Führer

Führer (/ˈfjʊərər/ FURE-ər; German: [ˈfyːʁɐ] ⓘ, spelled Fuehrer when the umlaut is unavailable) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. Hitler officially styled himself der Führer und Reichskanzler (the Leader and Chancellor of the Reich) after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1934 and the subsequent merging of the offices of Reichspräsident and Reichskanzler.

This article is about the German title. For the dictator who used it, see Adolf Hitler. For other uses, see Führer (disambiguation).

Nazi Germany cultivated the Führerprinzip ("leader principle"), and Hitler was generally known as simply der Führer ("the Leader").

In compound words, the use of Führer remains common in German and is used in words such as Bergführer (mountain guide) or Oppositionsführer (leader of the opposition). However, because of its strong association with Hitler, the isolated word itself usually has negative connotations when used with the meaning of "leader", especially in political contexts.

The word Führer has cognates in the Scandinavian languages, spelled fører in Danish and Norwegian. In Norwegian the word has the same meaning as the German word, but without necessarily having political connotations. In Swedish and Danish, förare and fører normally means "driver" (of a vehicle). However, in the compound word härförare and hærfører, that part does mean "leader", and is a cognate of the German "Heerführer".

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