Führerprinzip was the German name for leader principle, a system with a hierarchy of leaders which was in use in military organisations all over the world before it was evinced by Adolf Hitler during World War II.
The philosophy of this system is that each organisation is seen as a hierarchy of leaders, where every leader (Führer, in German) has absolute responsibility in his/her own area, and complete subordination. This idea was based on the function of military organisations where it is still used today.
This principle was the law of the Nazi party and later transferred onto the whole Germansociety. Most notable changes include the replacement of elected local governments by appointed mayors and the cancellation of associations and unions, whose leaders were elected, and their replacement by mandatory associations whose leaders were appointed. The private corporations were allowed to keep their internal organisation which was just renamed from hierarchy to Führerprinzip. In practice, the selection of unsuitable candidates often led to micromanagement and inability to formulate coherent policy was common. Albert Speer noted that many Nazi officials were very afraid of making decisions unless Hitler was present.
During the Nuremberg Trials, it was attempted to use the Führerprinzip as a means to evade the responsibility for war crimes.
