Who succeeded Hitler in April 1945 as Head of State and President of Germany?
President of Germany (1919–1945) of President and Chancellor) of Germany from 2 August 1934 to 30 April 1945. Upon "Generalfeldmarschall" von Hindenburg's death, Adolf Hitler merged the offices of Chancellor and head of state in his person. He styled himself "Führer und Reichskanzler" ("Leader and Chancellor"), but did not use the title of Reichspräsident. Upon his suicide on 30 April 1945, Hitler nominated "Großadmiral" Karl Dönitz to be President. Dönitz was arrested on 23 May 1945 and the office was dissolved. Under the Weimar constitution, the President was directly elected by universal adult suffrage for a term of seven years; reelection was not limited.
President of Germany (1919–1945) President of Germany (1919–1945) The Reichspräsident was the German head of state under the Weimar constitution, which was officially in force from 1919 to 1945. In English he was usually simply referred to as the President of Germany. The German title "Reichspräsident" literally means President of the Reich, the term "Reich" referring to the federal nation state established in 1871. The Weimar constitution created a semi-presidential system in which power was divided between the president, a cabinet and a parliament. The "Reichspräsident" was directly elected under universal adult suffrage for a seven-year term. It was intended that the president would