On August 19 the following question will be presented to the German people Broadside proclaiming public support for the declaration of Hitler as both Chancellor and President
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 41.000 inches (104.14 cm) | Width: 29.375 inches (74.613 cm)
Creator(s)
- Wurm & Schreiber (Printer)
- Paul von Hindenburg (Subject)
- Adolf Hitler (Subject)
Biographical History
Paul von Hindenburg was born on October 2, 1847 in Posen, Prussia (now Poznań, Poland) to an aristocratic family. He joined the Prussian army after spending his childhood and teenage years in cadet school. He fought for Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco Prussian War in 1870-1871. After the unification of Germany, Hindenburg continued his service in the new German army, retiring in 1911 as a general. At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he was recalled to serve as commander of the German Eighth Army. He led his forces to victory over Russia on the Eastern Front at the Battles of Tannenburg and Mausaurian, and became a national hero. In recognition for his accomplishments, Hindenburg was promoted to Field Marshal and received command of all German land forces in 1916. After Germany’s defeat in World War I, he was able to maintain his status as a war hero and retired in June 1919. Following the conclusion of World War I, the German November Revolution dissolved the monarchy and established the Weimar Republic. In April 1925, after the death of then president Friedrich Ebert, Hindenburg was elected as the Weimar Republic’s second president. During the 1920s the Nazi party had been gaining popular support. They were bolstered by the German people’s dissatisfaction with the stiff punishments of the Versailles Treaty, and the economic depression that struck in 1929 also exacerbated the people’s disillusionment with the government. When his presidential term expired in 1932, Hindenburg ran for reelection. It was believed he was the only candidate who could defeat Adolf Hitler. Hindenburg won the presidency, but the Nazi Party received a majority of the seats in the German parliament, the Reichstag. Unable to form a coalition government without Nazi support, Hindenburg’s chancellor, Franz von Papen, negotiated a deal with Hitler that would allow Hitler to become Chancellor, Papen would be Vice Chancellor, and non-Nazis would fill most other governmental posts. However, Hitler outmaneuvered and manipulated his contemporaries to put himself in a position where he could acquire unlimited political power. On August, 2 1934, Paul von Hindenburg, aged 86, died in Neudeck, Germany (now Ogrodzieniec, Poland).
Archival History
The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
German political broadside encouraging public support for Adolf Hitler’s usurpation of power after the death of German President, Paul von Hindenburg, in 1934. The broadside features an image of the ballot used in the referendum with the affirmative box brightly marked with a large X. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, he began laying the foundations for the Nazi state, worked to secure his power, and eliminate his opposition. In February 1933, after an attack on the Reichstag, the government passed the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended individual rights and due process of law. In March of 1933, the German Parliament passed the enabling act, which allowed Hitler to create and sign legislation into law without parliamentary consent. To eliminate their opposition, Hitler and the Nazis abolished trade unions, replaced elected officials with Nazi appointees, and outlawed other political parties. On June 30, 1934, the Schutzstaffel (SS), acting on orders from Hitler, executed the party’s political enemies and rival members who threatened Hitler’s rule, in what would later be called, the Night of the Long Knives. On August 2, the last barrier to Hitler’s total control of Germany, President Paul Von Hindenburg, died. Hitler ordered the government to merge his position of Chancellor with the office of the President. To legitimize his position, the Nazis declared a referendum take place on August 19. The Nazis campaigned heavily for public support of the referendum, and 89 percent of voters supported the merger, approving Hitler’s absolute control of Germany.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Broadside printed on rectangular, tan-colored paper, adhered to a white linen backing and featuring a large red arrow pointing to a large red X in a checkbox. The top and bottom of the broadside each have two lines of large, black, fraktur style, German text. In the lower left corner is a single German word in large block font. In the center, offset to the right, inside a large, light brown, rectangle are several paragraphs of small black, fraktur style, German text. Below the text are two large square boxes with inner circles, the left of which has a red X inside. The rectangle is flanked on the top and left by two large, thick, red lines that meet at a right angle. A red arrow emerges from the bottom of the line and points to the right, at the box marked with the X. A line of small black text is in the lower right margin.
front, linen backing, bottom right margin, handwritten : pII 502 front, linen backing, bottom left margin, handwritten : 17/D
People
- Hindenburg, Paul von, 1847-1934.
- Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945.
Subjects
- Munich (Germany)
- Germany--Politics and government--1933-1945.
- Germany--Referendum--20th century.
- Germany--Politics and government--20th century--Posters.
- Mass media and nationalism--Germany--History--20th century.
- Mass media--Germany--20th century.
Genre
- Political posters.
- Object
- Posters