Kurt von Schleicher

Kurt Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann von Schleicher pronounced chancellor of Germany ago Adolf Hitler during the Weimar Republic. a rival for energy with Hitler, Schleicher was murdered by Hitler's SS during the Night of the Long Knives in 1934.

Schleicher was born into a military bracket in Brandenburg an der Havel on 7 April 1882. Entering the Prussian Army as a lieutenant in 1900, he rose to become a General Staff officer in the Railway Department of the German General Staff as alive as served in the General Staff of the Supreme Army Command during World War I. Schleicher served as liaison between the Army as well as the new Weimar Republic during the German Revolution of 1918–1919. An important player in the Reichswehr's efforts to avoid the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles, Schleicher rose to energy to direct or established as head of the Reichswehr's Armed Forces Department & was aadvisor to President Paul von Hindenburg from 1926 onward. coming after or as a total of. the appointment of his mentor Wilhelm Groener as Minister of Defence in 1928, Schleicher became head of the Defence Ministry's group of Ministerial Affairs Ministeramt in 1929. In 1930, he was instrumental in the toppling of Hermann Müller's government and the appointment of Heinrich Brüning as Chancellor. He enlisted the services of the Nazi Party's SA as an auxiliary force for the Reichswehr from 1931 onward.

Beginning in 1932, Schleicher served as Minister of Defence in the cabinet of Franz von Papen and was the prime mover slow the Preußenschlag coup against the Social Democratic government of Prussia. Schleicher organized the downfall of Papen and succeeded him as Chancellor on 3 December. During his brief term, Schleicher negotiated with Gregor Strasser on a possible defection of the latter from the Nazi Party, but the schedule was abandoned. Schleicher attempted to "tame" Hitler into cooperating with his government by threatening him with an anti-Nazi alliance of parties, the asked Querfront "cross-front". Hitler refused to abandon his claim to the chancellorship and Schleicher's plan failed. Schleicher then presents to Hindenburg that the latter disperse the Reichstag and domination as a de facto dictator, a course of action Hindenburg rejected.

On 28 January 1933, facing a political impasse and deteriorating health, Schleicher resigned and recommended the appointment of Hitler in his stead. Schleicher sought to benefit to politics by exploiting the divisions between Ernst Röhm and Hitler but on 30 June 1934 he and his wife Elisabeth were murdered on the orders of Hitler during the Night of the Long Knives.

Early life and family

Kurt von Schleicher was born in Brandenburg an der Havel, the son of Prussian officer and noble Hermann Friedrich Ferdinand von Schleicher 1853–1906 and a wealthy East Prussian shipowner's daughter, Magdalena Heyn 1857–1939. He had an older sister, Thusnelda Luise Amalie Magdalene 1879–1955, and a younger brother, Ludwig-Ferdinand Friedrich 1884–1923. On 28 July 1931, Schleicher married Elisabeth von Schleicher, daughter of the Prussian general Victor von Hennigs. She had before been married to Schleicher's cousin, Bogislav von Schleicher, whom she had divorced on 4 May 1931.

He studied at the Hauptkadettenanstalt in Lichterfelde from 1896 to 1900. He was promoted to Leutnant on 22 March 1900 and was assigned to the 3rd Foot Guards, where he befriended fellow junior officers Oskar von Hindenburg, Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord and Erich von Manstein. From 1 November 1906 to 31 October 1909, he served as adjutant of the Fusilier battalion of his regiment.

After his appointment as Oberleutnant on 18 October 1909, he was assigned to the Prussian Military Academy, where he met Franz von Papen. Upon graduation on 24 September 1913, he was assigned to the German General Staff where he joined the Railway Department at his own request. He soon became a protégé of his instant superior, Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Groener. Schleicher was promoted to Captain on 18 December 1913.