From an aristocratic family background, Hindenburg was educated at the Wahlstatt and Berlin cadet schools. He entered the army and fought in both the Austro-Prussian and Franco-Prussian wars. He rose to the rank of general by 1903 and retired from the army in 1911. In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, he was recalled by von Moltke and given command of the German Eighth Army. He was subsequently victorious against the Russians at Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes and was promoted to field marshall in November 1914. A national hero, Hindenburg succeeded Falkenhayn as Chief of the General Staff in 1916. His deputy, Erich Ludendorff, advised Hindenburg to seek an armistice with the Allies in 1918, but he continued the war and Ludendorff eventually resigned. In November 1918, he and his new deputy Wilhelm Groener, persuaded the Kaiser to abdicate for the good of the country. Hindenburg retired again at the end of the war and, in 1920, published his memoirs, Out of My Life, which became a best-seller in Germany. In 1925, Admiral Tirpitz, one of the leaders of the German National People's Party, convinced Hindenburg to run in the presidential election and he was elected on the basis of his war record. Hindenburg was not interested in the political intrigues that were fostered by many of his aides and cabinet members during the Weimar period. Nevertheless, by 1930 a presidential dictatorship had been established and paved the way for the rise to power of the Nazis and Adolf Hitler. By 1933, Hindenburg was obliged to appoint Hitler as chancellor. Hindenburg continued in office until his death from lung cancer in 1934. |
