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Kurt Von Schleicher the Soldier and Politics in the Run-Up to National Socialism: a Case Study of Civil-Military Relations

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Kurt Von Schleicher the Soldier and Politics in the Run-Up to National Socialism: a Case Study of Civil-Military Relations View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2013-06 Kurt von Schleicher the soldier and politics in the run-up to national socialism: a case study of civil-military relations Bitter, Alexander B. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34631 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS KURT VON SCHLEICHER—THE SOLDIER AND POLITICS IN THE RUN-UP TO NATIONAL SOCIALISM: A CASE STUDY OF CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS by Alexander B. Bitter June 2013 Thesis Co-Advisors: Donald Abenheim Carolyn Halladay Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202–4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704–0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2013 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS KURT VON SCHLEICHER—THE SOLDIER AND POLITICS IN THE RUN-UP TO NATIONAL SOCIALISM: A CASE STUDY OF CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS 6. AUTHOR(S) Alexander B. Bitter 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943–5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. IRB Protocol number ____N/A____. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis analyzes the political role of the German General Staff as well as civil-military relations in Germany from the late 19th century until 1933. Specifically, it examines the rise and fall of Kurt von Schleicher. Together with Generals Paul von Hindenburg, Erich Ludendorff, and Wilhelm Groener, Schleicher shaped the politics of the Weimar Republic, right up to the end that he—unintentionally—hastened when his intrigues paved the way for Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship. During World War I, the German army completed its control over the civilian administration and bureaucracy. In the Republic of Weimar 1919–1933, the military remained a powerful governmental player—as the self-anointed protector of the nation against external and internal threats, including democracy. Thus, Germany’s political situation in the winter of 1932–1933 and the activities of the key players stemmed from a long-term anti-democratic socialization process amid an entrenched civil-military imbalance. As the present thesis demonstrates, Schleicher’s life—from his military background to his experience as a member of Prussia’s noble Junker class—coincided with Germany’s tumultuous modernization. The fateful lessons that he drew from this experience ultimately spelled the end of Germany’s first democracy and ushered in the calamity of the Third Reich. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Germany, Weimar Republic, Third Reich, Reichswehr, General Staff, Kurt 15. NUMBER OF von Schleicher, Paul von Hindenburg, Adolf Hitler, Wilhelm Groener, Erich Ludendorff PAGES 121 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UU NSN 7540–01–280–5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2–89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239–18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited KURT VON SCHLEICHER—THE SOLDIER AND POLITICS IN THE RUN-UP TO NATIONAL SOCIALISM: A CASE STUDY OF CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS Alexander B. Bitter Lieutenant Colonel, German Air Force Diplom-Pädagoge, Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg, 1998 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (EUROPE AND EURASIA) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 2013 Author: Alexander B. Bitter Approved by: Donald Abenheim Thesis Co-Advisor Carolyn Halladay Thesis Co-Advisor Harold Trinkunas Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes the political role of the German General Staff as well as civil- military relations in Germany from the late 19th century until 1933. Specifically, it examines the rise and fall of Kurt von Schleicher. Together with Generals Paul von Hindenburg, Erich Ludendorff, and Wilhelm Groener, Schleicher shaped the politics of the Weimar Republic, right up to the end that he—unintentionally—hastened when his intrigues paved the way for Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship. During World War I, the German army completed its control over the civilian administration and bureaucracy. In the Republic of Weimar 1919–1933, the military remained a powerful governmental player—as the self-anointed protector of the nation against external and internal threats, including democracy. Thus, Germany’s political situation in the winter of 1932–1933 and the activities of the key players stemmed from a long-term anti-democratic socialization process amid an entrenched civil-military imbalance. As the present thesis demonstrates, Schleicher’s life—from his military background to his experience as a member of Prussia’s noble Junker class—coincided with Germany’s tumultuous modernization. The fateful lessons that he drew from this experience ultimately spelled the end of Germany’s first democracy and ushered in the calamity of the Third Reich. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................1 A. THE GENERAL STAFF AND ITS INFLUENCE IN GERMAN POLITICS AND SOCIETY ............................................................................2 B. MILITARY AND POLITICS: ALSO A 21ST-CENTURY ISSUE ............5 C. A BROAD SPECTRUM OF SCHOLARSHIP .............................................6 D. TWO STORY LINES: GERMANY’S POLITICS AND SCHLEICHER’S WORLD ...........................................................................11 II. MASS POLITICS AND THE SOLDIER IN GERMANY AFTER 1848: AN AUTHORITARIAN MODERNIZATION ..............................................................13 A. THE PERPETUAL SUPPRESSION OF DEMOCRACY .........................13 B. GERMANY’S UNIFICATION THROUGH WAR ....................................16 1. Setting the Stage with Denmark and Austria ..................................17 2. The Main Event: France ...................................................................18 C. CONSOLIDATION OF POWER AFTER 1871 .........................................20 D. SOCIETY, ECONOMY, AND INDUSTRIALIZATION ..........................24 III. AN EXAMPLARY OFFICER’S CAREER: KURT VON SCHLEICHER’S POLITICAL AND MILITARY SOCIALIZATION IN IMPERIAL GERMANY ................................................................................................................27 A. THE WORLD OF KURT VON SCHLEICHER ........................................28 B. THE MAKING OF AN OFFICER AND MILITARY TECHNOCRAT .............................................................................................28 C. WORLD WAR I AND SCHLEICHER’S MENTORS...............................32 1. Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff ..................................32 2. Wilhelm Groener ...............................................................................37 D. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................39 IV. POLITICS AFTER THE WAR AND THE BIRTH OF THE YOUNG DEMOCRACY—REICHSWEHR AND REPUBLIC ...........................................41 A. WEIMAR AND ITS (EARLY) DISCONTENTS .......................................43 1. Difficult Economic Conditions ..........................................................44 2. Domestic Political Rivalries ..............................................................46 B. CONSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES ........................................................48 V. CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN WEIMAR AND SCHLEICHER’S INCREASING POLITICAL INFLUENCE ............................................................53 A. THE ROLE OF THE GENERAL STAFF IN THE SHADOW OF WEIMAR AND VERSAILLES 1919–1933 .................................................54 1. Seeckt’s Leadership in State and Army ...........................................56 2. Groener’s Vision ................................................................................58 B. SCHLEICHER’S POLITICAL ACTIVITIES ...........................................60 1. Schleicher Barges in Politics .............................................................62
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