in depth

• Bruning's government


  Appointed by Hindenburg, heavily influenced by Schleicher, could not pass laws or remain in office without their support
• Bruning's priority


  • Reduce state expenditure by cutting welfare benefits, reducing the number of civil servants and cutting wages
• Bruning's policies


  Deepened the Depression, causing unemployment to exceed 6 million for the first time
• The middle and upper classes were worried that Germany was descending into chaos and a communist revolution was possible
• Bruning imposed a ban on the SA, causing Schleicher to withdraw his support
• Schleicher decided that no government could rule without the Nazi Party's support


  He talked with Hitler who said he would not join a coalition government unless he was appointed Chancellor
• Hindenburg refused to sign a presidential decree Bruning had submitted, causing Bruning to have no choice but to resign
• Papen's government


  Constructed on a non-party political basis, only the DNVP supported it, other positions filled by non-members of the Reichstag, many from the landowning industrial elite, ruled by decree
• Papen


  Believed the greatest threat to Germany was a communist revolution, sympathised with much of the Nazi ideology and saw them as useful allies, lifted the ban on the SA and issued controls on the left-wing press
• Hitler and Schleicher agreed there should be a new election which would be held in July
• Most moderate parties, apart from the Centre Party, suffered losses, particularly the DDP and DVP who were essentially reduced to fringe parties
• The DNVP suffered losses as the NSDAP established itself as the main party on the right
• The Nazis managed to attract many middle-class voters, many who had never voted before and many of the unemployed, but they didn't win voters away from the SPD or KPD or Catholic voters
• Though, Hitler was now in a stronger position in his talks with Papen and Schleicher - Papen invited Hitler to join his government, Hitler refused as he wanted to be Chancellor
• Hitler also felt free to break his agreement with Schleicher and attack Papen's government along with other parties - the Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence in Papen's government with a massive majority
• SA and issued controls on the left-wing press, causing a new wave of street violence
• Election held


  July 1932
• Hitler and Schleicher agreed that there should be a new election which would be held in July
• Though, Hitler was now in a stronger position in his talks with Papen and Schleicher
• Papen invited Hitler to join his government, Hitler refused as he wanted to be Chancellor
• Hitler also felt free to break his agreement with Schleicher and attack Papen's government along with other parties
• The Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence in Papen's government with a massive majority
• Papen's weak position meant he had to ask Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and call a new election
• Hindenburg's inner circle


  • They advised Hindenburg on the appointment of Chancellors and the issuing of presidential decrees
• Kurt von Schleicher was a prominent member of this inner circle
• Schleicher persuaded Hindenburg to withdraw support for Bruning and appoint Papen in his place
• Schleicher was also deeply involved in the downfall of Papen
• Schleicher worked to restore authoritarian rule in Germany and with the rise of the Nazi Party, he aimed for an alliance between the old conservatives and the Nazis, who with their popular support, would legitimise this authoritarian regime dominated by old conservatives
• Oskar von Hindenburg, the President's son, held a key position and controlled access to the President
• Dr Otto Meissner held a key position - he was a civil servant who ran the President's office and acted as a key go-between in negotiations between Hindenburg and Hitler
• Hindenburg regarded Hitler with disdain and disliked the Nazis - he was reluctant to let Hitler be Chancellor in which he would be free to act as he wished
• But, after the fall of Papen's government, Hindenburg was running out of options
• The Nazi Party lost support - they remained the largest party in the Reicstag but they lost 2 million votes and 34 seats
• It appeared that Nazi support had peaked in July and was now in decline
• This can be partly explained by many middle-class voters having been alienated by Hitler's attacks on Papen and his refusal to join the government unless he was made Chancellor
• These voters retuned to the DVP or DNVP
• Also, three election campaigns in the space of eight months had exhausted Nazi funds
• It appeared that Hitler had lost his chance to take power by legal means
• Papen wanted to ban the Nazis and KPD and to use the army to enforce an authoritarian style government (which would bypass the Reichstag)
• But, Schleicher told Papen that the army would not support him, meaning that Papen had no choice but to resign