The Wilhelmstraße: Nazi Government Quarter

When you go to Wilhelmstraße, it’s difficult to get a feel for the historic nature of this place. Today, the street is mainly filled with prefabricated housing blocks from the 1980s. Because these modern blocks do not follow the historic property divisions, it is even harder to find traces of the past.
Built in 1730, Wilhelmstraße was originally home to the palatial residences of Berlin’s aristocracy. However, in the 19th century the street was transformed into a location with several state institutions. For example the Kingdom of Prussia established an increasing number of administrative and government offices in the palaces and in 1871, after the German empire was founded, various state ministries moved in as well. The Reich Chancellor’s flat and chancellery were both located in the former Radziwill Palace. The street had developed into a government quarter.
This tradition continued during the Weimar Republic - indeed, Wilhelmstraße was now the centre of power. After the collapse of the monarchy in 1918, the Berlin city palace had lost its function as the residence of the German emperor. The new head of state, the Reich President, moved to Wilhelmstraße 73 into the Schwerin Palace. Paul von Hindenburg held the position of the president starting in 1925. 1933, he appointed Hitler Reich Chancellor and was responsible soon after for the undermining of the Weimar constitution with the emergency decree he issued after the Reichstag fire. After his death in August, 1934, the position of Reich President disappeared. Hindenburg’s funeral in the East Prussian Reich memorial Tannenberg was done with a display of military pomp and high profile public honour. However, the internal political exploitation of his death was far from honourable: one day before Hindenburg died, the government passed a law which fused the positions of Reich Chancellor and Reich President. By combining both the title “Führer and Reich Chancellor”, Hitler institutionally transferred all power to himself from then on, no longer hindered by any constitutional bodies.