The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis to January 1933 » How Hitler Became Chancellor, 1932-33
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, Depth study 3, Key topic 3
- What happened in the elections of 1932 and why they did not put Hitler in power
- The roles of von Papen, von Schleicher and von Hindenburg in making Hitler chancellor
- Why Hindenburg finally gave Hitler the job on 30 January 1933
- How to answer a 16-mark 'How far do you agree?' question
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Unlock This Course1932: votes without power
By 1932 Hitler led the most popular party in Germany, yet he was still shut out of government. The reason lies in how Germany was now run. Chancellors could not win a majority in the Reichstag, so they depended on President Paul von Hindenburg to sign their decrees. Whoever had the trust of the 84-year-old president held power. Votes alone were not enough.
Key terms:
- Vote of no confidence: a vote in which the Reichstag declares that it does not support the government.
- Cabinet: the group of ministers who run the government with the chancellor.
- Vice-chancellor: the deputy to the chancellor.
The presidential election. In spring 1932 Hindenburg's seven-year term ended and Hitler stood against him. No one won more than half the votes in March, so a second round was held in April. Hindenburg won with about 53 per cent. Hitler came second with about 37 per cent, over 13 million votes. He had lost, but he had shown that he was a national figure.
The fall of Brüning. In April 1932 Chancellor Brüning banned the SA to stop the street violence. Army leaders and landowners close to the president turned against him. At the end of May Hindenburg withdrew his support and Brüning resigned.
Papen, Schleicher and Hindenburg
From now on, three men decided who governed Germany. All three were conservative nationalists who disliked the Republic. None of them wanted Hitler in charge, but all of them wanted to use his millions of voters.
🎩 Franz von Papen
A wealthy Catholic aristocrat and a friend of Hindenburg. He became chancellor in June 1932 with almost no support in the Reichstag. His government had so many noblemen in it that it was nicknamed the 'cabinet of barons'.
🎖 Kurt von Schleicher
An army general who worked behind the scenes and had the president's ear. He helped to bring down Brüning, chose Papen to replace him and served as Papen's defence minister. Later he took the top job himself.
👴 Paul von Hindenburg
The president and war hero. Only he could appoint and dismiss a chancellor. He looked down on Hitler, whom he called a 'Bohemian corporal', and for months he refused to give him the job.
Papen's failure, June to November 1932
Papen tried to win Nazi backing. He lifted the ban on the SA and called a Reichstag election for July 1932. The weeks of campaigning brought some of the worst street fighting Germany had seen. The Nazis became the largest party, but Hitler refused to support Papen. In August he demanded to be made chancellor. Hindenburg said no and offered him only the post of vice-chancellor. Hitler turned it down. He wanted all or nothing.
In September the Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence in Papen by 512 votes to 42. Another election followed in November 1932. This time the Nazi vote fell. The party dropped from 230 seats to 196 and lost about 2 million votes, although it was still the largest party. The Communists rose to 100 seats. The Nazis were short of money and their support seemed to have passed its peak.
Papen now wanted to do away with the Reichstag and rule by force. Schleicher warned Hindenburg that this could cause a civil war that the army could not control. Papen had to go.
Schleicher's failure, December 1932 to January 1933
Schleicher became chancellor at the start of December 1932. He hoped to win a majority by splitting the Nazi Party. He offered the post of vice-chancellor to Gregor Strasser, a leading Nazi. Hitler stopped the deal and Strasser resigned from his party posts. Schleicher's approach to the trade unions failed too. He lasted less than two months.
Papen wanted revenge on the man who had brought him down. On 4 January 1933 he met Hitler in secret at the house of a banker in Cologne. They agreed to work together to bring Schleicher down. In further talks that month Papen accepted that Hitler would be chancellor, with himself as vice-chancellor. Papen then worked on Hindenburg, helped by landowners and business leaders who feared communism.
Schleicher admitted he could not get a majority. He asked Hindenburg to let him rule without the Reichstag. Hindenburg refused, and on 28 January Schleicher resigned.
30 January 1933: Hitler is appointed
Hindenburg changed his mind for three reasons. He had run out of other options. A government led by the largest party would have the support of the people. And Papen promised that Hitler could be controlled. Only two other Nazis, Wilhelm Frick and Hermann Göring, would sit in the cabinet. The rest would be conservatives, with Papen as vice-chancellor. Papen boasted that within two months Hitler would be pushed into a corner.
On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor. Papen had badly misjudged him, as From Chancellor to Führer, 1933-34 shows.
Common mistakes
Hitler did not seize power and he was not elected chancellor. He was appointed legally by the president. The Nazis never won a majority in a free election, and their vote was falling when Hitler got the job. Keep the order of chancellors clear: Brüning, Papen, Schleicher, Hitler.
Exam-style question
(c) 'The main reason Hitler became chancellor in January 1933 was the scheming of von Papen and von Schleicher.'
How far do you agree? Explain your answer.
You may use the following in your answer:
- the scheming of von Papen and von Schleicher
- the Great Depression
You must also use information of your own. [16 marks]
Model answer
I partly agree. The scheming of Papen and Schleicher explains why Hitler was appointed in January 1933, but it only mattered because of the mass support the Nazis had already won.
The scheming was the direct cause. Schleicher helped to bring down Brüning in May 1932 and then turned Hindenburg against Papen. Papen wanted revenge, so on 4 January 1933 he met Hitler in Cologne, and that month they agreed that Hitler would be chancellor with Papen as vice-chancellor. Papen then persuaded Hindenburg that Hitler could be controlled, because only two other Nazis would be in the cabinet. This was vital, as Hindenburg had refused Hitler the job in August 1932, and the Nazis had just fallen from 230 seats to 196. The final decision was Hindenburg's, because only the president could appoint a chancellor. Without the deal, Hitler might never have been appointed.
However, the Great Depression made Hitler worth scheming with. Unemployment passed 6 million in 1932 and Brüning's cuts made the hardship worse. Voters gave up on the moderate parties, and the Nazis rose from 12 seats in 1928 to 230 in July 1932. The Depression also broke parliamentary government, so chancellors depended on the president's decrees. That is why a few men around Hindenburg could choose the chancellor at all.
A third reason is what the Nazis did themselves. The Communists gained from the Depression too, yet the Nazis won far more votes. Goebbels' propaganda, Hitler's speeches and his flights across Germany, promises to every group and the SA's show of strength turned anger into Nazi votes. Hitler's own tactics counted as well. By refusing the post of vice-chancellor in August 1932 he held out for the top job.
Overall, the scheming was the trigger but not the main reason. Papen and Schleicher needed Hitler because he led the largest party, and they could not govern without his voters. The test is which factor the others depended on. The scheming would have been pointless without Nazi mass support, and that support came from the Depression and the way the Nazis used it. So the Depression was the more important cause, while the scheming decided the timing.
What lifts this to the top level: it covers three aspects, including one that is not in the bullets, argues both sides with precise facts, and reaches a judgement using a clear test.
Exam tip
The two bullets are only a start. An answer that covers fewer than three aspects cannot reach the top level, so plan a third factor of your own before you write, such as Nazi methods or the role of Hindenburg. In your conclusion, do not just repeat your points. Give a test, such as 'which factor did the others depend on?', and use it to decide.