Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor of Germany in 1933?

Why was Hitler able to become Chancellor of Germany in 1933?

Hitler’s ascension to power was due to a number of factors, many of which were a consequence of Germany’s weak Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic was in a position of political crisis partly due to the lack of faith in previous chancellors and the split between left and right political ideals. As voters looked to more extreme parties the Nazi political campaigns gained a foothold, which translated to Nazi electoral success. Ultimately appointing Hitler as Chancellor was Hindenburg’s only option due to the successive problems after the appointment of Bruning of 1929. Although Nazi propaganda from 1926 was incredibly strong and raised the profile of the party, the short term events leading up to 1933 were what allowed Hitler to take the Chancellorship.
Germany was still struggling economically from the reparations of 6.6 Billion Reichmarks imposed after the Second World War and the failing economy played a huge part in politics for over a decade, from the formation of the Weimar Republic in 1918 till Hitler’s appointment. The crisis created a rift between the parties and voters in Germany with increasing number of the population voting for more extreme parties, between 1920 and 1923 Nazi membership increased dramatically, developing from a small part to one with 55,000 members. It was clear that economic instability was a major factor in Nazi support, as during 1924 Nazi votes appeared to peak, their seats falling from 32 to 19 in the Reichstag as due to American loans and support the economy began to recover and people’s faith in the Weimar system was stronger. In the years between 1924 – 1929 the Nazi party stagnated however 1929 brought about the Wall Street Crash and the end of Germany’s economic stability. The Weimar government was always to be associated with economic failure and radical unemployment, and once more voting habits became more extreme. In the 1930 election the more moderate parties all lost votes whilst the far left and far right (KPD and NSDAP) increased dramatically, the Nazi vote increasing by 900%. The economic crisis developed into a political one as socialist and nationalist parties fell into a stalemate, the public grew frustrated with an ineffective government, and once again this caused votes to shift to parties who opposed the Weimar system. LINK MORE OF THIS PARAGRAPH BACK TO THE QUESTION.
The Weimar Republic was also seen as a point of attack by Hitler, as since its conception it had suffered opposition, largely due to the fact that it had been founded under The Treaty of Versailles, a ruling that many German’s believed to be unjust and unfair. The Nazi party attempted to capitalise on the anger at ‘The November Criminals’ and the Republic, by painting them as a scapegoat for all of Germany. The loss of faith in the Weimar is most obvious in times of economic crisis as voting for parties who proposed a change in constitution and style of government such as NSDAP and the KPD. The very foundations that the Republic was built on was floored with parties such as NSDAP and the KPD gaining power and planning to bring the government down. Another weakness of the Weimar was its use of proportional representation as a voting system, as although this did accurately represent the people, it led to the Reichstag being made up a multitude of small parties which complicated the politics and led to indecision. The Nazi party was able to capitalise on the situation by getting into the Reichstag as a smaller party, and subsequently appearing as a party who would make decisions and lead. Hitler was ultimately a good choice for Chancellor as he represented a strong leader, whereas before him Chancellors had failed to stand out or lead effectively. Article 48 was used extensively in the years leading up to Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor and had weakened the constitution, the public had seen how the democracy could be easily dismantled by weak ineffectual leaders such as Bruning. The use of the emergency decree had alienated the Reichstag from government affairs and Bruning’s inability to effectively deal with the economic situation led to his resignation. Bruning’s chancellorship highlighted some major faults in the Weimar system: the Reichstag did not hold a majority or large enough party for a Chancellor to take control of Germany’s situation, and as a result of this and combination of weak leaders Germany was unable to develop. It was in this situation that Hitler became a real contender, as he represented a strong authoritarian leader at the head of one of the largest parties in the Reichstag.
1932 proved to be a an extremely busy year in the Reichstag as it saw three different Chancellors: Bruning, Von-Pappen and Schleicher within a very small space of time. Political Intrigue had a part to play in both the appointment and resignation of many of the Chancellors, and the rapid succession of Chancellors meant that Hitler, although 3rd in line to the Chancellorship at the beginning of 1932 was the number one choice by the start of the following year. Hindenburg as a President was particularly susceptible to influence, given his age and frailty of mind, and Schleicher was able to capitalise heavy on this, being a member of the old German elite and a friend of Hindenburg’s. It was Schleicher who prompted the end of Bruning’s Chancellorship, directing the President towards a more right wing government in May 1932 after holding secret meetings with Hitler. Political intrigue was allowing Hitler closer to the upper echelons of politics that had previously been shut off to him, as he was considered a young upstart of a new age of politics. Bruning’s eventual resignation in May 1932 was just another step towards Hitler becoming chancellor as there were only so many suitable candidates. The Centre Party had already been shown to small to protect a chancellors interest in the Reichstag, it was clear that Von-Papen would not hold power for long. Von-Papen attempted to collaborate with Hitler, knowing that he would be unable to hold chancellorship without Nazi support however Hitler refused stating he would only join the cabinet as Chancellor. Von-Papen was forced to resign 6 months after his appointment, after Schleicher informed Hindenburg that the army held no confidence in his rule. Schleicher became Chancellor in November 1932 however, as he almost immediately alienated the whole Reichstag he was forced to resign. On Von-Papen’s assurances Hindenburg appointed Hitler, as he believed he could be easily controlled by the currently existing ruling elite however this was soon shown to be a much harder task than previously thought.
Nazi electoral success was what had solidified their place in the Reichstag. Unlike many of the other parties of the time, NSDAP had a large base of support that wasn’t merely isolated to a single class or region, so by the 1930 elections when it had become a real power in the Reichstag it was considered the only ‘Peoples party’. The electoral success not only meant that Hitler had 37.3% of votes in the Reichstag, but it also cut away support from the centre party, and Heinrich Bruning, the current Chancellor. Being one of the largest parties in the Reichstag meant that he was the obvious choice for Chancellor. Goebbels was Propaganda minister, and he was hugely responsible for Nazi electoral success, he organised the use of expensive cars, and executive travel for Hitler in order to present him in a statesman like image, and as a strong authoritarian leader who could lead Germany out of its economic hardship. Mass suggestion also played a vital role in promoting Hitler as a leader; the Nuremberg rallies created a form of mass hysteria surrounding the man, and his statesman like talk about the future of Germany rallied many people to his cause. NSDAP had already had established bases of the support in each constituency, to effectively target voters more specifically with propaganda, as Goebells understood the voter needs were different. A particularly successful application of the regional offices was in Schlessen – Hollwegg where Nazi votes increased dramatically.
Conclusion
Hitler’s rise to Chancellor was a slow process that built it’s foundations on Nazi electoral success. Much of Germany’s propaganda was based on the weaknesses of the Weimar government, and the it was often used as a scape goat in Nazi promotional material. Hitler would never have gained his place as Chancellor without the failure of the chancellors before him

Half the parties didn’t support the Republic.
It was founded on the treaty of Versailles which everyone hated.
Proportional Representation led to loads of smaller parties with no single party holding a majority.
Article 48.
Chancellors often didn’t have much support from the Reichstag and kind of couldn’t do anything when in power.
A weak president severely affected the system.