Hitler's rise to power

• When was Hitler appointed as chancellor?

  30th January 1933
• What are the 4 stages of Hitler's appointment as chancellor?

  Fall of Bruning, Fall of Papen, Fall of Schleicher and Hitler's appointment as chancellor
• When was Bruning in office?

  March 1930 to May 1932
• Why did people turn against Bruning?


  Harsh economic policies worsened the impact of the Depression and more people turned to vote for the KPD and the NSDAP and there was increasing street violence between Red Front Fighters' League and the SA.
• What was the outcome of the 1932 presidential election?

  Hindenburg re-elected with 53% and Hitler as second most voted 37%
• Why did Schleicher withdraw his support for Bruning's government?

  In 1932, Bruning placed a ban on the SA to stop street violence, but Schleicher thought banning the SA would lead to an uprising and a government could only keep going if it had the support of the NSDAP
• What did Schleicher suggest to Hitler in 1932? What did Hitler say and what was the outcome?

  suggest the NSDAP form part of a new coalition government –Hitler said he would only agree if he was made Chancellor– Schleicher refused. However, Hitler said he would not oppose a new government if another election was called and the ban on the SA lifted.
• Who became chancellor May 1932?

  Von Papen
• When did Von Papen become chancellor?


  May 1932
• Why was Papen elected as chancellor? What was his political ideology?

  Hindenburg followed Schleicher’s advice andwithdrew his support for Brüning. Brüning was forced to resign. Hindenburg appointedFranz von Papenas the new chancellor. Papen was an aristocratic army officer. Like Brüning he was a member of the Centre Party but was fiercelyanti-democratic.
• What did Papen do as he became chancellor? Did he have support over it?

  Hindenburg and Schleicher told Papen to create a government that was not based around political parties. So Papen created a ‘cabinet of barons’- appointing aristocratic landowners (only two of whom were deputies in the Reichstag). With no support in the Reichstag, Papen relied on Hindenburg issuing presidential decrees to govern.
• What did Papen do in June 1932?

  Papen disliked the Nazis but sympathised with some of their aims and saw them as useful allies in the fight against communism,He therefore lifted the ban on the SA.This resulted in increased street violence and in SA intimidation during the Reichstag elections.
• What happened in july 1932?

  After a large clash between SA and communists in Hamburg, Papen declared a state of emergency in Prussia and dismissed the SPD state government. This was beyond any constitutional powers of Papen but the SPD did not resist
• What was the outcome of the July 1932 elections?

  NSDAP gained 37.4% seats as the largest party in the reichstag. KPD increased in votes. Papen invited Hitler to join the government but Hitler refused unless chancellor
• September 1932


  The Reichstag passed avote of no confidencein Papen’s government. Hindenburg dissolved parliament and called another election.
• Outcome of 1932 November election. Why was that the outcome?

  Reichstag elections - Nazis gain 33% of seats. Decline in support for Nazis was partly due to the middle classes being put off by the violence of the SA and anger at Hitler refusing to join the government. Hitler and the Nazis had now also exhausted their funds. The DVP and DNVP experienced some gains.
• How does Papen lose his position as chancellor?

  He considered banning the KPD and NSDAP and using the army to rule alone. Schleicher informed Papen that he and the army will not support him. Papen was forced to resign and Hindenburg replaced him with Schleicher December 1932
• What did Schleicher decide to do as he was appointed and why? Was it successful?

  He lost a lot of trust as he had conspired against Papen so he believed his best chance of success was in persuading the Nazis to join a coalition government with him. The Nazi Party was in a weaker position than six months earlier: they had lost seats in the election, had run out of funds, and there were internal divisions over Hitler’s repeated refusals to join the government. Schleicher started to negotiate in December 1932 not with Hitler but with key Nazi organiser,Gregor Strasser. But Streicher’s attempt to divide the Nazi Party failed and Hitler rapidly moved to remove Strasser from power.
• What tactic did Schelicher change to afterwards? What was the outcome?

  If he cancelled the cuts in wages and benefits this could win the support of the trade unions. But he over played his hand when he suggested breaking up large estates and giving them to smaller farmers - this horrified the Junkers who were the back bone of the support for Hindenburg's government. Moreover, Schleicher didn't even manage to persuade the trade unions.
• How did Hitler get appointed as chancellor and when?

  Hitler and Papen had been negotiating the possibility of a coalition. Talks between Hitler, Papen, and President Hindenburg’s advisors led to a deal in which Hitler would lead a coalition with Papen as his Vice Chancellor and only two other Nazis in the cabinet. Papen andOskar von Hindenburgconvinced President Hindenburg that uneducated and inexperienced Hitler would be easily controlled by the others. This is known as the ‘Backstairs Intrigue.’
• When did Hitler become Chancellor?

  30th January 1933
• If given a question on Hitler becoming chancellor through the backstairs intrigue what other paragraphs could you use?

  Role of economic crisis, fear of communism, appeal of the nazis/role of Hitler/nazi ideology
• Arguments for the role of economic crisis in Hitler becoming chancellor

  Depression led to loss of jobs, muller's laissez faire, coalition collapse. So people lost faith in the weimar republic and extremist parties support rose
• Arguments for fear of communism in Hitler becoming chancellor


  Wasn't that important bc of the shortcomings of KPD
• Arguments for role of nazi ideology in Hitler becoming chancellor

  Propaganda
• Hitler's rise to power was legal:

  The appointment was within the scope of the constitution, which makes it legal as the constitution was still law even if it was flawed, which was a fault of its own.

  Hitler was also voted in as the leader of the largest party by the people through legal matters which under the constitution, gave him the right and legitimate claim to be the chancellor.

  It was an alternative to a military coup that Papen proposed and Hindenburg and Schleicher said wouldn't support: Hiller's appointment was so much more legal them a "seize of power."

  Although unethical and manipulative and possibly bordering illegal the intrigue was very legal - it was merely a change in power as granted by Hindenburg and a weak political position which meant the power was unstable and granted a reason to keep dissolving parliament and vote yet again

  He was given power despite the fact that he explicitly was an anti-parliamentary party, which is not a question of legality
• Hitler's rise to power was not legal:

  But the process leading up to it was because of a collapse in the parliamentary system and the undermining and overuse of the constitution and Article 48.

  Some say parliamentary democracy ended in 1932. Even though it was within the scope of the constitution, it was definitely not what was intended by its terms, this shows the fundamental defects in the constitution as it was never finished - Article 48 was meant to have more detailed legislation, but was never done which undermined the extent of Democracy within.

  Hitler might have been voted as the leader of the largest party legally, but his methods to gain votes were not legal- terror and violence and the overuse of the SA