Paul von Hindenburg

Paul von Hindenburg (1847 - 1934) was a German general, military hero from World War I and eventually the president of Germany from 1925 to 1934 under the Weimar Republic.

Hindenburg was a career military man fighting in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 before being pointed to the chiefs of staff in 1878. Retiring in 1911, he came out of retirement for World War I and was given credit for the great German victory at the Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 and was promoted to commander of all the German armies in 1916. Together with Erich Ludendorff he directed the World War I efforts and military strategies. Officially retired in 1919, he came back in 1925 to be elected president and serve as the leader of the shattered Germany state. Hindenburg continued to serve until his death. While he was alive the aged Hindenburg slowed Hitler's rise to power, but upon his death, nothing stood in the way of Hitler and taking control in Germany.

The Hindenburg, which met a fiery fate, was named for the Paul von Hindenburg.

References

• The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989