( ; , spelled when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially styled himself der Führer und Reichskanzler (the Leader and Chancellor of the Reich) after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1934 and the subsequent merging of the offices of Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler.
Nazi Germany cultivated the ("leader principle"), and Hitler was generally known as simply ("the Leader").
In compound words, the use of remains common in German and is used in words such as (mountain guide) or (leader of the opposition). However, because of its strong association with Hitler, the isolated word itself usually has negative connotations when used with the meaning of "leader", especially in political contexts.
The word has cognates in the Scandinavian languages, spelled fører in Danish and Norwegian, which have the same meaning and use as the German word, but without necessarily having political connotations. In Swedish, förare normally means "driver" (of a vehicle). However, in the compound word härförare, that part does mean "leader", and is a cognate of the German "Heerführer".
History
Background
has been used as a military title (compare Latin Dux) in Germany since at least the 18th century. The usage of the term "Führer" in the context of a company-sized military subunit in the German Army referred to a commander lacking the qualifications for permanent command. For example, the commanding officer of a company was (and is) titled "Kompaniechef" (literally, Company Chief), 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 , in connection with mission-type tactics used by the German military forces. The term was also used at lower levels, regardless of experience or rank; for example, a was the leader of a squad of infantry (9 or 10 men).
Origins of the political concept
The first example of the political use of was with the Austrian Georg von Schönerer (1842–1921), a major exponent of pan-Germanism and German nationalism in Austria, whose followers commonly referred to him as the , and who also used the Roman salute – where the right arm and hand are held rigidly outstretched – which they called the "German greeting". According to historian Richard J. Evans, this use of "" by Schönerer's Pan-German Association, probably introduced the term to the German far-right, but its specific adoption by the Nazis may also have been influenced by the use in Italy of "", also meaning "leader", as an informal title for Benito Mussolini, the Fascist Prime Minister, and later (from 1922) dictator, of that country.
of the Nazi Party
Adolf Hitler took the title to denote his function as the head of the Nazi Party; he received it in 1921 when, infuriated over party founder Anton Drexler's plan to merge with another antisemitic far-right nationalist party, he resigned from the party. Drexler and the party's Executive Committee then acquiesced to Hitler's demand to be made the chairman of the party with "dictatorial powers" as the condition for his return.
and Chancellor
In 1933, Hitler was appointed (Chancellor of the Reich) by Paul von Hindenburg.
A month later, the decision to vote with the Nazi Party taken by the MPs of the Catholic Center Party allowed the Nazi-dominated Reichstag to reach the qualified constitutional two-thirds majority required for passage of the Enabling Act allowing the cabinet to promulgate laws by decree, rendering in practice the system of checks and balances defunct. The Act became the official legal justification for such decrees later routinely issued by Hitler himself.