Papen, Franz von

Papen, Franz von (b. 29 Oct. 1879, d. 2 May 1969). Chancellor of Germany 1 June–17 Nov. 1932 A monarchist on the right wing of the Centre Party, he was a member of the Prussian state parliament 1920–8 and 1930–2. He succeeded Brüning as Chancellor and proceeded to lift the ban on SA activities and call new elections, thus fulfilling the conditions which Hitler had hinted at as necessary for him to support a right-wing government. The elections produced large gains for the Nazi Party and the Communist Party, and hence rendered parliamentary government impossible. Meanwhile, on 20 July 1932 von Papen deposed Prussia's SPD government by obtaining a presidential decree from Hindenburg, thus destroying the most important remaining bastion of the SPD and of democratic government. When he demanded a presidential declaration of a state of emergency, the army refused to back him, and he had to resign. He became one of the principal motivators behind Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, though as his Vice-Chancellor he was unable to contain him. As ambassador to Austria 1936–8 he helped in the preparations for the Anschluss, and then was sent as ambassador to Turkey. He was acquitted at the Nuremberg Trials, but convicted in a separate trial in 1949 to eight years in a labour camp, which he never served owing to the time he had already spent in prison.