Führer
Führer (/ˈfjʊərər/ FURE-ər; German: [ˈfyːʁɐ] , spelled Fuehrer when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially styled himself der Führer und Reichskanzler (the Leader and Chancellor of the Reich) after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1934 and the subsequent merging of the offices of Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler.
This article is about the German title. For the dictator who used it, see Adolf Hitler. For other uses, see Führer (disambiguation).
Nazi Germany cultivated the Führerprinzip ("leader principle"), and Hitler was generally known as simply der Führer ("the Leader").[1]
In compound words, the use of Führer remains common in German and is used in words such as Bergführer (mountain guide) or Oppositionsführer (leader of the opposition). However, because of its strong association with Hitler, the isolated word itself usually has negative connotations when used with the meaning of "leader", especially in political contexts.
The word Führer has cognates in the Scandinavian languages, spelled fører in Danish and Norwegian. In Norwegian the word has the same meaning as the German word, but without necessarily having political connotations. The Norway word for mayor is ordfører, literally meaning word feuhrer. In Swedish and Danish, förare and fører normally means "driver" (of a vehicle). However, in the compound word härförare and hærfører, that part does mean "leader", and is a cognate of the German "Heerführer".[2]
The Führer and Chancellor of the German Reich
Mein Führer
2 August 1934
Adolf Hitler
30 April 1945
History[edit]
Background[edit]
Führer has been used as a military title (compare Latin Dux) in Germany since at least the 18th century. The usage of the term "Führer" in the context of a company-sized military subunit in the German Army referred to a commander lacking the qualifications for permanent command. For example, the commanding officer of a company was (and is) titled "Kompaniechef" (literally, Company Chief), but if he did not have the requisite rank or experience, or was only temporarily assigned to command, he was officially titled "Kompanieführer". Thus operational commands of various military echelons were typically referred to by their formation title followed by the title Führer, in connection with mission-type tactics used by the German military forces. The term Führer was also used at lower levels, regardless experience.
Origins of the political concept[edit]
The first example of the political use of Führer was with the Austrian Georg von Schönerer (1842–1921), a major exponent of pan-Germanism and German nationalism in Austria, whose followers commonly referred to him as the Führer, and who also used the Roman salute – where the right arm and hand are held rigidly outstretched – which they called the "German greeting".[3] According to historian Richard J. Evans, this use of "Führer" by Schönerer's Pan-German Association, probably introduced the term to the German far-right, but its specific adoption by the Nazis may also have been influenced by the use in Italy of "Duce", also meaning "leader", as an informal title for Benito Mussolini, the Fascist Prime Minister, and later (from 1922) dictator, of that country.[4]
Führer of the Nazi Party[edit]
Adolf Hitler took the title to denote his function as the head of the Nazi Party; he received it in 1921 when, infuriated over party founder Anton Drexler's plan to merge with another antisemitic far-right nationalist party, he resigned from the party. Drexler and the party's Executive Committee then acquiesced to Hitler's demand to be made the chairman of the party with "dictatorial powers" as the condition for his return.[5]
Usage in lower ranks of Nazi Germany[edit]
Regional Nazi Party leaders were called Gauleiter, "leiter" also meaning "leader". Almost every Nazi paramilitary organization, in particular the SS and SA, had Nazi party paramilitary ranks incorporating the title of Führer. The SS including the Waffen-SS, like all paramilitary Nazi organizations, called all their members of any rank except the lowest one a Führer of something; thus confusingly, Gruppenführer was also an official rank title for a specific grade of general. The word Truppenführer was also a generic word referring to any commander or leader of troops and could be applied to NCOs or officers at many different levels of command. Under the Nazis, the title Führer was also used in paramilitary titles (see Freikorps). Within the Party's paramilitary organizations, the Sturmabteilung (SA) and its later much more powerful offshoot, the Schutzstaffel (SS), "führer" was the root word used in the names of their officer ranks, such as in Sturmbannführer, meaning "assault unit leader", equivalent to major, or Oberführer, "senior leader", equivalent to senior colonel/brigadier.
