1. Why was Hitler invited to become Chancellor? L/O – To identify the reasons why President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor

2. The Nazi Electoral Breakthrough In the Reichstag elections of July 1932, the Nazis won 37.3% of the vote which gave the 230 seats in the Reichstag – they were now the biggest party in Germany. This is compared to the May 1928 election where they all achieved 2.6% of votes and only 12 seats! The Nazis had become the largest party through a combination of: good organisation and tactics; the leadership of Hitler; the image of the SA; popular policies and the impact of the Great Depression.

3. Von Papen Appointed as Chancellor Normally the leader of the largest party in the Reichstag is asked by the President to become the next Chancellor. However Hindenburg hated Hitler and feared Nazi extremism. After the elections, Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor – Hindenburg refused! Instead Hindenburg appointed his friend, Franz von Papen, to be Chancellor. Like Hindenburg, Papen came from a rich landowning family.

4. Von Papen Appointed as Chancellor Papen had hoped to be able to create a right-wing coalition in the Reichstag with the support of the Nazis. However the 230 Nazis refused to cooperate. Because of Proportional Representation, there were too many parties within the Reichstag – and many refused to work with each other. Unable to win a majority of support in the Reichstag, Papen had to rely on Hindenburg to pass laws using Article 48. This wasn’t democracy! Hindenburg decided to call another election.

5. The November 1932 Elections Support for the Nazis actually went down in this election. They won 33.1% of the vote – 196 seats. It seemed that the Nazis were loosing popularity despite still being the biggest party. Hindenburg again refused to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and Hitler refused to work with Von Papen. Instead, on 3 rd December 1932 he turned to a former army colleague – General Kurt von Schleicher – to be the new Chancellor.

6. Schleicher appointed as Chancellor Schleicher also failed to get majority support in the Reichstag. He believed that von Papen and Hitler were conspiring against him – he was right! Von Papen wished to regain power. He persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor, with himself as Vice-Chancellor. He believed he had Hitler ‘in his pocket’. Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg that as long as the number of Nazis in the new cabinet was limited, they could control the Nazis. Hindenburg also feared civil war from the SA if he kept refusing Hitler!

7. Hitler appointed as Chancellor Reluctantly, Hindenburg agreed to appoint Hitler as Chancellor and Von Papen as Vice-Chancellor. There simply was no more alternatives. He grumbled, ‘It is my unpleasant duty then to appoint this fellow Hitler as Chancellor.’ On 30 th January 1933, Adolf Hitler was legally and democratically appointed Chancellor of Germany.

8. Could appointing Hitler been avoided? Hindenburg as President had ultimate power to appoint Chancellors. He hated Hitler – but he couldn’t continue to ignore the largest party – it was undemocratic and could have risked civil war. Hindenburg could have suspended the constitution and created a right-wing dictatorship without Hitler. Would it have been less extreme? Or would this cause the Nazis to resort to violence? The left-wing parties could have united – the Social Democratic Party had 121 seats and the Communists had 100. They could have worked together. Why didn’t they?