FRANZ VON PAPEN October 1879 – May 1969
Franz von Papen was born in October 1879 in Werl, in the German Empire. He came from a wealthy Catholic noble family and received military training at the Prussian Military Academy. His early career was in the military and diplomacy; he served as a military attaché in the United States and Mexico before and during World War I.
After the war, von Papen entered politics and joined the Catholic Centre Party. In June 1932, he was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg, despite lacking strong political support. His brief tenure was marked by authoritarian tendencies and efforts to suppress left-wing political forces.
Von Papen played a key role in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. After being replaced as Chancellor, he persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in January 1933, believing he could control him as Vice Chancellor. This proved a grave miscalculation. Von Papen remained Vice Chancellor briefly and later served as German ambassador to Austria and Turkey.
After World War II, he was arrested by Allied forces. At the Nuremberg Trials, he was acquitted of war crimes but was later sentenced to time in a denazification court. He retired from public life and died in May 1969 in Obersasbach, West Germany. The cause of death was natural, due to old age.
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