Franz von Papen (1879–1969) |
Franz von Papen (29. October 1879 – 2. May 1969) - full name: Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen -
was a German politician and diplomat from the Catholic Center Party during
the Weimar Republic.
Born to a wealthy Catholic family in Westphalia, Papen served as a soldier on the
Turkish front in World War I.
Returning to Germany, he entered politics, joining the Catholic Centre Party, in which the monarchist Papen formed part
of the far right wing. On 1. June 1932, he was plucked from relative obscurity when
President
Paul von Hindenburg chose him as
Chancellor to replace
Heinrich Brüning, the leader of Papen's own party. This was largely
due to the influence of General Kurt von Schleicher, at the time Hindenburg's closest advisor.
Papen, who was expelled from the Centre Party for his betrayal of Brüning, had practically no support in
Reichstag except from the Conservative German National People's Party (DNVP).
Papen ruled in an authoritarian manner, launching a coup against the Social Democratic led government of Prussia,
and repealing his predecessor's ban on the SA as a way to appease the Nazis, whom he hoped to lure into supporting
his government. Ultimately, after two Reichstag elections only increased the Nazis' strength in the Reichstag without
substantially increasing Papen's own parliamentary support, he was forced to resign as Chancellor, and was replaced
on 4. December 1932 by Schleicher, who hoped to establish a broad coalition government by gaining the support of both
Nazi and Social Democratic trade unionists.
As it became increasingly obvious that Schleicher's maneuvering to find a Reichstag majority would be unsuccessful,
Papen and DNVP leader Alfred Hugenberg came to an agreement with Hitler
to allow him to become Chancellor of a coalition government with the Nationalists, and with Papen serving as Vice-Chancellor.
Papen used his personal ties with the aged Von Hindenburg to persuade the President, who had previously vowed never
to allow Hitler to become Chancellor, to fire Schleicher and appoint Hitler to the post on 30. January 1933.
Once Hitler was in power, Von Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized, and he retired from the Vice-Chancellorship
in 1934, following the Night of the Long Knives, when many of Hitler's enemies
inside and outside the party (including Schleicher) were murdered. Von Papen was arrested and put under house arrest
for three days but his secretary, Herbert von Bose, and his speech writer, Edgar Julius Jung, were murdered. Later, Papen
served the Nazi government as Ambassador to Austria from 1934 to 1938 and Ambassador to Turkey from 1939 to 1944. There
he survived an assassination attempt by Stalin's agents.
Papen was captured by the allies after the war and was one of the defendants at the
main Nuremberg War Crimes Trial in 1946.
Although he was acquitted from having a main responsibility, he was convicted to 8 years of labour. In 1949 Papen was released
early.
He tried unsuccessfully to re-start his political career in the 1950s and was made a papal secret treasurer by Pope
John XXIII in 1959.
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