Hindenburg, << HIHN duhn behrg or HIHN duhn burk, >> Paul von (1847-1934), was a German soldier and statesman. He was military leader of Germany during World War I (1914-1918), and he served as president of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor in 1933, and Hitler became ruler of Germany.
Hindenburg was born on Oct. 2, 1847, in Posen, East Prussia (now Poznan, Poland). He served as a junior officer in Prussian military victories over Austria in 1866 and France in 1870 and 1871. Hindenburg became a general in 1896, and he retired in 1911. When World War I began, Hindenburg came out of retirement to command the German Eighth Army. General Erich Ludendorff became his chief of staff. In the fall of 1914, Hindenburg and Ludendorff won important victories over Russian forces in East Prussia. Hindenburg was promoted to field marshal and became commander in chief on the eastern front. In 1916, he became supreme commander of all German forces and one of the most powerful men in Germany. Ludendorff, whom many historians consider a better strategist, remained Hindenburg’s second in command.
Early in 1917, Hindenburg and Ludendorff ordered the Siegfried Line built in northeastern France, to shorten the western front and to ease the strain on Germany’s troops. Germany held this line from March 1917 until the Allies broke through at the end of the war in September 1918. The Allies called it the Hindenburg Line. See World War I (Later stages) .
Hindenburg was elected president of Germany in 1925 and reelected in 1932. The Great Depression in 1929 caused unemployment and unrest in Germany and led to support for Hitler’s Nazi Party. In the elections of 1932, the Nazi Party showed that it had become the strongest party in Germany. Hitler claimed the support of a majority of parliament. Hindenburg became increasingly influenced by advisers who supported the Nazis. The aged and tiring Hindenburg finally appointed Hitler chancellor on Jan. 30, 1933. After Hindenburg died on Aug. 2, 1934, Hitler abolished the presidency and assumed its powers.
