Industrielleneingabe

The industrialists input was a nineteen or twenty representatives of industry, the financial industry and agriculture signed letter, which was addressed on 19 November 1932, the Reich President Paul von Hindenburg to appoint with the request of Adolf Hitler as chancellor. The Reich President came this request is not immediately after, but relied on December 2, 1932 First Kurt von Schleicher as chancellor. The industrialists entry was first published in 1956 in the Journal of History and was long regarded as evidence that the large-scale industry had played a central role in the rise to power of the Nazi Party.

Content

Right at the beginning, the text you type on the same ethos of the signatory and of the President from ( " direct Your Excellency steeped in hot love for the German people and fatherland "). Hindenburg's younger policy to govern independently of the Reichstag with emergency regulations will be welcomed, as an imagined as necessary " from the parliamentary party system independent government ," as they put it in, of Reich Chancellor Franz von Papen, "Thoughts of a presidential expression " come. This goal ( which will be presented later in the text as well as by the DNVP and the NSDAP shared principle ) possess after the Reichstag election of November 6, 1932, in contrast to the current Cabinet, " a full majority of the German people [ ... ] if - as it needs to be done - from staatsverneinenden Communist Party " disregard.

The goal is presented as an alternative to "previous [n ] parliamentary [n ] Party regime." The contemporary political situation of the Weimar Republic are characterized by " often repeated dissolution of the Reichstag with increasingly frequent, the party struggle increasingly escalating elections " that are "not only a political but also counteract any economic calming and strengthening " would. Here is the text alluded to the world economic crisis, particularly severe impact in Germany. However, since "any constitutional amendment that not supported by the broadest people flow " will, " even worse trigger economic, political and psychological effects " would, the request is to Hindenburg approached with that "the transformation of the Reich Cabinet may take place in a way that the largest possible the people force behind the cabinet " bring.

Subsequently, the signatories commit " free from any narrow party political attitude." The national movement, " which goes through our people ", is presented as "an auspicious [r ] beginning of a time ", " by overcoming of class antagonisms " " the indispensable basis for a revival of the German economy only " make it. For the provision of the necessary for this ascent victims should be " the largest group of this national movement [ he meant the Nazi Party ] leader in the government " are.

Finally, predict the signatory that the " transfer of the responsible management of a [ ... ] presidential cabinet to the leader of the largest national group [ ... ] the weaknesses and errors inherent necessity of any mass movement to eradicate, and millions of people who stand on the sidelines today, to swept affirmative force " will.

The input was handwritten in very large letters, so that Hindenburg could read them personally.

Signatory

The sixteen first signatories were:

1 Hjalmar Schacht, former President of the Reichsbank, a member of the Keppler Circle - from him came the text. 2 Friedrich Reinhart, director of Commerzbank, board member of AEG, President of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a member of the Keppler Circle August 3 Rosterg, General Director of Wintershall AG, a member of the Keppler Circle 4 Kurt Freiherr von Schröder Cologne-based private banker, member of the Keppler Circle and the German gentlemen's club. In his house a few weeks before the crucial negotiations Hitler's appointment as Chancellor took place later. 5 Fritz leg Dorff, owner of the Pelikan AG, the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank 6 Emil Helfferich, member of the German -American Petroleum Company, the Supervisory Board of Hapag, member of the Keppler Circle 7 Franz Heinrich Witthoefft, chairman of Commerzbank, President of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, member of the Keppler Circle 8 Ewald Hecker President of the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a member of the Keppler Circle, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ilseder hut 9 Kurt Woermann medium shipowner from Hamburg and a member of the NSDAP 10 Carl Vincent Krogmann, co-owner of the Hamburg bank, shipping company and trading house Wachsmuth and Krogmann, board member of the Hamburg National clubs, 1933-1945 Mayor of Hamburg, a member of the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and member of the Keppler Circle 11 Kurt von Eichborn, a partner in a private bank Breslauer 12 Eberhard Count of Kalckreuth, president of the National Rural League, Member of the German gentlemen's clubs 13 Erich Luebbert, Director General of Dywidag, Chairman of the AG of Transportation, a member of the Economic Council of the steel helmet 14 Erwin Merck, president of the H. J. Merck & Co, a Hamburg merchant bank 15 Joachim von Oppen, President of the Brandenburg Chamber of Agriculture 16 Rudolf Ventzki, Director General of the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen

The on copy of the letter, which is on file in the office of the president, missing signatures were submitted to the following personalities:

17 Fritz Thyssen, Chairman of United Steel Works, the only really significant industrialists among the signatories 18 Robert Graf von Keyserling - Cammerau, board member of the agricultural employers' organizations, Member of the German gentlemen's clubs 19 Kurt Gustav Ernst von Rohr - Manze, landowner.

Whether signed Engelbert Beckmann, president of the Westphalian State Federation, the input is controversial.

Historical Context

1931 and 1932 there had been numerous attempts to contribute through petitions and petitions for transfer of power to the Nazis, such as an entry of " Economic Policy Association Frankfurt " of 27 July 1931, a Declaration of 51 professors of July 1932 in the People's Observer. In the fall of 1932, also the Hamburg National Club and the Berlin National Club continued from 1919 for a government Hitler. According to the historian Gerhard Schulz, the President's kingdom has been " inundated " in this month of such inputs committed Nazis.

The idea for the industrialist entry was created in the end of October 1932 Keppler Circle and was supported by Heinrich Himmler, who functioned as liaison to the Brown House. The writing was in the hands of Hjalmar Schacht, who possessed the only member of the Keppler Circle on significant political experience.

The input was referring to the result of the Reichstag election of November 6, 1932 In this election, the NSDAP had first suffered losses at a general election and significantly fewer votes than get in the election on 31 July 1932.; their share had fallen from 37 to 33 percent. The Communist Party, however, had clearly gained votes. Many right voters were returned by the Nazis for the DNVP. The petitioners therefore sat down in a situation for Hitler, as in their view, there was a danger that the National Socialist movement could go down again.

For Chancellor Papen the election result meant a catastrophic defeat, as its supporting parties - in addition to the DNVP and the abgedriftete after Stresemann's death in the camp of the Republic of opponents DVP - only about ten percent of the votes to be had can unite. He, therefore, submitted on 17 November 1932, his resignation. Even before he had started at the request of Hindenburg to explore how one might integrate the Nazi Party into government. He had been informed by the input in advance by a signatory Hecker and was a letter Keppler Schröder from November 13, 1932, according to a Hitler chancellorship over no longer hostile. But Hindenburg consistently refused to make Hitler the powers laid down in Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution available. But because Hitler wanted to look no parliamentary majority for his government, the project did not come forward.

When Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor but a presidential on 30 January 1933, he is said to have asked the industrialists input as an important document for this operation according to the memories of Emil Helfferich. This information is missing in the memoirs of Otto Meissner and all other intimate acquaintances Hindenburg's why their veracity is also doubted.

Assessment

In more recent research, the input is categorized as a failure since the study by Henry Ashby Turner ( 1985). As evidence, inter alia, a letter from Schacht to Hitler is mentioned, in which he dampened his hopes for strong industrial support for his appointment as Reich Chancellor already on November 12, 1932:

"It seems as if our experiment, a number of signatures from industry to get for it, but not quite in vain if I also believe that heavy industry will hardly join in, but she bears her name ' heavy industry ' with rights of their clumsiness. "

In fact, it was expected to win a lot more business: including Wilhelm Cuno, Karl Haniel, Robert Bosch and Carl Friedrich von Siemens, who had, however, all rejected. The influential lignite Industrial and member of the Ruhrlade Paul Silverberg, who since the middle of 1932 occurred despite his Jewish origins for Hitler chancellorship was to sign was not even asked. The " overwhelming majority of the industry " did not sign the entry, because, as the historian Reinhard Neebe in 1981 noted the transfer of government responsibility refused decidedly to the Nazis. Most industrialists wanted in the fall of 1932, not just Hitler, but Papen and his anti- parliamentary- conservative conception to power.

This also shows a comparison with the call of a DNVP near the "German Committee " of 6 November 1932 who advocated under the headline "With Hindenburg for People and the Reich " for the Papen government, for the DNVP and against the NSDAP. This call had signed a total of 339 persons, including several dozen major industrialists, which is significantly more than in the case of the industrial input. Here one read such prominent names such as Ernst von Borsig, the Chairman of the Mining Association Ernst Brandi, Erich von Gilsa ( a close associate Reusch ), Fritz Springorum and Albert Vogler. The signatures of the latter two make it unlikely that they, like the Nazi banker Friedrich Reinhart claimed in a letter to Secretary of State Otto Meissner Hindenburg on 21 November 1932 had actually been in solidarity with the industrial input and their diametrically different thrust; said heavy industrialists did not wear their signature after but.

A failure was also the scheduling of input: Hitler made ​​himself because of Papen's resignation on November 17, hopes his conversation with the President on November 19. To his chagrin it did not succeed, the input submitted in time before this date, because Secretary Meissner put Hindenburg typing only on 22 November before. She had no success. Hindenburg refused Hitler as Chancellor continues and appointed instead Kurt von Schleicher.

The view expressed in the Marxist literary theory, the transfer of power to the NSDAP had been made on the influence by the big industry back is not shared in today's literature. The historian Hans -Ulrich Wehler judges that one should not consider " ultimatum " of big business, " " input, " symptomatic of the widespread sympathy for Hitler it was already ".