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The Free State of Prussia (German: Freistaat Preußen) was a German state formed after the abolition of the Kingdom of Prussia in the aftermath of World War I. It was the major state of Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic, comprising almost 5/8 (62.5%) of its territory and population.[1] Free state is a German term for republic that was coined in contrast to the Latin word, which was associated with the enemy France in the minds of many Germans of that time.
The democratic Free State of Prussia was rendered incapacitated, when taken over by coup in 1932-1933 and Otto Braun was forced from office. His government went to court over this ouster and after the end of war Otto Braun approached U.S. officials to reinstate the legal Prussian government. They and the other Allied Occupation forces, who had taken up occupation of all of Germany, were opposed to the idea and declared Prussia abolished in 1947.
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Except for its overseas colonies and Alsace-Lorraine and the Bavarian parts of the Saargebiet, all German territorial losses as a result of World War I were Prussian losses. As specified in the Treaty of Versailles, the former kingdom lost territory to Belgium (Eupen and Malmedy), Denmark (North Schleswig), Lithuania (Memel Territory) and Czechoslovakia (the Hultschin area). The Saargebiet was administered by the League of Nations. The Rhine Province became a demilitarised zone.
The bulk of Prussia’s losses were to Poland, including most of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia, and an eastern section of Siliesia. Danzig was placed under the administration of the League of Nations as the Free City of Danzig. These losses separated East Prussia from the rest of the country, now only accessible by rail through the Polish corridor or by sea.
Since it contained so much of Germany's area and population, the government initially considered breaking Prussia up into smaller and more manageable states, but eventually traditionalist sentiment prevailed and Prussia continued unchanged, apart from its territorial losses.
The restrictive Prussian three-class franchise was abolished shortly after Kaiser William II abdicated. As a result, Prussia became a stronghold of the left. Its incorporation of "Red Berlin" and the industrialised Ruhr Area — both with working-class majorities — ensured left-wing dominance.
From 1919 to 1932, Prussia was governed by a coalition of the Social Democrats, Catholic Centre, and German Democrats; from 1921 to 1925, coalition governments included the German People's Party. Unlike in other states of the German Reich, majority rule by democratic parties in Prussia was never endangered. Nevertheless, in East Prussia and some industrial areas, the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party) of Adolf Hitler gained more and more influence and popular support, especially from the lower middle class.
The East Prussian Otto Braun, who was Prussian minister-president almost continuously from 1920 to 1932, is considered one of the most capable Social Democrats in history. He implemented several trend-setting reforms together with his minister of the interior, Carl Severing, which were also models for the later Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). For instance, a Prussian minister-president could be forced out of office only if there was a "positive majority" for a potential successor. This concept, known as the constructive vote of no confidence, was carried over into the Basic Law of the FRG. Largely because of this provision, the centre-left coalition was able to stay in office because neither the far left nor the far right could possibly put together a majority.
In marked contrast to its prewar authoritarianism, Prussia was a pillar of democracy in the Weimar Republic. Most historians regard the Prussian government during this time as far more successful than that of Germany as a whole.
All of this changed on 20 July 1932 with the Preußenschlag ("Prussian coup"), where Reich Chancellor Franz von Papen unseated the democratic Free State of Prussia government under Otto Braun under the pretext that it had lost control of public order. This was triggered by a shootout between SA demonstrators and communists in Altona, Hamburg (Altona Bloody Sunday; Altona was still a part of Prussia at that time). After this emergency decree, Papen appointed himself Reich Commissioner for Prussia and took control of the government. This made it easy for Adolf Hitler to assume control over Prussia in the following year.
Otto Braun government filed suit in the courts, but the cases remained unresolved due to the war, and the subsequent Allied occupation and partition of Germany.
With the end of National Socialist rule in 1945 came the division of Germany into Zones of Occupation, and the transfer of control of everything east of the Oder-Neisse line to other countries. As was the case after World War I almost all of this territory had been Prussian territory (a small portion of the land east of the revised border had belonged to Saxony). Most of the land went to Poland and the northern third of East Prussia, including Königsberg, now Kaliningrad was annexed by the Soviet Union. The losses represented nearly two fifths of Prussian territory and nearly a quarter of territory within Germany's pre-1938 borders. An estimated ten million Germans fled or were expelled from these territories as part of the German exodus from Eastern Europe.
What remained of Prussia comprised both a little over half of the remaining German territory and a little over half of Prussia's pre-1914 territory. In Law #46 of 25 February 1947, the Allied Control Council formally proclaimed the dissolution of the Prussian state.[2] Although the Allies cited Prussia's history of militarism as their main justification for dissolving Prussia, its continued existence would have proven impractical following the onset of the Cold War and that conflict's division of Germany.
For the most part, Prussia's remaining territory went on to be divided into new states with the borders of Prussia's old provinces often forming the basis for the new state borders. The East German government abolished the states within its borders in 1952 although they were re-established in 1990 prior to German re-unification.
Unlike its authoritarian pre-war predecessor, Prussia was a promising democracy within Germany. The abolition of the aristocracy transformed Prussia into a region strongly dominated by the left wing of the political spectrum, with "Red Berlin" and the industrial centre of the Ruhr Area exerting a major influence. During this period, a coalition of centre-left parties ruled, predominantly under the leadership of East Prussian Social Democrat Otto Braun. While in office he implemented several reforms together with his Minister of the Interior, Carl Severing, which were also models for the later Federal Republic of Germany. For instance, a Prussian prime minister could only be forced out of office if there was a "positive majority" for a potential successor. This concept, known as the constructive vote of no confidence, was carried over into the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. Most historians regard the Prussian government during this time as far more successful than that of Germany as a whole.
Similar to other German states both now and at the time, executive power was continued to be vested in a Minister-President of Prussia and laws established by a Landtag elected by the people.
| # | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friedrich Ebert | 9 November 1918 | 11 November 1918 | SPD |
| 2 | Paul Hirsch | 11 November 1918 | 27 March 1920 | SPD |
| 3 | Otto Braun | 27 March 1920 | 21 April 1921 | SPD |
| 4 | Adam Stegerwald | 21 April 1921 | 5 November 1921 | Centre |
| - | Otto Braun (2nd term) | 5 November 1921 | 18 February 1925 | SPD |
| 5 | Wilhelm Marx | 18 February 1925 | 6 April 1925 | Centre |
| - | Otto Braun (3rd term) | 6 April 1925 | 20 July 1932 (ousted during the Preußenschlag) 30 January 1933 (formally deposed) |
SPD |
| Position suspended. Administered by the Reichskommissar |
20 July 1932 | 30 January 1933 | ||
| 6 | Franz von Papen | 30 January 1933 | 10 April 1933 | Independent |
| 7 | Hermann Göring | 10 April 1933 | 24 April 1945 | NSDAP |
In 1920, the Greater Berlin Act was passed to create Greater Berlin, enlarging the Prussian capital on the expense of Brandenburg, from which Berlin had been separated in 1881.[3] The Greater Berlin Act effectively enlarged the size of the city 13-fold, and its borders are largely maintained by the modern German state of Berlin.
The remainder of the provinces of Posen and West Prussia were combined to form Posen-West Prussia in 1922. For redeployments after 1933 see Free State of Prussia (1933-1935).
With the Allied occupation of Germany in 1945 and the declaration of abolition of the Prussian state in 1947 by the Allied Occupiers, the provinces of Prussia were eventually transformed into new territories:
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