Schleicher, Kurt von

Schleicher, Kurt von, 1882–1934, German general. A leading Reichswehr (army) figure after World War I, Schleicher wielded great power in the years before Adolf Hitler came to power (1933). He was war minister in the cabinet of Franz von Papen, whom he succeeded as chancellor of Germany in Dec., 1932. Trying to prevent Hitler from seizing power, Schleicher demanded authority from President Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and to assume emergency powers. Hindenburg refused and, after Schleicher's resignation (Jan. 28, 1933), appointed Hitler chancellor. Schleicher retired from public life but was shot with his wife in Hitler's 1934 “blood purge.”

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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