Free State of Prussia

The Free State of Prussia (German: Freistaat Preußen, pronounced [ˈfʁaɪʃtaːt ˈpʁɔʏsn̩] ^ⓘ) was one of the constituent states of the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1947. It was the successor to the Kingdom of Prussia after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I and the overthrow of the German monarchies in the revolution of 1918–1919. Even though most of Germany's post-war territorial losses in Europe had come from its territory, Prussia continued to be the dominant state in Germany during the Weimar Republic as it had been during the Empire. It was home to the federal capital Berlin and had roughly three-fifths of Germany's territory and population. Prussia changed from the authoritarian state it had been and became a parliamentary democracy under its 1920 constitution. During the Weimar period it was governed almost entirely by pro-democratic parties and was more politically stable than the Republic itself. With only brief interruptions, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) provided the minister president. Its ministers of the Interior, also from the SPD, pushed republican reform of the administration and police, with the result that Prussia was considered a bulwark of democracy within the Weimar Republic.

As a result of the Prussian coup d'état instigated by German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932, the Free State was subordinated to the national government and deprived of its independence. After the Nazi Party seized power in 1933, a Prussian government under Hermann Göring continued to function formally until 1945. After the end of the Second World War, Prussia was legally abolished on 25 February 1947 by decree of the Allied Control Council.