Otto Braun

The Social Democratic Minister President who made Prussia a "bastion of democracy."

Life

Printer

Braun came from a working-class family in Königsberg, worked as a printer and later became the Social Democratic Party's expert on agricultural affairs.

Bastion of democracy

From 1920 he served almost continuously as Minister President of the Free State of Prussia until 1932. Under his leadership Prussia democratized its administration, purged anti-republican officials and built a police force loyal to the Republic, earning the name "bastion of democracy."

Prussian coup

In 1932 German Chancellor Franz von Papen staged the "Prussian coup," removing Braun's government by emergency decree. After the Nazis came to power he went into exile in Switzerland, where he died in 1955.

Legacy

Prussia under Braun was the Weimar Republic's most stable pillar of democracy, and his ouster was a key step in the republic's collapse.

Did you know? He was called "the Red Tsar of Prussia," a label that was both a criticism and an acknowledgment of his authority.

Key dates

• 1920Became Minister President of Prussia
• 1925Became Minister President again
• 1932Removed in the "Prussian coup"
• 1933Exile in Switzerland
• 1955Died