#Franz von papen trial#
He was tried at Nuremberg and acquitted, but held again for trial by a Bavarian court and found guilty. Franz von Papen was Chancellor of Germany before Hitler and continued to hold some form of public office during WWII. He also believed in the European role as the standard bear I found this book enlightening. It was interesting to read a perspective of the Nazi years from a German monarchist who believed in Germany's role as the front line for the protection of Europe from Communist expansion. In his memoirs, he goes through elaborate justifications of why he is not to blame for the obvious actions that brought Hitler to power. He was instrumental in persuading von Hindenburg to appoint the Nazi leader to the chancellorship. After he was forced to resign as Chancellor, Papen played a key role in undermining the Schleicher government and having it replaced by the Hitler cabinet, the focal point of these intrigues being the January 4th meeting between himself and Hitler. This was the major authoritarian act Papen committed during his short tenure as Chancellor, and aided the Nazis on their rise to power as it effectively neutralised the police force. The lifting of the SA ban helped increase the unrest in the country which eventually led to Hindenburg appointing Hitler Chancellor in the belief this would avert civil war, while the Reichstag elections of July 31st led to the Nazis more than doubling their number of seats and becoming the largest political party.ĭuring this period, the Papen cabinet overthrew the Prussian government and purged the police force of Social Democrats. Both of these acts helped the Nazis on their rise to power. To attract the Nazis von Papen took two actions, he lifted the ban on the SA and he dissolved the Reichstag. “That man for Chancellor? I’ll make him a postmaster and he can lick stamps with my head on them.” In palace circles Hitler had not the influence of his competitors.īut Papen believed, under General Schleicher’s guidance, that he could bring the Nazis into government thus providing it with a popular support base. The old Marshal Hindenburg was not impressed by Hitler. Published in 1952, the Memoirs of Franz von Papen is a study in self-deception by an intelligent man who knows he made terrible mistakes with horrific consequences but is still trying to explain that his choices were the best of bad ones available." If I could make every Republican elected official read one book, it would be the memoirs of Papen, the aristocratic chancellor of Germany who dissolved the German parliament and enabled Adolf Hitler to rise to power. In this way, as in many, the ghost of Franz von Papen haunts today’s GOP. "Republicans want what they perceive as the benefits of Donald Trump without the responsibility of supporting Trump. Sound familiar? Shift blame rather than own up.
#Franz von papen full#
"Hitler and his movement were in essence a reaction against hopelessness, and for that sense of hopelessness the victorious powers must bear their full share of responsibility." Nope. The Treaty of Versailles did not lead to the rise of Hitler or the onset of WW II. Let's start with a common fallacy that Papen immediately invokes, but the author of "1919" carefully parses and rebuts. This is how they will go down in the history books. Kevin McCarthy) brought me back to the story of von Papen. "Hitler and his movement were in essence a reaction against hopeless The cowardice of many Republicans per Trump (e.g. = Let's start with a common fallacy that Papen immediately invokes, but the author of "1919" carefully parses and rebuts.
The cowardice of many Republicans per Trump (e.g.
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