The Election

Election Myth (He Never Won a Majority)

Hitler was never voted into office by a majority of the German people in a free election.

• Numbers: In the last free election (November 1932), the Nazi Party actually lost votes. They dropped to 33%. They were the largest party, but they did not have enough votes to rule.
• Bankruptcy: By late 1932, the Nazi Party was actually going broke. They had spent all their money on campaigns. Hitler was depressed and talked about suicide. He thought he had missed his chance.
• Rescue: He was saved not by the voters, but by the bankers and politicians we discussed in the previous lessons.

The Deal

Backroom Deal (Papen’s Gamble)

The real transfer of power happened in a secret meeting, not a voting booth.

• Franz von Papen: He was a conservative politician who had been Chancellor. He was jealous of the current Chancellor (General Schleicher) and wanted power back.
• Deal: Papen went to President Hindenburg. He proposed a deal: Make Hitler the Chancellor, and make Papen the Vice-Chancellor.
• Puppet Master Theory: Papen famously told his friends, “In two months, we will have pushed Hitler so far into a corner that he will squeak.” He thought Hitler was an uneducated loudmouth that he could control. He was wrong.
• Appointment: On January 30, 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor. Democracy died with a handshake.

The Fire

Reichstag Fire (Convenient Catastrophe)

Four weeks after being appointed, Hitler got the “lucky break” he needed to suspend civil rights.

• Event: On February 27, 1933, the German Parliament building (Reichstag) went up in flames.
• Culprit: Police arrested Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch Communist, near the scene.
• Reaction: Hitler immediately claimed this was the signal for a massive Communist revolution.
• Article 48: He convinced a terrified President Hindenburg to sign the “Reichstag Fire Decree.” This suspended free speech, freedom of the press, and the right to privacy. It allowed the Nazis to arrest their political enemies legally.

The Law

Enabling Act (Suicide of Parliament)

Hitler did not want to be a dictator who broke the law; he wanted the law to say he was the dictator.

• Vote: On March 23, 1933, the Parliament met to vote on the “Enabling Act.” This law would allow Hitler to pass laws without Parliament for four years.
• Intimidation: The vote was held in the Kroll Opera House. The aisles were lined with SS and SA troops in uniform, staring down the politicians.
• Result: The politicians voted 441 to 94 to end their own power. Only the Social Democrats voted no. (The Communists had already been arrested or fled). Hitler was now a legal dictator.

The Purge

Night of the Long Knives (Blood Pact)

By 1934, Hitler had one problem left. His own private army (the SA or Brownshirts) was getting too powerful and threatening the regular German Army.

• Dilemma: The German Army (Reichswehr) was the only force that could stop Hitler. They hated the rowdy SA.
• Purge: To win the loyalty of the Army generals, Hitler ordered the execution of his oldest friend and leader of the SA, Ernst Röhm.
• Result: From June 30 to July 2, 1934, Hitler’s SS guards murdered hundreds of SA leaders and old political enemies (including General Schleicher). The Army was pleased that their rivals were gone.

Absolute Power

Death of Hindenburg (Final Lock)

The only man with the authority to fire Hitler was the old President, Paul von Hindenburg.

• Timing: On August 2, 1934, President Hindenburg died of old age (86) and lung cancer.
• Merger: One hour after his death, it was announced that the offices of “President” and “Chancellor” were being merged. Hitler was now the “Führer and Reich Chancellor.”
• Oath: On that same day, the Minister of War ordered every soldier in the German Army to swear a new oath. They did not swear loyalty to the “Constitution” or “Germany.” They swore unconditional obedience to “Adolf Hitler personally.”

Conclusion

Summary

Hitler became dictator through a legal process that was manipulated by fear and secret deals. The conservative elites (like Papen and Hindenburg) thought they could use Hitler to crush the Communists and then control him. Instead, he used them to get his foot in the door and then locked them out.

Ian Kershaw, Hitler: 1889–1936 Hubris (1998).
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960).
Richard J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich (2003).
Henry Ashby Turner, Hitler’s Thirty Days to Power (1996).
Joachim Fest, Hitler (1973).
Primary Document: The Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State (Reichstag Fire Decree), Feb 28, 1933.
Primary Document: Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich (Enabling Act), March 23, 1933.