Day of Potsdam

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Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler bows to Reich President Paul von Hindenburg and shakes his hand. The photo by photographer Theo Eisenhart of the New York Times became the media icon of Potsdam Day after 1945 .

As Day of Potsdam , the festivities for the opening of the Reichstag on March 21, 1933 are designated, culminating a state ceremony in Potsdam Garrison Church was. On March 5, 1933, a new Reichstag was elected. In addition to members of the Reichstag, the Reich government , Reich President Paul von Hindenburg and invited guests from public life, business and the Reichswehr took part in the celebration. The meeting thus resembled the reception of the new Reichstag delegates at the Kaiser’s , as it had been the custom before 1918. Only the members of the SPD stayed away from the event. The actual constituent session of the Reichstag took place later in the Berlin Kroll Opera , which was used as a replacement for the Reichstag building just under a month earlier because of the Reichstag fire.

Within the one month of Adolf Hitler's chancellorship, the Nazi sovereignty he aimed for was by no means consolidated. His coalition government with the right-wing conservative German Nationals depended above all on the confidence of the Reich President. Therefore, on the morning of February 28, 1933, Hitler and the Reich Cabinet decided to make the opening of the Reichstag a popular “Potsdam Day”, which should please conservative and monarchical people - such as Reich President Hindenburg and the Reichswehr. The day should make the connection between "old greatness and young strength" of National Socialism visible.

Contrary to the opinion that has often been expressed that the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels was in charge of organizing the celebration, it can actually be assumed that a large number of actors will participate, including Hitler and the Reich government, above all Reich President Hindenburg, the Reichswehr and the churches , the Reich Ministry of the Interior and the Reichstag Administration. Goebbels, who did not take office as minister until March 13, 1933, was basically only responsible for the propaganda exploitation of the celebration, especially on the radio, as well as the design of the supporting program. In this context, the historian Martin Sabrow speaks of a tenacious “legend” that Goebbels “ascribes full responsibility for the major event in Potsdam”.

prehistory

On March 5, 1933, a new Reichstag was elected. Against the background of the Reichstag fire on the night of February 28, 1933, for which the National Socialists blamed the Communists, the election results strengthened the NSDAP, although it did not achieve an absolute majority (see Reichstag election in March 1933 ). In order to be able to form a coalition capable of governing, the NSDAP was therefore dependent on the right-wing nationalist DNVP .

In addition, the leadership of the NSDAP planned to submit the Enabling Act to the Reichstag . To do this, however, as was the case with all constitutional amendments in the Weimar Republic , a two-thirds majority in the Reichstag was necessary. In order to achieve this, the members of the Reichstag, especially the Center Party , should be convinced.

On the part of the church representatives and also from President Hindenburg there were reservations about the Potsdam garrison church, as they considered a controversial political act to be incompatible with the dignity of the house of God. Hindenburg therefore invited Hitler, Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen , Göring, Wilhelm Frick and Werner von Blomberg to a meeting on March 7, 1933 , at which a proposal from Frick's Ministry of the Interior for the division of the state act was accepted and the course of the celebration was laid down in detail . After the services for the two denominations, a non-partisan state act should take place in the garrison church. The constituent meeting of the Reichstag itself should then, according to the plan, take place right next door in the Long Stable , which, however, could no longer be redesigned appropriately in the short time available. Instead, they moved back to Berlin for this event, to the Kroll Opera across the street from the burned-out Reichstag building.

On March 8, Hitler, accompanied by Göring and Frick, made himself an on-site picture. Göring suggested leaving Wilhelm II's armchair free in the box of the Prussian royal family, which was understood in monarchist circles as a symbolic commitment to the Hohenzollern family . In addition, instead of April 1st ( Bismarck's birthday ), the date decided to be March 21st, the beginning of spring. This day also had a special symbolic character, as the first Reichstag of the German Empire was opened on March 21, 1871. On March 20, Hitler visited the garrison church again, where, according to Theodor Duesterberg , “in the strictest incongnito” to practice his appearance “into the unclean”. In addition, on the evening of that day, Hitler succeeded in a personal conversation in persuading Crown Prince Wilhelm to take part in the celebration.

procedure

Hitler's speech in the garrison church

Before the state ceremony in the garrison church, the Reich President and the Protestant delegates would have a service in the Nikolaikirche , for the Catholics one in the Peter and Paul Church and, after a triumphal march through the city, the subsequent ceremony in the Garrison church from 12 noon. The Social Democratic MPs had refused to take part in the event in Potsdam and the mandates of the Communist MPs had already been declared invalid by the Reich Government on the basis of the Reichstag Fire Ordinance. The radio broadcast the event in full length. Citizens without a radio receiver could follow the broadcast in public events.

Propaganda Minister Goebbels wanted to give the day as National Socialist form as possible in the short time that remained between March 13 and 20, but the old colors black, white and red dominated the cityscape instead of the National Socialist swastika flag . Due to the strong participation of the Reichswehr, the state ceremony was carried by the spirit of traditional military celebrations. In order to “set a symbolic political counterpoint”, but also to put pressure on the Catholic Church, Hitler and Goebbels, both Catholics, did not take part in the festive service in St. Peter and Paul Church. Instead, as an affront to the church, they laid wreaths on the graves of SA men in the Luisenstadt cemetery in Berlin. Hitler had a declaration published about his absence, in which he sent “a warning” to the Catholic bishops in particular, as they, according to the statement, had repeatedly referred to “leaders and members” of the NSDAP as “apostates of the Church” in the past . One of these subtle pinpricks against (political) Catholicism was possibly the fact that the deputies of the center, but not those of the DVP and DNVP, were to be searched for weapons before the joint trip from Berlin to Potsdam.

From the family of the former emperor, in addition to the Crown Prince, Princes August Wilhelm , Oskar and Eitel Friedrich also took part in the event.

Hindenburg first gave a short speech in the garrison church, followed by a longer speech by the Chancellor. Contrary to his actual intentions, Hitler asserted that the rights of state organs such as the Reich President , Reichstag and Reichsrat should not be touched. In fact, the planned Enabling Act served to no longer need the Reichstag and Council for legislation. When Hindenburg died in August 1934, Chancellor Hitler also took over the powers of the Reich President (see also referendum on the head of state of the German Reich ).

At the end of his rhetorically skilfully tailored, deliberately measured speech, Hitler gave the assembly a sign to stand up and began to give a great eulogy to Reich President Hindenburg, whose “wondrous life” he glorified in review to then call it “a symbol of the indestructible vitality of the German nation”. He expressly referred to Hindenburg's “approval” of the new political situation, which he felt was a “blessing”. “Providence” made the Field Marshal General the “patron” of the “uprising of our people”. "Deeply moved by his own eloquence," said the British historian John Wheeler-Bennett , Hitler then went up to Hindenburg and shook hands with him. After observing the former Chancellor Heinrich Brüning , Hindenburg had tears of emotion in his eyes at that moment. This moment of handshake also made a deeply emotional impression on many of those present or on the radio.

While the organ was playing, Hindenburg now stepped to the church's crypt, where the coffins of Frederick the Great and his father Frederick William I , who were considered to be the founders of the Prussian great power in the 18th century, were. There Hindenburg laid two wreaths and paused in silence for a while while salutes were shot in front of the church. For Hindenburg, who, as President of the Reich, had previously had to impose strict abstinence on monarchist gestures, this moment was of great personal importance. He was also able to publicly stabilize his damaged relationship with the Hohenzollerns through the Potsdam celebration.

The ceremony was followed by units of the Reichswehr , the Prussian Police , the SA , the SS , the Hitler Youth , the Stahlhelm and other “patriotic associations” outside of the garrison church . Afterwards, high-ranking participants in the celebrations said goodbye to him on the street, including Hitler. There are film recordings of this encounter as well as a well-known photo by photographer Theo Eisenhart of the New York Times . According to the historian Martin Sabrow , this photo, which shows a deep bow of Hitler in civilian clothes in cut and top hat , was a snapshot and not a planned propaganda process. The photo was taken as part of the farewell, while the official handshake of the Reich President and Reich Chancellor had already taken place in the church. Hitler's bow was "too deep and therefore embarrassing" for the NSDAP functionaries. Therefore, contrary to popular belief today, the photo was not used by Nazi propaganda . It was only used sporadically in newspapers until 1945. Only after the war was it understood as a propaganda image and, for example, a supposedly iconic photo of Nazi propaganda in school books to this day. This is contradicted by the historian Christoph Raichle, who speaks of a “calculated gesture of humility in front of Hindenburg”, which gave symbolic expression to the preceding “verbal bow” to Hindenburg in Hitler's speech. The fact that the picture was published on the title page of the “Adolf Hitler special issue” of the party's own Illustrated Observer from April 1933 and in other Nazi propaganda publications speaks for the propaganda use of the picture by the National Socialists . There are also similar images of the official encounters between Hitler and Hindenburg at later state acts, which speaks for a ritualization of public relations between Hitler and Hindenburg since the day of Potsdam.

In the afternoon the Reichstag met in Berlin shortly after 5 p.m. A large swastika flag had been placed behind the speaker's platform, lined with two black, white and red flags. Hitler appeared in a brown shirt , but left the speech to the President of the Reichstag, Goering. From a military point of view, the latter carried out the necessary formalities “in rapid succession”, which was also intended to demonstrate the future role of the Reichstag. In his speech Göring defamed the years of the republic as a time of need, shame and dishonor and blatantly declared: “Weimar has now been overcome.” From 7 p.m. Hitler took part in a special performance of Richard Wagner's opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in the Staatsoper Unter den Linden part.

The day of Potsdam was celebrated across the empire "in almost all German cities" and in many communities, which increased the impact of the event. In the garrison towns, the Reichswehr was active with parades and open concerts, there were rallies and parades, and in some cases there were also fireworks or “bonfires” on the surrounding hills. In Berlin there was a torchlight procession through the Brandenburg Gate in the evening.

Goal of the event

The hope of the National Socialists was to show a symbolic continuation of Prussian- German history on Potsdam Day , in which Hitler presented himself in a row with Friedrich the Great, Bismarck and Hindenburg. In this way, Hitler, who until then had been regarded by many Germans as a pure party leader, now wanted to present himself as a non-partisan statesman on the side of Hindenburg, who had been his opponent in the presidential election in the spring of 1932 and was Hitler's chancellorship on August 13, 1932 had publicly rejected it very clearly. Hitler therefore, as he explained in his “Table Talks” in 1942, placed the “greatest value” on taking over power “as it were under the blessing of the old man,” that is, Hindenburg. The day of Potsdam therefore also had the character of an ostentatious reconciliation of the national camps, embodied by the handshake of the two protagonists Hindenburg and Hitler.

The city of Potsdam was consciously suggested by Hitler. As the former residence of the Prussian kings, it was supposed to be a symbol of a glorified Germany of earlier days, which the Nazi regime now pretended to want to build on. In his speech, Hitler therefore repeatedly emphasized the great traditions of Prussia Germany, which he wanted to respect and maintain. With his measured demeanor, Hitler wanted to gain trust from those who had previously rejected him as too radical. His appearance in Potsdam is only the climax of a broad-based propaganda "campaign of trust" that began on January 30, 1933. According to the early National Socialist Kurt Lüdecke , Hitler secretly chose the garrison church as early as September 1932 for a large production with the participation of Hindenburg, whose “fabulous reputation [...] must be exploited”.

consequences

The face of the 2 and 5 Reichsmark coins from 1934 showed the garrison church and the date of the day of Potsdam

Relationship between Hitler and Hindenburg

According to the judgment of the Hindenburg biographer Wolfram Pyta , the day of Potsdam represents “the final breakthrough in Hindenburg's personal relationship with his new Reich Chancellor”. If January 30, 1933 was still a “political experiment” that Hindenburg secured through political conditions, he had now increasingly seen Hitler as "the ideal person to head a government of 'national concentration'" and expressed his appreciation for Hitler. Hindenburg, who longed for political relief and a withdrawal from day-to-day politics, began to see Hitler as his suitable successor. The requirement that Hitler could only visit the Reich President in the presence of his special confidante, Franz von Papen, was dropped in April; Hitler increasingly ousted the Vice Chancellor as Hindenburg's confidante.

legislation

On March 21, 1933, the government proclaimed an amnesty for crimes that had been committed “in the struggle for the national uprising of the German people” with the ordinance of the Reich President on the granting of impunity . According to the ordinance to ward off insidious attacks against the government of the national levy and the special court ordinance , so-called "insidious" cases were tried. The setting up or dissemination of "untrue" or "grossly distorted" allegations that "were likely to seriously damage the reputation of the Reich government or the parties behind the Reich government" could be imprisoned or imprisoned for several years. The fraudulent use of membership in an association that stood behind the "government of the national insurrection" as well as the abuse of the uniform and badges of these associations was also punished. The “Heimtückeverordnung” resulted in the Heimtückegesetz on December 20, 1934 .

On March 23, 1933, the new Reichstag met to discuss and vote on the Enabling Act . According to Wilhelm Frick, Reich Minister of the Interior , the MPs of the KPD and some leadership members of the SPD were prevented from appearing “because of useful work in the concentration camps ”. The MPs present approved the law by a 2/3 majority, including MPs from the Catholic Center and the remaining Liberal MPs. 94 Social Democrats present, including the then party chairman Otto Wels , voted against the law. In the speeches before the vote, reference was often made to the event that had taken place two days earlier. For the Catholic Center Party , whose votes mattered, the hope of being able to use the law to guide Hitler's urge for power into regulated state channels was more important than Potsdam Day .

Historical image

The Nazi propaganda consciously wanted to co-opt Prussian history for National Socialism. The day in Potsdam was ideal for this, also in relation to other countries.

Historians and journalists have tried in the last decades to change the prevailing public image of the Prussian state. You could show, for example, that Prussia had essentially a rule of law tradition, which was destroyed by Hitler after he came to power . Heinrich August Winkler writes about the illusion of the day of Potsdam:

“When Reich President Hindenburg went down alone into the crypt of the coffin of Frederick the Great in the garrison church in order to have a silent conversation with the king, the same patriotic emotion arose among many Germans that the Fridericus films from Alfred Hugenberg's ‹ Ufa ›had for years. evoked. But old Prussia did not experience a resurrection on March 21, 1933. The new rulers only used his myth to give their rule the appearance of an even higher legitimation than that which they had received on March 5th by the voters. "

Sebastian Haffner described the National Socialist appropriation of Prussian history on the "Day of Potsdam" in the following words:

“The climax and end point of this German national Prussian fraud was the embarrassing 'Day of Potsdam' on March 21, 1933, the ceremonial opening of the newly elected Reichstag under the newly appointed Reich Chancellor Hitler, with which the short-lived and for the German nationalists fateful alliance between Papen and Hitler should be sealed . This alliance dressed up on Potsdam Day as an alliance of Prussian tradition with the National Socialist Revolution. The Potsdam garrison church had to serve as the stage set, the German national steel helmet paraded next to the National Socialist SA , the Reichswehr provided the extras, and the aged Reich President Hindenburg, who had fought as a young Prussian lieutenant at Königgrätz, was allowed in his speech to 'the old Prussia' recall [...]. Prussia, whatever else it was, had been a constitutional state , one of the first in Europe. The rule of law was the first thing that Hitler abolished. In its race and nationality policy, Prussia had always exercised a noble tolerance and indifference. Hitler's race and nationality policy was the extreme opposite of the Prussian one. The extreme counter-image of Prussian sobriety was also Hitler's political style, his demagogy and theatrical mass intoxication. "

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Tag von Potsdam  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Raichle: The day of Potsdam . 2003, p. 69-99 .
  2. ↑ Wernicke, Thomas: The handshake on the 'day of Potsdam' . In: Werner Treß and Christoph Kopke (eds.): The day of Potsdam . Berlin and Boston 2013, p. 8–46, here pp. 17–21 .
  3. ^ Sabrow: Chronicle . 2003.
  4. ^ Raichle: The day of Potsdam . 2003, p. 79-88 .
  5. ↑ a b Martin Sabrow : The “Day of Potsdam” - On the history of a continuous formation of myths
  6. ^ Raichle: The day of Potsdam . 2003, p. 88–92 and 106 .
  7. ^ Pyta: Hindenburg . 2007, p. 820 .
  8. ↑ Müller, Klaus-Jürgen: The day of Potsdam and the relationship of the Prussian-German military elite to National Socialism . In: Bernhard R. Kroener (Ed.): Potsdam. State, army, residence . Frankfurt a. M. and Berlin 1993, p. 435-449, here p. 437 .
  9. ^ Domarus, Max: Hitler. Speeches and proclamations 1932-1945 . Volume I, first half volume. Wiesbaden 1973, p. 225 .
  10. ↑ Scholder, Klaus: The churches and the Third Reich . tape 1 : Prehistory and time of illusions. Frankfurt a. M. u. a. 1977, p. 317-320 .
  11. ↑ Morsey, Rudolf: The fall of political Catholicism. The center party between Christian self-image and the 'National Revolt' 1932/33 . Stuttgart 1977, p. 128 .
  12. ^ Stephan Malinowski: The Hohenzollern and Hitler. Cicero July 2005, online
  13. ^ Raichle: Hitler as a symbol politician . 2014, p. 87 f .
  14. ^ Raichle: Hitler as a symbol politician . 2014, p. 94-99 .
  15. ↑ Scheel: The day of Potsdam . 1996, p. 45 .
  16. ^ Pyta: Hindenburg . 2007, p. 822 f .
  17. ↑ Matthias Schulz: Can stones be guilty? , in Der Spiegel , 22/2017, p. 102.
  18. ↑ Guido Berg: The crucial question of the garrison church , in Potsdamer Latest News
  19. ^ Raichle: Hitler as a symbol politician . 2014, p. 91-94 .
  20. ↑ a b Scheel: The day of Potsdam . 1996, p. 49 f .
  21. ^ Göring, Hermann: The State Act in Potsdam. Sheets in memory of the opening ceremony of the Reichstag on March 21, 1933 . Berlin 1933, p. 11-14 .
  22. ^ Raichle: Hitler as a symbol politician . 2013, p. 29-44 .
  23. ^ Raichle: Hitler as a symbol politician . 2014, p. 45-75 .
  24. ^ Raichle: Hitler as a symbol politician . 2014, p. 38 .
  25. ↑ According to the "Announcement on the minting of Reichsilbermünzen with a nominal value of 2 and 5 Reichsmark from March 16, 1934" , information from documentArchiv.de
  26. ^ Pyta: Hindenburg . 2007, p. 824 ff .
  27. ^ Raichle: The day of Potsdam . 2003, p. 154 f .
  28. ^ Ordinance of the Reich President to ward off insidious attacks against the government of the national insurrection of March 21, 1933, RGBl. I, p. 135. documentarchiv.de, accessed on June 5, 2019.
  29. ↑ Michael Wildt : The First 100 Days of Hitler's Government Contemporary History-online , July 5, 2017.
  30. ↑ Leonhard Janta: "... the Führer is a rascal." The persecution of so-called insidious attacks on the party and state in the Ahrweiler district during the Nazi era in 1990
  31. Jump up ↑ The Path to Dictatorship: The Submission of Der Spiegel , January 29, 2008.
  32. ^ Heinrich August Winkler: The long way to the west. Volume 2: German history from the “Third Reich” to reunification . CH Beck, Munich 2010, pp. 11-12.
  33. ^ Sebastian Haffner : Prussia without legend , Gruner + Jahr Verlag, Hamburg 1990, p. 493/498.