Meaning of Führer (What it is, Concept and Definition)

What is Führer:

The term Fuehrer It has its origin in the German language, which means “boss, leader” in any area in which the individual works.

In the era of NazismFührer was used exclusively to refer to the leaders of political parties, a title that Hitler himself gave himself, by virtue of his performance as president of the Nazi Political Party.

Hitler himself later labeled himself as “Führer und Reichskanzler”which in Spanish means “leader and chancellor”, due to the approval of the decree that unified the positions of Reich President and Chancellor, and who assumed the powers as head of state.

The expression took other variants such as “Führerprinzip” which in Spanish means “leader principle”, “Führer des deutschen Reiches und Volkes”in Spanish indicates “leader of the Reich and the German people”, “Führer des Grossdeutschen Reiches”which is the same in Spanish as “leader of the Great German Empire.”

In Nazi Germany, Hitler was seen as “der Führer”, which in Spanish expresses “the leader.” However, it is also a term used in the military field, during the 18th century to refer to members of the army of the Holy Roman Empire and the German Empire.

Based on all of the above, Outside Germany the term Führer is linked to the Germany of Adolf Hitler, as a synonym for “dictator”, and consequently it is a term used only in Germany to refer to the boss or leader of any area.

Due to the transformation that the meaning of the word, previously identified, underwent, it was replaced by “Leiter” to address any leader other than Hitler.

Finally, in other countries they used other terms to indicate the leader, as is the case of Italy that used the expression “Duce”, or Spain “Caudillo”.

Heil, mein Führer

As such, the greeting during the Third Reich was “Heil Hitler!” which means “Hail Hitler!”, But he preferred to be greeted as “Heil, mein Führer” or simply “Heil”, repeated in Hitler’s speeches in the form of an oral song: “Sieg…Heil! Sieg…Heil! Sieg…Heil! Heil Hitler!”