Free State of Prussia
The Free State of Prussia (German: Freistaat Preußen, pronounced [ˌfʁaɪ̯ʃtaːt ˈpʁɔɪ̯sn̩] (
listen)) was a state of Germany from 1918 to 1947. It was established in 1918 following the German Revolution, abolishing the German Empire and founding the Weimar Republic in the aftermath of the First World War. The new state was a direct successor to the Kingdom of Prussia, but featured a democratic, republican government and smaller area based on territorial changes after the war. Despite bearing the brunt of Germany's territorial losses in Europe, Prussia remained the dominant state of Germany, comprising almost 5⁄8 (62.5%) of the country's territory and population, and home to the federal capital, Berlin.[1] Prussia changed from the authoritarian state it had been under previous rulers to a democratic bastion within the Weimar Republic where (unlike in other states and at the federal level) democratic parties combined to win comfortable majorities in every free and fair election held.
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| Free State of Prussia Freistaat Preußen | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of Germany | |||||||||||||
| 1918–1947 | |||||||||||||
 The Free State of Prussia in 1925 | |||||||||||||
| Capital | Berlin | ||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• 1925[1] | 292,695.36 km2 (113,010.31 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
• 1925[1] | 38,175,986 | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Type | Republic | ||||||||||||
| • Motto | Gott mit uns "God with us" | ||||||||||||
| Reichsstatthalter | |||||||||||||
• 1933–1935 | Adolf Hitler | ||||||||||||
• 1935–1945 | Hermann Göring | ||||||||||||
| Minister-President | |||||||||||||
• 1918 (first) | Friedrich Ebert | ||||||||||||
• 1933-1945 (last) | Hermann Göring | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | State Diet | ||||||||||||
• Upper Chamber | State Council | ||||||||||||
• Lower Chamber | House of Representatives | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar • World War II | ||||||||||||
| 9 November 1918 | |||||||||||||
| 30 November 1920 | |||||||||||||
| 20 July 1932 | |||||||||||||
| 30 January 1933 | |||||||||||||
| 30 January 1935 | |||||||||||||
| 25 February 1947 | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Today part of | Germany Poland Russia Lithuania | ||||||||||||
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  History of Brandenburg and Prussia | ||||
| Northern March 965 – 983 |
Old Prussians pre – 13th century | |||
| Lutician federation 983 – 12th century | ||||
| Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157 – 1618 (1806) (HRE) (Bohemia 1373 – 1415) |
Teutonic Order 1224 – 1525 (Polish fief 1466 – 1525) | |||
| Duchy of Prussia 1525 – 1618 (1701) (Polish fief 1525 – 1657) |
Royal (Polish) Prussia (Poland) 1454/1466 – 1772 | |||
| Brandenburg-Prussia 1618 – 1701 | ||||
| Kingdom in Prussia 1701 – 1772 | ||||
| Kingdom of Prussia 1772 – 1918 | ||||
| Free State of Prussia (Germany) 1918 – 1947 |
Klaipėda Region (Lithuania) 1920 – 1939 / 1945 – present |
Recovered Territories (Poland) 1918/1945 – present | ||
| Brandenburg (Germany) 1947 – 1952 / 1990 – present |
Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia) 1945 – present | |||
The Free State of Prussia's democratic government was overthrown in the Preußenschlag in 1932, placing the state under direct rule in a coup d'état led by Chancellor Franz von Papen and forcing Minister-President Otto Braun from office. The establishment of Nazi Germany in 1933 began the Gleichschaltung process, ending legal challenges to the Preußenschlag and placing Prussia under the direct rule of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, with Hermann Göring as Minister-President. In 1934, all German states were de facto replaced by the Gaue system and converted to rudimentary bodies, effectively ending Prussia as a single territorial unit of Germany. After the end of World War II in 1945, Otto Braun approached Allied officials in occupied Germany to reinstate the legal Prussian government, but was rejected and Prussia was abolished in 1947.