Franz von Papen

Franz von Papen
Name	Franz von Papen
Caption	Von Papen in 1933
Office	Chancellor of Germany
Term start	1 June 1932
Term end	17 November 1932
President	Paul von Hindenburg
Predecessor	Heinrich Brüning
Successor	Kurt von Schleicher
Office2	Vice-Chancellor of Germany
Term start2	30 January 1933
Term end2	7 August 1934
Chancellor2	Adolf Hitler
Predecessor2	Hermann R. Dietrich
Successor2	Franz Blücher (1949)
Office3	Reichskommissar for Prussia
Term start3	20 July 1932
Term end3	3 December 1932
Predecessor3	Otto Braun
Successor3	Kurt von Schleicher
Birth date	29 October 1879
Birth place	Werl, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	2 May 1969 (aged 89)
Death place	Obersasbach, West Germany
Party	Centre Party (until 1932), Independent (1932–1938), Nazi Party (1938–1945)
Spouse	Martha von Boch-Galhau
Allegiance	German Empire
Branch	Imperial German Army
Serviceyears	1898–1919
Rank	Major
Battles	World War I
Awards	Iron Cross 1st Class

Franz von Papen was a German politician, diplomat, and nobleman whose actions were pivotal in the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship. As Chancellor in 1932, his reactionary cabinet deepened the republic's crisis, and he later served as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler, playing a key role in Hitler's appointment. His subsequent diplomatic posts for the Third Reich and acquittal at the Nuremberg trials cemented his controversial legacy as an opportunistic enabler of totalitarianism.

Early life and military career

Born into a wealthy Roman Catholic family of the Westphalian nobility in Werl, Papen was educated at prominent cadet schools before receiving a commission in the Imperial German Army. He served as a cavalry officer and military attaché, with postings in Washington, D.C. and Mexico City prior to World War I. His tenure in the United States ended in disgrace in 1915 when he was expelled for coordinating espionage and sabotage activities, a scandal known as the Papen plot. He later saw active service on the Western Front and in the Middle East, finishing the war as a major on the General Staff of the Turkish Army in Palestine.

Political career before 1933

After the war, Papen entered politics as a monarchist member of the Centre Party, serving in the Prussian Landtag from 1921. He represented the party's far-right, anti-democratic wing and maintained close connections with the Reichswehr leadership and the Stahlhelm veterans' association. His political views and personal friendship with President Paul von Hindenburg made him a figure favored by conservative intriguers seeking to replace parliamentary government with an authoritarian regime, often scheming alongside figures like General Kurt von Schleicher.

Chancellor of Germany (1932)

On 1 June 1932, Hindenburg appointed Papen Chancellor of a cabinet of non-partisan conservatives known as the "Cabinet of Barons". Lacking support in the Reichstag, his government ruled by presidential emergency decree under Article 48. His most consequential act was the Preußenschlag (Prussian coup) in July 1932, ousting the legitimate Social Democratic-led government of Prussia led by Otto Braun. This fatally weakened German federalism and democracy. His policies, including rolling back Brüning's economic measures, failed utterly, and the July 1932 election saw massive gains for the Nazi Party.

Role in Hitler's rise to power

After his cabinet fell in November 1932, Papen, driven by personal rivalry with Schleicher (his successor as Chancellor), entered into secret negotiations with Hitler. At a critical meeting at the home of banker Kurt Freiherr von Schröder in January 1933, Papen helped broker the deal that convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor. Papen and other conservatives believed they could control Hitler within a coalition cabinet, with Papen as Vice-Chancellor. He notoriously boasted, "We have hired him." This miscalculation was finalized with Hitler's appointment on 30 January 1933, after which Papen served as Vice-Chancellor and Reichskommissar for Prussia.

Diplomatic service under the Nazi regime

Marginalized after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, where several of his associates were murdered, Papen was removed from domestic power. He was subsequently used by the regime as a diplomat, serving as ambassador to Vienna from 1934 to 1938, where he worked to undermine Austrian independence, paving the way for the Anschluss. He later served as ambassador to Turkey from 1939 to 1944, attempting to keep that country neutral during World War II. He was briefly arrested after being implicated in the 20 July plot against Hitler in 1944.

Postwar life and legacy

Arrested by Allied troops in 1945, Papen was a defendant at the Nuremberg trials before the International Military Tribunal. He was acquitted of major charges, with the court citing his early marginalization by the Nazi regime, though he was later convicted by a German denazification court and sentenced to eight years in prison; this was soon overturned on appeal. He spent his later years writing self-exculpatory memoirs and died in 1969 in Obersasbach. Historians widely judge Papen as a central, cynical figure whose political intrigues against the Weimar Republic directly facilitated the Nazi seizure of power.

Category:1879 births Category:1969 deaths Category:Chancellors of Germany Category:German military personnel of World War I Category:German diplomats Category:People of the Weimar Republic Category:Nuremberg trials defendants