Part of the series of learning material on the momentous events in Germany between the wars, this slide sets looks at the events between July 1932 and January 1933 that saw Hitler rise to the role of Chancellor of Germany.
July 1932:
Reichstag elections of 1932 - Nazis were the largest party with 230 seats
Hitler demanded to be chancellor
Hindenburg refused and and kept the current chancellor, Franz von Papen
Hindenburg used his emergency powers to pass measures von Papen hoped would solve Germany's economic problems
Von Papen had no support in the Reichstag and another election was called
November 1932:
Nazis came out as the largest party, although their share of the vote fell
Hitler regarded the election as a disaster
They lost 2 million votes and 38 seats in the Reichstag
Also the Nazi Party began to run out of funding
Steps Forward
December 1932:
Hindenburg refuses to make Hitler chancellor again
Appoints his own adviser, Kurt von Schleicher, as the new chancellor
Von Schleicher is forced to resign within a month
Proportional representation meant no single political group could provide strong rule
Hindenburg was ruling the country under his emergency powers, under the support of army leaders and rich industrialists
Germany needed a chancellor who had the support of the Reichstag
January 1933:
Hindenburg and von Papen met with industrialists, army leaders and politicians in secret
On January 30, to the surprise of everyone, they offered Hitler the post of chancellor
With only a few Nazis in cabinet and von Papen as vice-chancellor, they were confident they could limit Hitler's influence and demands
Hindenburg and von Papen were wrong to believe they could control Hitler