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It is mainly used in English for Nazi Germany 's absolute ruler, Adolf Hitler . Though the word remains common in German, it does come with some Social Stigma attached, and under Hitler was part of the title of many positions in the various (para)military and governmental organizations of Germany. HISTORIC NAZI TITLES State & Party Leader Hitler Führer was the title granted by Chancellor Hitler to himself by law, as part of the process of '' Gleichschaltung '', following the death of the last Reichspräsident of the Weimar Republic , Paul Von Hindenburg , on August 2 , 1934 . The new position, fully named ''Führer und Reichskanzler'' (Leader and Chancellor of the Empire), unified the offices of President and Chancellor, formally making Hitler Germany's Head Of State as well as Head Of Government respectively; in practice, the Dictator of the Nazi Third Reich . Nazi Germany cultivated the '' Führerprinzip '' (leader principle), and Hitler was generally known as just ''der Führer'' ("the Leader"). One of the Nazis' most-repeated political slogans was ''Ein Volk , ein Reich, ein Führer' - 'One people, one empire (and nation-state), one leader'. For military matters, Hitler used the style ''Der Führer und Oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht'' 'The Leader and Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht ', until that addition was dropped in May 1942 by decree of the Führer. The style of the Head of state for use in foreign affairs was ''Führer und Reichskanzler'' (Leader and National Chancellor) until July 28 , 1942 , when it was changed to ''Der Führer des Grossdeutschen Reichs'' 'The Leader of the Greater German Nation'. (Para)Military usage of the word Führer Führer has been used as a military title (compare Latin Dux ) in Germany since at least the 18th century. Ironically, given the context of the word to refer to Adolf Hitler as supreme ruler of Germany, in the context of a company sized military subunit in the German Army, the term "Führer" referred to a commander lacking the qualifications for permanent command. For example, the commanding officer of a company was titled "Kompaniechef" (literally, Company Chief in English), 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. The term Führer was also used at lower levels, regardless of experience or rank; for example, a ''Gruppenführer'' was the leader of a squad of infantry (9 or 10 men). Aside from this generic meaning, " Gruppenführer " was also an official rank title for a specific grade of general in the Waffen SS . 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 ). Almost every Nazi paramilitary organization, in particular the SS and SA , had Nazi Party Paramilitary Ranks incorporating the title of Führer. EQUIVALENT HISTORIC TITLES Hitler's choice for this (in German unprecedented) political title was, like much of the early symbolism of Nazi Germany, modelled after Benito Mussolini 's Fascist Italy , which impressed Hitler until it proved its military incompetence. Mussolini's chosen nickname '' Il Duce '', ''the Leader'', was widely used, although unlike Hitler, Mussolini never made the title official. Note that nowadays, unlike the word ''führer'', which still means "leader" or "guide" in German, the word ''duce'' is no longer in common use to generically mean "leader" in Italian, and almost always refer to Benito Mussolini. It is remarkable how different Far-right political leaders in various official positions assumed, formally or not, similar titles -- in their own languages, as Nationalism dictates -- suggesting to speak for the nation itself, justifying more than ordinary exercise of power. Such titles used by nationalist heads of state and/or government during the Second World War include:
Other 'leaders' of contemporary nationalist political groups who never achieved power:
In areas occupied by the Axis powers, some states or ethnic-cultural communities aspiring to national self-determination found they were not handed real power by their victorious German allies as they had hoped. Their nationalist leaders, too weak to gain control independently, were simply used as pawns. Such Nazi collaborators include ''De Leider'' "leader" Staf De Clercq of the VNV (Flemish National League) in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking northern majority of Belgium), who had dreamed of a 'Diets' nation uniting Flanders, the Netherlands and ''Frans-Vlaanderen'' (the French part of historic Flanders, united with Belgium into one military occupation zone and ''Reichskommissariat''). Even when the Germans decided in December 1944, after the allied breaktrough, to carve up Belgium, leaving only bicultural capital Brussels under the Reichskommissar , the post of ''Landsleider van het Vlaamsche Volk'' ('Land leader of the Flemish people') of the new '' Reichsgau '' (integral 'Germanic' part of the Reich, in this case merely on paper) ( Flandern , ''Vlaanderen'' in Dutch; capital Anwerp) went to another collaborating party, Devlag, in the person of Jef Van de Wiele (1902 - 1979), 15 December 1944 - 1945, in exile in Germany as the Allied controlled all Belgium since september 1945; meanwhile in the francophone south of Belgium, partially reconquered by German troops (December 1944 - January 1945), the equivalent post of ''Chef du Peuple Wallon'' ('Leader of the Walloon People') at the head of the ''Reichsgau Wallonien'' , went to Léon Degrelle (in exile in Germany) of the rather Belgicist Rex Party Later parallels The use of the word "leader" to denote a position of absolute political power was not invented by the Nazis, and it did not end with their defeat in World War II. Many leaders have continued to use such titles as part of maintaining a Personality Cult , including ''Başbuğ'' (commander) Alparslan Türkeş of the Turkish Nationalistic Front. The same style was sometimes followed by leaders with nationalist inclinations elsewhere in the political spectrum. Rulers such as Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il of North Korea , who are both historically and geographically far removed from any European influence, use the titles ''Great Leader'' and ''Dear Leader'', respectively. MODERN USAGE OF THE WORD FüHRER Due to its excessive use in Nazi Germany, the term ''Führer'' is not popular in modern Germany. ''Anführer'', with a slightly more tangible meaning than ''Führer'', is now more common as a literal translation of "leader", while ''Führer'' itself is almost exclusively used in composites, e.g. ''Lok {Link without Title} führer'' (engine driver), ''Zugführer'' (railway guard), ''Flugzeugführer'' (aircraft pilot), ''Bergführer'' (mountain guide), ''Führerschein'' (driver's license), ''Spielführer'' (team captain), ''Mannschaftsführer'' (teamster), ''Fremdenführer'' (tourist guide), ''Geschäftsführer'' (director), ''Führerstand'' (driver's cab), and so on. The word ''Leiter'' can also be used as a substitute, though it is somewhat ambiguous. SEE ALSO SOURCES AND REFERENCES (incomplete) |
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