Paul von Hindenburg

Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. He played a key role in the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933 when he appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. Hindenburg was born to a family of minor Prussian nobility in Posen, now Poznań, Poland. He joined the Prussian army as a cadet and fought in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. He rose through the ranks to become a general of the infantry and a member of the Great General Staff. He retired from active service in 1911, but was recalled at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Hindenburg gained fame for his victory at the Battle of Tannenberg against the Russian army in August 1914, which made him a national hero. He was promoted to field marshal and appointed Chief of the General Staff in 1916, along with his deputy Erich Ludendorff. Together, they formed a military dictatorship that controlled Germany's war effort and domestic affairs. They pursued a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare and unrestricted use of poison gas, which provoked the United States to enter the war against Germany in 1917. They also launched several offensives on the Western Front, but failed to break through the Allied lines. Hindenburg and Ludendorff were forced to seek an armistice in November 1918, after Germany's allies had collapsed and its army was exhausted and demoralized. After the war, Hindenburg retired from the army and opposed the Treaty of Versailles, which imposed harsh terms on Germany. He also supported the stab-in-the-back myth, which blamed Germany's defeat on traitors and revolutionaries at home. In 1925, he was elected President of Germany as a non-partisan candidate. He used his emergency powers to deal with political and economic crises, such as the hyperinflation of 1923 and the Great Depression of 1929. He also faced challenges from various extremist groups, such as the Nazis and the Communists, who sought to overthrow the Weimar Republic. In 1932, Hindenburg was re-elected for a second term, defeating Adolf Hitler by a narrow margin. However, he was unable to form a stable government and relied on his advisers, who were mostly conservative and nationalist. Under their influence, he appointed Hitler as Chancellor in January 1933, hoping to tame him and use him as a puppet. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as Hitler quickly consolidated his power and eliminated his opponents. Hindenburg remained as a figurehead president until his death in August 1934, after which Hitler abolished the office and declared himself Führer (leader) of Germany.