The hectic first months of 1933, the Germany It was at a crossroads. The democratic institutions of the Weimar Republic, which had already been weakened by the years of the economic crisis and political controversy, were facing a huge threat. On February 6, the German President Paul von Hindenburg and the Vice -Chancellor Franz von Papen They managed a decisive blow to what was left of democratic governance, dismantling the Prussian parliament. It was not just an administrative decision. It was a turning point that would accelerate the collapse of parliamentary democracy and pave the way for its total sovereignty Adolf Hitler.
Prussia was not any German state. It was the largest, strongest and – most notably – one of the last embankments in the rising Nazi movement. Dissolving her parliament, Hidenburg and von Papen helped inadvertently lay the foundations for the rapid consolidation of Hitler’s power. What started as a political maneuver soon became an important milestone for the dismantling of the Weimar Republic.
At the time of Weimar, Prussia was considered the center of democratic resistance.
Prussia was a long -standing political stronghold of moderate and left -wing parties, especially the Social Democrats (SPD). Throughout the Weimar era, Prussia was considered center of democratic resistance against the increasing influence of right -wing forces. The state has played a decisive role in defending democratic values and in dealing with extremist movements. However, after the Preußenschlag (Prussian coup) of 1932, von Papen, acting on behalf of Hindenburg, had already dismissed the elected Prussian government and assumed immediate federal control of the state. This created the conditions for the complete dissolution of the Prussian Parliament a few months later.
Prussian coup was justified with argument of public order restorationbut in fact it was an overt abduction of power. The state’s police force, which was one of the strongest in Germany, was put under federal control, allowing the right forces to easily suppress their political opponents. With the essential neutralization of Prussia, the conservative elites who orchestrated this move believed that they had secured a stronger influence on German politics. However, this decision had unpredictable consequences, as it removed one of the last major obstacles to Hitler’s rise.
Von Papen believed that Prussia control would enhance the influence of the conservative establishment.
The dissolution of the Prussian Parliament on February 6, 1933, came just a week after the appointment of Adolf Hitler as a Chancellor of Germany. This move has eliminated one of the last institutional obstacles to consolidate the power of the Nazis. By sidelinging the Prussian political opposition, von Papen and Hidenburg helped to open the road to the Decree on Fire in Reichstag (Reichstagsbrandverordnung) and the Authorization Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz), which would soon grant Hitler dictatorial powers.
At that time, von Papen believed that Prussia’s control would enhance the influence of the conservative establishment in German politics. However, the opposite happened just as The Nazi party quickly overcame its conservative alliesusing the centralization of power in Prussia to suppress the opposition, intimidate opponents and accelerate the promotion of its total agenda. The Nazis quickly expanded their control to local governments, the media and the law enforcement bodies, ensuring that opposing voices were systematically silenced.
The repression of the Prussian Parliament also served as a forerunner of the process Gleichschaltungor “coordination”, used by the Nazis to control all aspects of German society. The destruction of the state’s autonomy was a crucial step in the dissolution of the Weimar Federal System and its replacement by a centralized, authoritarian structure.
In 1934, Prussia was essentially absorbed by the centralized Nazi state.
However, the dissolution of the Prussian Parliament was only the beginning of the decline of the state. In 1934, Prussia was essentially absorbed by the centralized Nazi state and its remaining institutions were dissolved. The once powerful bureaucracy, the police and the administrative structure of the state were fully integrated into Hitler’s growing dictatorship.
After World War IIthe Allied forces recognized the historical role that Prussia had played both in German militarism and the expansion of authoritarian rule. As a result, in 1947, Prussia was officially abolished as a political entity by the Allied Audit Council. This marked the last chapter in the long history of a state that was once the dominant power in German affairs.
Column: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poumenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
