1934-8-2 Hindenburg dies; Hitler = Führer

1934-8-2 Hitler → Führer of Germany after President Hindenburg dies - HiPo > .

On 2 August 1934, 86 year old German Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg died of lung cancer allowing Adolf Hitler to become both the Führer und Reichskanzler of the German People.

The move by Hitler effectively merged the offices of both the President and Chancellor into one role, and therefore completed what the Nazis referred to as Gleichschaltung (or ‘Co-ordination’) by establishing Hitler as both Germany's head of state and head of government.

Interfering with the post of President was illegal under the terms of the 1933 Enabling Act, and although merging the two positions under Hitler removed any political checks and balances of his personal domination of Germany, a plebiscite held seventeen days later on 19 August saw 90% of people approving of the change.

Hitler’s assumption of the role of Führer also allowed the Nazi Party to more actively pursue its promotion of the ideology of Führerprinzip. This stated that Hitler possessed absolute control over the German government. Supported by a propaganda machine that relentlessly pushed the slogan "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer!" which translates as ”One People, One Empire, One Leader”, the Führerprinzip also confirmed the Nazi Party’s complete control over every element of German society.

Nazi influence ranged from local government to factories and even to the management and control of schools, although in terms of government it sometimes meant that officials were reluctant to make decisions without Hitler’s personal input or approval. The Führerprinzip was also used by Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials to argue that they were not guilty of war crimes since they were only following orders.