October 29, 1879 - Franz von Papen
Few figures did more to smooth Adolf Hitler's path to power while harboring the self-serving illusion that he could be managed and contained. As Chancellor in 1932, von Papen bypassed democratic institutions through presidential decree and helped dismantle the last significant left-wing bulwark in Germany with the Preußenschlag coup against Prussia's Social Democratic government. His subsequent role as Vice-Chancellor was premised on the belief that conservatives like himself would hold real authority — a miscalculation with consequences that reshaped the century. His earlier career had already shown a capacity for operating outside sanctioned limits, having organized sabotage operations on neutral American soil during the First World War.
From Wikipedia
Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (German: [ˈfʁants fɔn ˈpaːpn̩] ; 29 October 1879 – 2 May 1969) was a German politician, diplomat, army officer, and Prussian nobleman. A national conservative, he served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1934. A committed monarchist, Papen is largely remembered for his role in bringing Hitler to power.
Born into a wealthy and powerful family of Westphalian Catholic aristocrats, Papen served in the Prussian Army from 1898 onward and was trained as an officer of the German General Staff. He served as a military attaché in Mexico and the United States from 1913 to 1915, while also covertly organising acts of sabotage in the United States and quietly backing and financing Mexican forces in the Mexican Revolution on behalf of German military intelligence. After being expelled as persona non grata by the United States State Department in 1915, he served as a battalion commander on the Western Front of World War I and finished his war service in the Middle Eastern theatre as a lieutenant colonel.
Asked to become chancellor of the Weimar Republic by President Paul von Hindenburg in 1932, Papen ruled by presidential decree. He launched the Preußenschlag coup against the Social Democratic Party-led Government in the Free State of Prussia.
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