Hitler's Appointment as Chancellor in 1933

This section explores how Hitler became German Chancellor in 1933. The events of 1932 and early 1933 that led to Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor on 30 January 1933 were complex. At the heart of this process was the role of President Paul von Hindenburg and the political instability caused by the Great Depression. Throughout this period, Germany lacked a strong government, with no Chancellor able to command a majority in the Reichstag. By 1932, Hindenburg was relying on Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution to pass almost every law, effectively sidelining parliamentary democracy.

Major Events Leading to Hitler Becoming Chancellor

1932

• April – Presidential Election
  • Hitler stood against Hindenburg in the presidential election. Hindenburg won with 53% of the vote, while Hitler secured 36.8%. Despite losing, Hitler's strong performance demonstrated the Nazis' growing popularity.
• May – Brüning Resigns
  • Chancellor Heinrich Brüning resigned after losing Hindenburg’s support. He had failed to tackle the economic crisis effectively and had alienated the elites by trying to curb the influence of the SA.
  • Hindenburg appointed Franz von Papen, a conservative aristocrat, as the new Chancellor. Von Papen had little political support in the Reichstag and relied entirely on presidential decrees to govern.
• July – Reichstag Elections
  • New elections were held to gain parliamentary support for von Papen. The Nazis emerged as the largest single party with 230 seats, but they still lacked an outright majority.
  • Hitler demanded to be made Chancellor, but Hindenburg refused, distrusting him and his radical movement. Instead, von Papen remained in office.
• November – Reichstag Elections
  • A second general election was called by von Papen in an attempt to secure a stable government. The Nazi vote fell slightly, and they lost 34 seats, dropping to 196, though they remained the largest party.
  • Von Papen’s strategy backfired, leaving him in an even weaker position.
• December – Von Papen Resigns
  • Hindenburg lost confidence in von Papen, who resigned. In his place, Hindenburg appointed Kurt von Schleicher, an army general and political strategist, as Chancellor.
  • Von Schleicher attempted to divide the Nazi Party by offering a senior government position to Gregor Strasser, a leading Nazi with more moderate views than Hitler. However, Hitler forced Strasser to reject the offer, keeping the Nazi Party unified.

1933

• January – The Backroom Deal
  • Von Schleicher failed to secure a working majority in the Reichstag and lost Hindenburg’s support. He was forced to resign.
  • Seeing an opportunity to return to power, von Papen made a deal with Hitler and persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor. Von Papen convinced the President that Hitler could be controlled and used as a puppet by the conservative elites.
  • On 30 January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, with von Papen as Vice-Chancellor. The conservative establishment believed they could manipulate Hitler for their own ends, unaware that they had just handed power to a man who would dismantle democracy and establish a dictatorship within months.

The appointment of Hitler as Chancellor was not the result of a Nazi electoral majority but rather a combination of political miscalculations, elite manoeuvring, and the desperation of conservative leaders to stabilise Germany. Ironically, von Papen and Hindenburg believed they could control Hitler, but instead, he outmanoeuvred them and consolidated his power, leading to the collapse of the Weimar Republic.