How Hitler Became Chancellor, 1932-33 Flashcards
Describe the Presidential Elections of March 1932
-Hindenburg’s time in office as president ended in 1932. By then, he was 84 and increasingly frail, but he was persuaded to stand for election again to keep the government as stable as possible.
-Germany was in the depths of depression. Campaigning was bitter and often violent.
-When the elections took place in March 1932, Hindenburg won 18 million votes (49.6%).
-Hitler won 11 million votes (30%) and Thälmann of the KPD won 5 million votes (14%).
Describe the Presidential Elections of April 1932
-No candidate had achieved 50% of the vote in March, so the election was repeated in April.
-Hitler campaigned furiously; he rented an aeroplane and flew from town to town delivering speeches. His SA paraded in support of the Nazis and disrupted communist rallies.
-Political opponents fought in the streets.
-Hindenburg was re-elected with 19 million votes (53%), but the results were a serious blow to the communists and a boost to Hitler.
-Hitler won 13 million votes (36%) and Thälmann of the KPD won 4 million votes (11%).
Describe Bruning’s Unpopular Measures
-Hindenburg’s re-election did not bring stability. In April 1932, the moderate chancellor, Heinrich Bruning, took steps which lost him hope of a majority in the Reichstag.
-He banned the SA and SS. There were genuine fears of civil war breaking out on the streets and h wanted to calm unrest and control the Nazis.
-Then, he announced a plan to buy up land from large landowners and use it to house the unemployed.
Describe Opposition to Bruning’s Measures
-The ban on the SA and SS enraged Hitler. Other political parties feared that their paramilitary forces would also be banned.
-The landowning classes were furious about the plan to buy up their land. President Hindenburg, who was a landowning conservative, was furious.
-Bruning had neither the support of the President nor the support of a majority of the Reichstag. Without these, he was unable to govern. He resigned on 30 May 1932.
Describe Von Schelicher’s Plan
-For some time, Von Schelicher, an ambitious and high ranking army general, had been suggesting a new chancellor to Hindenburg.
-He had been organising a coalition of right wing supporters. consisting of industrialists, army officers and landowners.
-Von Schleicher chose Von Papen (a friend of Hindenburg) as a figurehead for the coalition. However, the coalition did not have a majority in the Reichstag.
Describe the Role of the Nazis in Von Schleicher’s Coalition
-Von Schleicher persuaded Hindenburg that if the Nazis, with their huge popular appeal, would support the coalition, it could govern without the Reichstag, using presidential decrees.
-This was against the spirit of the Weimar Republic. The constitution intended that the chancellor should have the support of the majority in the Reichstag.
-In fact, it was so undemocratic that the new government was known as the ‘Cabinet of barons’.
-Hitler agreed to support the coalition if the ban on the SA was removed. Schleicher’s coalition took power.
Describe Von Papen’s Appointment as Chancellor
-On 30 may 1932, as soon as Bruning resigned, Hindenburg made Von Papen chancellor.
-Von Schleicher assumed that he could control the Nazis, saying they were ‘merely children who had to be led by hand’.
-Nevertheless, Hitler and the Nazi Party were, for the first time, part of the government of Germany.
Describe the Reichstag Elections of July 1932
-In July 1932, campaigning in June and July caused violence in the streets, mainly between the private armies of the Nazi Party and Communist Party.
-In all, about 100 people were killed and over 7,000 injured. In one clash, near Hamburg, 18 people were killed
-When the results were announced, the NSDAP won 230 seats in the Reichstag. The Nazi share of the vote had increased from 18% in 1930 to 38% in 1932.
-The Nazi Party was now the largest party in the Reichstag. Hitler demanded that Hindenburg sack Von Papen and appoint him as chancellor instead.
Describe Von Papen’s Dismissal
-Hindenburg, a field marshal, detested Hitler. In his eyes he was a vulgar, jumped-up corporal. He refused to make Hitler chancellor.
-Von Papen hung on to office and called new Reichstag elections in November 1932. He was gambling that Nazi support would fall.
-Nazi seats in the Reichstag did fall, to 196, but they were still the largest party. Von Papen’s gamble was lost. At this point, Von Schelicher abandoned Von Papen.
-He told Hindenburg that, if Von Papen stayed, the country would descend into civil war and the German government would be unable to keep control.
-Reluctantly, Hindenburg told his friend to resign.
Describe Von Schleicher’s Appointment as Chancellor
-Hindenburg was struggling to find a strong government. But he still refused to make Hitler Chancellor.
-Von Schleicher told Hindenburg that the November election results showed support for the Nazis was fading.
-He told a visiting Austrian minister that ‘Herr Hitler is no longer a problem; his movement is a thing of the past’.
-In desperation, Hindenburg appointed Von Schleicher as Chancellor on 2 December 1932.
Describe Von Schleicher’s Plan for an Army Coup
-Von Schleicher’s chancellorship had no real political support. With Hitler and the Nazis now against him, Von Schleicher was unable to govern.
-He had no majority in the Reichstag and no support amongst the public.
-In the face of this, Von Schleicher asked Hindenburg to suspend the constitution and make him head of a military dictatorship.
-He said that the German army would support him with armed force. Hindenburg refused.
-However, rumours began to circulate about Schleicher’s plan for an army coup.
Describe Hitler’s Appointment as Chancellor
-Hearing the rumours about Von Schleicher’s coup.
-On 30 January, Von Papen told Hindenburg ‘If a new government is not formed by 11 o’clock, the army will march. A military dictatorship under Schleicher looms’.
-Von Papen also gave Hindenburg a solution: make Hitler the Chancellor and Von Papen the Vice Chancellor.
-This way, Hindenburg and Von Papen thought they could make all the decisions themselves and use Hitler as a figurehead. Von Papen said he had Hitler ‘in his pocket’.
-Hindenburg finally agreed. As a result, 30 January 1930, Hitler was legally appointed the Chancellor of the Weimar Republic.
