Eastern Aid
The aid to Eastern Europe was from 1926 to 1937 a agricultural policy support program of the national government and the Prussian state government for the eastern Prussian provinces. At the turn of 1932/33, the explosive Osthilfeskandal developed. The possible involvement of the Reich President Paul von Hindenburg could have played a role in his appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor on 30 January 1933.
Background
With the Empire and the economic boom of the German Empire began the exodus in the agrarian eastern provinces. The exodus of the rural population in the western industrial areas mainly affected the province of East Prussia. 1910, she was the third largest Prussian province of Silesia and Brandenburg, but had 55 inhabitants per square kilometer, the lowest population density. Even in the mid 1930s was the settlement is only half as dense as the national average. From the Russian destruction in August 1914, the province recovered only in the 1920s. Fateful was the Treaty of Versailles: West Prussia and Posen fell to the newly established Poland, Danzig Free City. The Polish Corridor potentiated the supply problems (and external threats ).
The aid to Eastern Europe
East Prussia and the boundary Posen- West Prussia, Germany in 1919 were agricultural districts in extreme monoculture. Before the First World War was enough agricultural production to feed 3 million people. Then the self-sufficiency efforts of the Eastern neighbors could break away the hitherto flourishing trade with the East. The rural exodus and the corridor intensified this already difficult situation. The transport costs for necessary imports (machinery, coal, fertilizer, mineral oil) increased dramatically, leaving the achievable prices below the market value in the kingdom fall.
So decided the Prussian state government and the national government in 1926 to help with credit policies. The " General boundary Help " should in particular facilitate the implementation and debt (compared to the national average significantly larger ) Gutsbetrieben in East Prussia, Pomerania, Brandenburg, Silesia and in the border Posen- West Prussia. Because of ever higher interest burdens, declining profitability and a fall in prices for rye and potatoes in 1927 was always called louder for a support of the East German agriculture. Upper East Prussia President Ernst Siehr had successfully used since 1922 for such support programs.
The East Prussia Act passed on May 18, 1929 by Cabinet Hermann Müller ( SPD) should ensure Agriculture and Food in the German Reich by settlement loans, interest rate subsidies and government guarantees. In July 1930, the law was strengthened by an emergency decree. Overall, was until 1933 " an impenetrable jungle of 61 laws, regulations, policies, and 60 official decrees ." These efforts were later combined under the name of aid to Eastern Europe. To a modest extent, the problem regions of eastern Bavaria benefited from the aid to Eastern Europe, including funds for road construction.
The Brüning cabinet I brought on 31 March 1931 formal Eastern Europe Cooperation to debt of farms on the way. The promotion was extended to the entire east of the Elbe agriculture. This Eastern Europe Cooperation Act was the end of May connected with the controversial project the settlement of new farmers on land bankrupt previous landowners. That brought Brüning the accusation of " agricultural Bolshevism " and led to his downfall.
The Osthilfeskandal
Doubt
District administrators as Herbert Ziemer recognized that subsidies from individual holdings invited to abuse and it was almost impossible for the administration requirements to proceed. In June 1931 appeared first allegations of corruption in a confidential report on interventions for Hindenburg in terms of agricultural assistance. The Osthilfekommissar of Pomerania, Johann Georg von Dewitz, let his relatives come quite generous support, also some relatives Hindenburg. In this context, there are suspicions of influence Hindenburg and Bruening to the following disciplinary proceedings, however, the situation is not clear.
Erich Ludendorff launched on 27 November 1932 in its people waiting a campaign in which he attentive to the good Neudeck made on irregularities in the financing and collection and Hindenburg suggestibility accused by " certain circles". The Reich Chancellery and the office of the President could only announce that " the suspicions were unfounded and that they had deliberately avoided official denials. " Oldenburg- Januschau responded to the allegations with an open letter to the Kreuz-Zeitung. This was discussed it in all major newspapers; the affair widened in the following days to " control thing Neudeck ": " Who paid actually the gift shop? "
Representatives of the Reich Peasant League (RLB ) were representations to President Hindenburg on the morning of January 11, 1933. They expressed sharp attacks against the agricultural and settlement policies of the Cabinet Schleicher and accusations of " agrarian Bolshevism." In the afternoon there was a new meeting with the participation of Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher, Reich Minister of Food Freiherr von Braun and representatives of the Cabinet. An open challenge of RLB to the Cabinet Schleicher was previously sent to the press in the form of a press release.
Chancellor Schleicher and his cabinet rejected accusations of RLB on 12 January 1933 and pledged to resist the form of the press release. The cabinet approved a any negotiations with the RLB. The Reich Association of German Industry issued a statement in which the outrage was expressed about the actions of the RLB.
Abuse
Lina von Hindenburg, the widow of Hindenburg's brother, the old hindenburgsche Neudeck estate could not keep because of hopeless indebtedness and offered it in the fall of 1927 for sale. On his 80th birthday on October 2, 1927, Hindenburg was given. The money for it had collected his Gutsnachbar and friend Elard of Oldenburg- Januschau especially with members of the Reich Association of German Industry and the National Rural League.
The Minister of Finance, Count Schwerin von Krosigk reported on January 13, 1933 Budget Committee on the financial situation of the countries and communities. In the abstention of the German National People's Party, the Committee adopted a motion of the center, which should be clarified,
After the DNVP had held back until then, Alfred Hugenberg offered in a conversation with Schleicher to participation in the government of his party. His condition was the merging of economic and food ministry in his hand.
The parliamentarian Joseph Ersing unveiled on January 19, 1933 Budget Committee of the Reichstag details on misuse of public funds from the aid to Eastern Europe: "And if the funds given by the Reich not to cover debts but to purchase luxury cars and race horses and travel to the Riviera would be used, then the kingdom must require repayment of the funds. The landowner circles are trying to make a more parliamentary negotiation impossible. Why am behind the scenes, the strongest activity for an immediate dissolution of the Reichstag unfolds. "
Therefore, the allegations came not least interest, because in connection with Ludendorff and von Hindenburg revelations the name Oldenburg- Januschaus were mentioned in the press. These families should have been favored in the allocation of public funds. Also had become known the end of 1932 that Neudeck had been overwritten on the president's son Oskar von Hindenburg for the avoidance of inheritance tax. That was not legally challenging, but damaged the image of Hindenburg as " honest and accurate Prussia impeccable " and increased interest in the recent revelations.
On January 21, 1933, the DNVP announced the open opposition. She spoke of the danger of " Bolshevism in the countryside " - as early as 1932 against Brüning.
On January 22, 1933, Hitler, Wilhelm Frick, Hermann Goering, Paul Koerner, Franz von Papen, Otto Meissner and Oskar von Hindenburg met in the house Joachim von Ribbentrop. It was about the formation of a cabinet Hitler - Papen and the fall of the Cabinet Schleicher. Hitler and Oskar von Hindenburg spoke about two hours in private in the next room. Meissner reported later in the Wilhelmstrasse process, Hindenburg had said on the way home in the taxi, " there is now no other option " than to make Hitler chancellor. Historians such as Karl- Dietrich Bracher suggests that Hitler Hindenburg threatened with further revelations; also Papen had even agreed to be Vice-Chancellor; DNVP and Stahlhelm had a majority in the cabinet and more revelations could be prevented.
Schleicher was announce on January 28, 1933, the Daily Review that he would ask the authority to Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag. In the event of rejection, he announced his resignation. At the same time, he warned against a " dictatorship Papen - Hugenberg ". In the cabinet meeting in the morning, there were no major objections to the Minister against Schleicher's plan. At noon, he met with Hindenburg. He refused and was fired. Although they had a cancellation Schleicher expected, the message was handled in the press as a sensation. Hindenburg appointed Hitler on 30 January 1933 as chancellor. He formed a Government of National and German National Socialists. Hugenberg was Reich Minister of Economics and nutrition, as such acts as commissioner for aid to Eastern Europe.
The Berliner Tageblatt reported on the collection of already undelivered files to Osthilfeskandal by officials of the Reich Commissioner for aid to Eastern Europe in the morning of February 2, 1933. Five days later, in the same journal an article about riots that prevented further investigation of the Osthilfeskandal. Under the title " The Osthilfesumpf " reported the Social Democratic newspaper Forward on February 25, 1933 about the fact that the Berlin police president had the SPD deputies Kurt Heinig forbidden to publish as rapporteur of the Committee of Enquiry on Osthilfeskandal a brochure - for alleged threat to public order.
Injury
The Enabling Act was on 23 March 1933 the Reichstag decided (444 "yes", 94 "No," 109 is not present, of which 81 MPs from the Communist Party had been previously turned off). The committee of inquiry for aid to Eastern Europe ended on May 3, 1933 its work and presented its final report no irregularities.
On the occasion of the celebrations for the anniversary of the Battle of Tannenberg on August 27, 1933 got Hindenburg by Goering, the Prime Minister of Prussia, a document with which the domain Langenau ( used to be in possession of the Hindenburg family ) near and forest Prussia forest Neudeck estate as Gifts were handed over to Hindenburg. Both were then explained by Hitler and Goering for tax-free as long as they are in the possession of male successor to the Hindenburg family. Also, the Empire took over the further expansion and renovation of Neudeck estate. Three weeks later, the President's office asked for a written confirmation of this commitment and for early withdrawal. Bruning said in his memoirs in 1970 in this connection that " the President was convinced that Papen, Hitler would have brought only to the power to introduce the monarchy. As written in the summer for the first concerns in this direction, Hindenburg a neighboring estate of Neudeck was given to [ ... ] succeeded Oskar von Hindenburg, to assuage the concerns of his father. "
After the death of Reich President Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, a referendum on the merger of the offices of the Chancellor and the Reich President in the person of the Führer Adolf Hitler was scheduled for August 19, 1934 on August 18, 1934 immediately. In a radio address on the eve of Oskar von Hindenburg campaigned for the amalgamation:
" My now verewigter Father himself has seen in Adolf Hitler 's immediate successor as head of the German Empire, and I act in accordance with my father's intention, when I all German men and women views, for the transfer of my father's office to the leader and Chancellor to vote. And so enters the Marshal storm Tannenberg in these days even his reputation: Schart you together, and it stands firmly behind Germany's leader. Displays both internally and externally, that a unbreakable bond firmly embraces the German people in a will. ' "
After aggressive propaganda of the NSDAP 84.6 % voted 'yes'. This represented about 70 % of all eligible voters.
Oldenburg- Januschau published his memoirs in 1936 ( "Memories " ) and noted that he in Neudeck and the adjacent Januschau numerous discussions with the goal led to influence Hindenburg: However, these experiments was " only in the rarest of cases " success granted been. The former Prime Minister of Prussia, the Social Democrat Otto Braun renewed in 1940 in his memoirs, the allegation that the Neudeck - donation did " agriculturally interested person " the President.
The former Minister of Food and Agriculture in the cabinets Papen and Schleicher, Magnus Freiherr von Braun, published in 1955 his book From East Prussia to Texas and described in the course of the aid to Eastern Europe from his perspective. He dismissed all allegations of irregularity and vehemently defended Oldenburg- Januschau. This position he held even in the third " new and revised " version of 1965: "May you such intimations Dr. hc Understand Otto Braun's probably only in connection with the fact that the deposition of brown as Prime Minister in Prussia was the handwriting Hindenburg ". It refers to the committee's report of 23 May 1933: " The report correctly notes that in none of the cases complaints were raised ".