Hugo Preuß

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Hugo Preuß (28 October 1860 – 9 October 1925) was a German lawyer and liberal politician.

Preuß is often regarded as the father of the German constitution of the Weimar Republic (1919). However, it is important to note that his idea was more of a skeletal structure and not a word for word democratic plan. In many cases, his idea for the Weimar Constitution was askewed by articles used by President Paul von Hindenburg such as Article 48.

Preuß was the state secretary of home affairs during the revolutionary cabinet of 1918 and 1919. His ideas about the constitution were influenced by the French social scientist Robert Redslob. In 1919 he became Minister of the Interior.

Due to Preuß's Jewish heritage, the Nazi Party used this as a major attack on the Weimar Republic to say that it was authored by a Jew, and inherently "un-German".

Preuß was born in Berlin, where he also died. He was a member of the German Democratic Party and the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold.