Preußenschlag

The Preußenschlag (German pronunciation: [ˈpʁɔʏsənˌʃlaːk], Prussian coup) of 1932 was a major step towards the end of the German Weimar Republic, as it later facilitated the Nazification (Gleichschaltung) of Germany after Adolf Hitler's rise to power. On July 20, 1932, President Paul von Hindenburg issued an emergency decree under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution that dismissed the cabinet of the Free State of Prussia, the largest German state.

The pretext for this measure was violent unrest that was occurring in some areas of Prussia and the alleged inability of the Prussian government to handle the matter. The main trigger was the "Altonaer Blutsonntag" ("Altona Bloody Sunday"), a shootout between SA demonstrators and communists in Altona on 17 July 1932, which claimed 18 lives.

It is more likely however that the Prussian government headed by Minister-President Otto Braun, with authority over the powerful Prussian police force, was simply one of the last major forces standing in the way of Chancellor Franz von Papen's plans for nationalist rule.

The move was facilitated by the unstable situation of the Prussian government. The centre-left coalition of the Social Democrats, Centre Party and liberal German Democratic Party, which had ruled Prussia without interruption since 1918, had lost its majority in the recent elections to the Prussian Landtag (state parliament). However, a provision in the Prussian constitution stipulated that a government could only be removed from office if a prospective successor also had a majority. The opposition, consisting mainly of Communists and National Socialists, would not cooperate with each other or with other parties. As a result, no politically realistic alternative government was possible, and the Braun-led coalition remained in office.

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