numerous compound words such as Bergführer. The word Führer in the sense of "leader" remained common in numerous compound words such as Oppositionsführer. However, because of its strong association with Hitler, the isolated word usually has negative connotations when used with the meaning of "leader", especially in political contexts. The word Führer has cognates in the Scandinavian languages, spelled in Danish and Norwegian which have the same meaning and use as the German word, but without necessarily having political connotations.

History

Origin of the title

Führer was the title demanded by Adolf Hitler 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. It was common at the time to refer to leaders of all sorts, including those of political parties, as Führer. Hitler's adoption of the title was partly inspired by its earlier use by the Austrian Georg von Schönerer, a major exponent of pan-Germanism and German nationalism in Austria, whose followers commonly referred to him as the Führer, 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 "Führer" by Schönerer's Pan-German Association, probably introduced the term to the German far right, but its specific adoption by the Nazis may have been influenced by the use in Italy of "Duce", also meaning "leader", as an informal title for Benito Mussolini, the Fascist Prime Minister, and later dictator, of that country. Regional Nazi Party leaders were called Gauleiter, "leiter" also meaning "leader".

As a political office

After Hitler's appointment as Reichskanzler, Hitler had Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg sign the Reichstag Fire Decree under the pretense of a purported Communist uprising. This decree suspended most of the civil liberties enshrined in the Weimar Constitution. A month later, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, which allowed the cabinet to promulgate laws by decree for four years. In practice, Hitler himself issued such decrees. The Enabling Act had the effect of giving Hitler dictatorial powers.
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. Thus, upon Hindenburg's death, Hitler became Führer and Reichskanzler - although eventually Reichskanzler 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. Though this law was in breach of the Enabling Act, which specifically precluded any laws concerning the Presidential office, it was 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 Führer und Reichskanzler, highlighting the positions he already held in party and government, though in popular reception, the element Führer 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 "Führer des deutschen Reiches und Volkes". The title was changed on 28 July 1942 to "Führer des Großdeutschen Reiches". In his political testament, Hitler also referred to himself as Führer der 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 twice, in 1937 and 1941, though this was merely a formality with all other parties having been banned.

''Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer''

One of the Nazis' most-repeated political slogans was Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer – "One People, One Empire, One Leader". Bendersky 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, but 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.

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 Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht, yet a simple "Führer" since 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. 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. He had wanted to address Hitler as Führer aller Germanen, but Hitler personally decreed the former style. Historian Loe de Jong speculates on the difference between the two: Führer aller Germanen implied a position separate from Hitler's role as Führer und Reichskanzler des Grossdeutschen Reiches, while germanischer Führer 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

Führer has been used as a military title 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 titled "Kompaniechef", 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 Führer, in connection with mission-type tactics used by the German military forces. The term Führer was also used at lower levels, regardless of experience or rank; for example, a Gruppenführer was the leader of a squad of infantry.
Under the Nazis, the title Führer was also used in paramilitary titles. Almost every Nazi paramilitary organization, in particular the SS and SA, had Nazi party paramilitary ranks incorporating the title of Führer. The SS including the Waffen-SS, like all paramilitary Nazi organisations, called all their members of any degree except the lowest Führer of something; thus confusingly, Gruppenführer was also an official rank title for a specific grade of general. The word Truppenführer 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 "Führer" is usually avoided in political contexts, due to its intimate connection with Nazi institutions and with Hitler personally. However, the term -führer is used in many compound words. Examples include Bergführer, Fremdenführer, Geschäftsführer, Führerschein, Führerstand or Führerhaus, Lokführer, Reiseführer, and Spielführer.
The use of alternative terms like "Chef" or Leiter is usually not the result of replacing of the word "Führer", but rather using terminology that existed before the Nazis. The use of Führer to refer to a political party leader is rare today and Vorsitzender is the more common term. However, the word Oppositionsführer is more commonly used.