Kurt von Schleicher

Kurt von Schleicher (1882-1934) was the last non-Nazi Chancellor of the Weimar Republic, who rose to prominence in the Army and, with the patronage of Oskar von Hindenburg, son of President Paul von Hindenburg, became politically influential. Another patron was General Wilhelm Groener, Erich Ludendorff's successor as First Quartermaster General, the operational Army Chief of Staff, whose wartime adjutant he had been.

In the First World War, he had brief combat service and primarily was on the staff. After the war, he continued, under Gen. Hans von Seeckt, to organize the secret rearmament of Germany in the Black Reichswehr; he was a negotiator with the Soviet Union in obtaining training. William Shirer called him a "gifted manipulator witha passion for intrigue, [who] worked best under cover in the dark.

When Groener became Weimar Minister of Defensein 1928, he put von Schleicher into a new office called the Ministry Bureau (Ministeramt), which dealt with Army relations to the ministries and the politicians. Using that influence, he worked to oust Werner von Blomberg from a senior post. By 1930, his concept of strong government led him to encourage Heinrich Bruening, as chancellor, to rule by decree. When Bruening did not do well, he contacted Ernst Roehm and Gregor Strasser, and started negotiating with the Nazis.

He was killed by Nazis in the Night of the Long Knives purge.