Führer

Führer (often written Fuehrer in English when umlauts are not used) meaning "leader" or "guide" in German, was a title granted by German Chancellor Adolf Hitler to himself by law following the death of Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg (president of the German Reich; Reich = empire) August 2, 1934. The new position, fully named Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Reich Chancellor), formally made Hitler Germany's Head of State as well as Head of government (see also Gleichschaltung). It is modeled after its Italian equivalent 'il Duce', used by Benito Mussolini. Hitler cultivated the Führerprinzip, and Hitler was generally known as just Der Führer (The Leader). It was a de-facto personality cult about his role as leader. One of Hitler's most-repeated political slogans was "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" (translated as "One people, one country, one leader", or "One nation, one empire, one leader"). Due to its excessive use in Nazi Germany, the term Führer has understandably gone out of fashion in modern Germany. The term Anführer, which means the same as Führer, is now mostly being used as a literal translation of "leader", while Führer itself is only used in composites, e.g. Lok[omotiv]führer (engine driver), Zugführer (railway guard), Flugzeugführer (aircraft pilot), Bergführer (mountain guide), Führerschein (driver's licence), etc. Other meanings in German: captain (e. g., team captain), guide (see above), headman. Category:Authority figures\nCategory:German history\nCategory:Titles\n\n\n\n