3.11 The Appointment Of Hitler As Chancellor Flashcards
When is Hindenburg re-elected president.
April 1932
When does Brüning impose a ban on the SA?
May 1932
When is Brüning forced to resign as chancellor and is replaced by Papen.
May 1932
When does Papen lift the ban on the SA?
June 1932
When does Papen declare a state of emergency in Prussia and dismiss the SPD led gov?
July 1932
When do the Reichstag pass a vote of no confidence in papers gov?
September 1932
When is the election where Nazis lose votes but are still the biggest party?
November 1932
When is Papen forced to resign and is replaced by Schleicher?
December 1932
When do Hitler and Papen agree to work in a caption gov?
1933 Jan
When does Hitler become chancellor?
30 jan 1933
Who was Frank Von Papen?(profile)
-former aristocratic officer with a wide network of political influence
-very undemocratic (despite being a member of the centre party)
-heated the cabinet of barons and conspired with Hindenburg and Hitler to remove Schleicher
When did Brüning become chancellor?
March 1930
When did Brüning’s coalition fall?
May 1932
Who influenced Hindenburg to appoint Brüning as chancellor in March 1930?
schleicher and he could only remain on office or pass any laws (presidential decree) with the continued support of Hindenburg and Schleicher
What did Kurt Von Schleicher ultimately want in politics?
Determined to established a more authoritarian form of government
How did Brüning’s gov operate? Through presidental decree or the riechstag passing laws?
Presidential decree
Why was Brüning called the ‘hunger chancellor’?
Priorities to reduce state expenditure by cutting welfare benefits, reducing the number of civil servants and cutting wages.
Did Brüning’s polices that made him the ‘hunger chancellor’ improve or worsen the economic situation?
Worsen, contributed to the depending of the depression and by Feb 1932 unemployment exceeded 6 million for the first time
What also increased as unemployment increased
Support for the Nazi party and KPD along with street violence (communist revolution appeared a real possibility)
What did Brüning do to stop the street fights and did it work?
Banned the SA in April 1932 but the situation continued to deteriorate and Schleicher withdrew his support
What was Schleicher concerned that a ban on the SA would do?
Provoke a Nazi uprising
What did Schleicher conclude after the presidential election of April 1932
No coalition government could operate without the support of the Nazi party
What did Hitler say to schliecher in the meeting where he was offered to join a coation gov?
He would not join unless he was chancellor-Schleicher was not willing to concede this
What did Hitler and Schleicher agree with Hitler?
-Hitler would not oppose a new gov
-there would be a new Reichstag election and the ban on the SA would be lifted
may1932
When does Brüning resign and why?
May 1932
Hindenburg acts on schliechers advise and does not sign a presidential decree
(As a result of the agreement between Schleicher and Hitler)
Who did Hindenburg replace Brüning with
Von papen and Schleicher as defence minister
Who was Von Papen taken seriously by?
No one except Hindenburg French ambassador “taken seriously by neither his friends or enemies”
When was Von Papens gov from and when did it collapse?
May 1932-December 1932
What was Von Papens cabinet known as and why?
Cabinet of barons
-all cabinet members (expect 2 for DNVP who supported coalition) were filled by men who were not members of the Reichstag and ca,e from landowning and the industrial elite
How did Von Papen rule?
Presidential-decree suited his authoritarian leanings
Who did Papen view as the biggest threat to Germany?
Communist revolution and that Weimar democracy allows it to grow
What did Franz Von Papen think of the Nazi party?
As an aristocrat he looked down on the Nazis but sympathised with many of Hitler’s ideas
-saw their mass popular support as useful to establish a gov of national concentration
What did Von Papen do in June 1932
Lifted ban on SA and imposed curbs on the left wing press-resulted in a high amount of violence in the Reichstag election of July 1932
This allowed Von Papen to have authoritarian rule in a state of emergency in the largest state(Prussia)
Why did Papen take supreme control in Prussia?
-incident of violence in Hamburg in working class district in which KPD had a strong following(large SA confronted by several hundred communists)
-Papen led SPD-led gov in Prussia for the lockdown of law and order
-used this as an excuse to dismiss the gov
When was the election held that Schleicher promised hitler?
July 1932
July 1932 election KPD and Nazi votes?
Nazi: 37.3% 230 seats
KPD: 14.3% 89 seats
What was the only moderate party that didn’t have losses in the July 1932 election?
The centre party
Which parties experienced huge loses in the July 1932 election?
-DVP and the DNVP
-Nazis establish themselves as the biggest party of the right
Who did the Nazis attract to their voter base in July 1932?
Large numbers of middle class voters
(Many of whom had never participated in election)
And the unemployment
What is the best way to describe the Nazi party’s electoral success in July 1932?
Reaching the limits of their appeal in an open election Goebbels “we have won a tiny bit, we won’t get an absolute majority this way”
Why was the outcome of the July 1932 election significant for Hitler?
Hitler was in an even stronger position in his dealings with Von Papen and Schleicher (after the election Hitler is invited to join Von Papens gov but he refuses)-would only participate if he were the chancellor
-he broke his agreement with Schleicher and attacked Von Papens gov
What did Hitler attacking Von Papen’s gov result in?
Vote in no confidence in Papens confidence September 1932
Confidence: 42
No confidence: 512
September 1932
What did the vote of no confidence in Papen’s gov September 1932 result in?
Papen was forced to ask Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and call a new election in November
What were the results of the November 1932 election of the KPD and Nazis
Nazis 33.1% 196 seats (decrease from last election)
KPD: 16.9% 100 seats
What did the Nazi party lose from July 1932 to November 1932 in terms of seats?
34 seats and their support was in decline
Why did the the Nazi party’s support decrease in November 1932?
Some middle class voters had been alienated by Hitler’s attacks on Papen and his refusal to join a coalition if he could not lead
-middle class voters returned to the DVP and DNVP who saw a modest increase in their support
(By this point nazi funds had been exhausted by 3 elections in 8 months)
Why did Papen lose in the November election of 1932?
-gov still faced hostility in the Reichstag and he was beginning to lose credibility in the eyes of the army
-Papen tired to get the army to bypass the Reichstag all together but Schleicher informed Papen that the army would not support him, he had no alternative to but to resign
Who made up Hindenburg’s inner cycle?
-Oskar Von Hindenburg
-Dr Otto Meissner
-Schliehcer
What was the purpose of Hindenburg’s inner circle?
-advised Hindenburg on the appointment of the appointment of chancellor and the signing of presidential decrees
(Chief was Kurt Von Schliecher)
Since when was Kurt Von Schleicher political head of the army!
1926
Who was highly influential in Hindenburg withdrawing his support form Brüning in May 1932?
Schlicher
What was Schleichers aim with the Nazi party?
Alliance between Nazis and old form of conservatism who with their popular support would legitimise an authoritarian regime dominated by the old conservatives
Why was Oskar Von Hindenburg influential?
Presidents son who’s option was highly valued by the president and had close links with Schleicher
Who was Dr Otto Meissner?
A civil servant who ran in the presidents office and acted as a go between in negotiations between Hitler and Hindenburg.
Hindenburg regarded Hitler with disdain and viewed Nazis as a noisy undisciplined rubble
-he was reluctant to concede Hitler’s demands to be chancellor but after the fall of Von Papen Hindenburg was running out of options
Who replaced Von Papen as chancellor?
Von Schleicher
Why had Hindenburg lost some trust with Schleicher?
Because of the way he conspired against Von Papen
What did schleicher think his best form or success lay in?
Persuading the Nazis to join a coalition led by him
What did Schleicher do to expose divisions in the Nazi party?
Put pressure on Hitler and opened negotiations with the party organisations leader Gregor Strasser
-this failed as Hitler quickly moved to get rid of Strasser
What did Schleicher do after attempting to exploit divisions in the Nazi party failed?
-he believed a progressive social policy could win control of the trade unions and through them gain support in the Reichstag
-he cancelled the cuts in wages and benefits made by Von Papen in September and even considered a large-scale job creation scheme and breaking up large estates in the east and giving the land to small farmers
Why did Schleicher’s plan to get support of the trade unions fail?
-too much for the backbone of German industrialists and landowners and it failed to attract trade union support
-his last throw of the five was to ask Hindenburg to suspend the constitution and give him dictatorial powers, Hindenburg refuses and Schleicher resigned
What was the agreement Papen made with Hitler?
-Hitler would form a gov with himself as chancellor and Von Papen as vice chancellor (Von Papen would be with him whenever he saw the president)
-Hugenburg of DNVP would support the coalition and would run the economics and food ministries
-Hitler only have two Nazis in cabinet they thought he would be east to control
