The Appointment of Hitler as Chancellor

On what date was Hitler appointed as Chancellor of the Weimar Republic?

30th January 1933

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Which other parties did Hitler have to form a coalition with?

DNVP and others, including Franz von Papen

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What were both Hindenburg and von Papen worried about in regards to Hitler as a leader?

That although he was the leader of the biggest party in the Reichstag, his inexperience would lead to him being easily influenced by other politicians

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Myths about the Nazis control and influence in the Reichstag

Although the Nazis were the biggest party in the Reichstag, they did not have as much influence as they believed they did. The Nazis did not have the overall majority in the Reichstag

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The myth about Hitler's appointment as Chancellor

The common myth is that Hitler was appointed as Chancellor as a result of Nazi-led political uprising, as Nazi propaganda had mentioned

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The truth about Hitler's appointment as Chancellor

His appointment was a result of negotiations and secret deals between many key German political figures, including Hindenburg and his close circle of advisers

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How long did Bruning's Coalition last?

It lasted from March 1930 to May 1932

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What was Bruning's appointment as Chancellor influenced by?

Kurt von Schleicher's want to remain in power, and as a result Bruning could only remain in office and pass any new laws, as long as he had Hindenburg and Schleicher's support

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What was Schleicher's main aim?

He wanted to impose a more authoritarian form of government, which he felt that the Weimar Republic was lacking

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What was Bruning's economic policy?

To reduce state expenditure by cutting welfare benefits, reducing the number of civil servants and cutting wages, which earned him the nickname the "Hunger Chancellor"

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What was the impact of Bruning's economic policy?

These measures contributed heavily to the Depression and by February 1932, unemployment in Germany exceeded 6 million for the first time

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How did Bruning's economic failures help the Nazis?

As unemployment grew electoral support grew for both the Nazis and the Communists, and street violence became common. By the Spring of 1932, there was growing alarm between the middle and upper classes that Germany was descending into chaos and fear rose

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Which organisation did Bruning ban in April 1932?

The SA

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What was Schleicher's opinion on the ban?

He feared that the ban on the SA would provoke a Nazi uprising and he also came to the conclusion, after the presidential election, that no government could rule without the support of the Nazi Party

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Hitler's talks with Schleicher and the new government

Hitler refused to join this new coalition unless he was mad Chancellor, which Schleicher refused. Hitler told von Schleicher and Bruning that he would not oppose the new coalition, on condition that a new Reichstag election was called and the SA ban was l

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Bruning's fate

When Hindenburg refused to sign a presidential decree put forward by Bruning about these rulings, he was forced to resign

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Who replaced Bruning as Chancellor?

Franz von Papen, with Schleicher being appointed as Defence Minister in the new cabinet

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How was Papen's coalition different to the traditional Weimar coalitions?

It was formed off a non-political party basis, but the only party that supported it was the DNVP, who received two posts in the cabinet as a reward

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Who filled the other posts in the cabinet?

Men who were not members of the Reichstag, most of whom came from landowning and industrial elite, and with limited support Papen ruled mostly through presidential decree

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What did Papen believe to be the biggest threat to the Weimar Republic?

A Communist Revolution

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What was Papen's views on the Nazi Party?

As an aristocrat he looked down on the Nazis, but nonetheless he sympathised with many of Hitler's ideas and he saw the Nazis as useful allies to create a government of "National Concentration"

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When was the ban on the SA lifted?

June 1932

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What was the result of lifting the ban on the SA?

There was increase in street violence, especially during the Reichstag election campaign of July 1932, which gave Papen an excuse to impose authoritarian rule in Germany's largest state, Prussia

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Political violence-Hamburg, 17th July 1932

-An SA march was confronted by hundreds of Communists
-Police opened fire and killed 18 Communists, injuring 100 more
-Papen blamed himself for a lack of law and order and dissolved his government

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Papen's response

-Papen declared a state of emergency in Prussia and used the army to impose order in Berlin
-He appointed himself as Reich Commissioner in charge of Prussia
-Papen had Hindenburg's support, but this went beyond his constitutional powers, but the SPD did n

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How many seats did each party get at the July 1932 election?

-KPD-89 (14.3%)
-SPD-133 (21.6%
-Centre-75 (12.4%
-NSDAP-230 (37.3%)

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Which parties suffered losses at the July 1932 election?

All moderate parties, with the exception of the Centre Party, but in particular the DDP and DVP suffered the most losses

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Nazi success in the July 1932 election

The Nazis gained huge electoral success, after failures of the DNVP and an increase in middle-class supporters, many of whom had never participated in elections before or were unemployed

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Who did the Nazis fail to get votes from in the July 1932 election?

Voters from the SPD and KPD, but also Catholic voters from the Centre Party

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The aftermath of the election

-Hitler was in a stronger position with Papen and Schleicher
-Hitler refused to join the government
-The Nazis, KPD and other parties did a vote of no confidence with Papen's government, which passed with a majority of 512 votes to 42
-Hindenburg dissolv

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How many seats did each party get at the November 1932 election?

-KPD-100 (16.9%)
-SPD-121 (20.4%)
-Centre-70 (11.9%)
-DNVP-52 (8.8%)
-NSDAP-196 (33.1%)

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What was the most shocking aspect of the November 1932 election?

The amount of support that the Nazis had lost

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How many votes and seats did the Nazis lose?

They lost two million votes and lost 34 seats in the Reichstag

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What is a believed main reason for the loss of Nazi support between July and November 1932?

Middle-class voters had been alienated by Hitler's attacks on Papen and by his refusal to join a coalition government if he could not lead it. Thus, the DVP and DNVP saw a revival in support

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Other reasons for the Nazi's failure

-The Nazis supported a communist-led transport strike in Berlin
-Three election campaigns in eight months exhausted Nazis funds
-Hitler lost his chance to take power by legal means
-Centre parties suffered losses and the Communists made gains

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Who arguably suffered the biggest loss in the November 1932?

Papen, despite not being a candidate, because his government still faced a hostile Reichstag majority and he was beginning to lost credibility in the eyes of the army

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What did Papen consider following this?

Banning the Nazis and Communists, and using the army to enforce an authoritarian style of government, which would bypass the Reichstag altogether. When Schleicher told Papen that the army would not support him, he was forced to resign

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Hindenburg's inner circle

A small group of men made up Hindenburg's inner circle and helped him to make all of his key decisions, including choosing the next Chancellor

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Kurt von Schleicher

-Kurt von Schleicher, who had been the political head of the Army since 1926 and head of the Ministerial Office since 1929
-Schleicher helped remove Hindenburg's support from Bruning
-He was significant in Papen's downfall
-Authoritarian and worked for an

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Oskar von Hindenburg

-Army officer who had close links with Schleicher
-He controlled access to the President and his opinions were highly valued by his father

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Dr Otto Meissner

-A civil servant who ran the President's Office
-Go-between for negotiations between Hitler and Hindenburg
-Reluctant to make Hitler Chancellor

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Schleicher and the aftermath of the fall of Papen

After Papen's fall from power, Schleicher tried to convince Hindenburg to make him Chancellor, but he was reluctant to do so. Schleicher's power was now limited and he lost Hindenburg's trust, since he alienated Papen and conspired against him

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Schleicher's desperation

Schleicher sought after the Nazis, to convince them to join a coalition led by him, but Nazi success had continued to fall and they were now essentially bankrupt. Hitler refused to join the coalition and criticism of Hitler's tactics continued to rise and

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Divisions within the Nazi Party

-There were many divisions within the NSDAP
-Gregor and Otto Strasser despised the word "socialist" in the party's name
-They supported socialist policies, like nationalisation of banks and industry and supported workers strikes against their employers
-T

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Schleicher's change of tactics

-Wanted to gain support from Trade Unions, and thus the Reichstag
-He cancelled cuts in wages and benefits
-Considered a large-scale job creation scheme to relieve unemployment
-Discussed breaking up larger estates in the east and distributing land to sma

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The fall of Schleicher

Schleicher had failed to garner Trade Unionists' support and in his desperation, asked Hindenburg to suspend the constitution, dissolve the Reichstag and give him dictatorial powers. Hindenburg refused and he resigned

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The new coalition

-Papen was in negotiations with Hitler over a new coalition
-Hitler still insisted on being Chancellor
-Alfred Hugenberg, DNVP leader, would support a Nazi-led coalition
-Hitler, Papen and Hindenburg's inner circle decided on a coalition with Hitler as C

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Structure of the new coalition

-Hitler (Chancellor)
-Papen (Vice-Chancellor)
-Papen and Oskar von Hindenburg would monitor Hitler and his power
-Hugenberg (run the Economics and Food Ministries)
-Papen and Hindenburg believed with Hitler being inexperienced he would be easy to control

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Get Revising

The Appointment of Hitler as Chancellor

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