How did Hitler become Chancellor?

• July 1932


  After Reichstag elections of July 1932 the Nazis were largest single party (230 seats)

  Did not have an overall majority

  Hitler demanded the post of Chancellor

  However, Hindenburg was suspicious of Hitler and refused

  He allowed the current Chancellor Franz von Papen to carry on

  He then used his emergency powers to pass the measures that von Papen hoped would solve the unemployment problem

  However von Papen was soon in trouble, he had no support in the Reichstag and so called another election
• November 1932


  The Nazis again became the largest single party

  However they’re share of vote fell by 2 million votes and they lost 38 seats in the Reichstag

  Nazis started to run out of funds and Hitler is said to have threatened suicide
• In December 1932, Hindenburg refused to appoint Hitler as chancellor and instead appointed Kurt von Schleicher as his own advisor
• Von Schleicher was a bitter rival of von Papen
• Within a month of his appointment, von Schleicher was forced to resign
• It became clear that the Weimar system was not working
• The system of balance meant that no political group could provide a strong rule
• This left the 84-year-old President Hindenburg to effectively rule the country using his emergency powers, supported by army leaders and rich industrialists
• Hindenburg had already overthrown democracy
• To rescue democracy, Hindenburg needed a chancellor who was supported by the Reichstag
• On January 30th 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor
• Throughout January, Hindenburg and von Papen met in secret with industrialists, army leaders, and politicians
• With only a few Nazis in the cabinet and von Papen as vice chancellor, they were confident that they could limit Hitler’s influence and resist his extremist demands
• The idea was that policies would be made by the cabinet, which was filled with conservatives like von Papen
• Hitler's role was to gain support in the Reichstag for the policies made by the cabinet and to control the communists
• Hitler ended up as Chancellor through a deal with German aristocrats
• Both Hindenburg and von Papen were sure that they could control Hitler, but this turned out to be wrong