Hitler Becomes Chancellor

Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. He had been designated to head the chancellorship by President Paul von Hindenburg. Although they belonged to different political party, Hindenburg, who was a conservative, had been advised to appoint Adolf Hitler chancellor of the Weimar Republic because the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) party had obtained 37.4% of the votes in the 1932 elections. This means that the Nazi had become the largest opposition party in the German Parliament (Reichstag). Since the former chancellor, Kurt von Schleicher, had not been able to form a coalition government with the other political parties, Hindenburg was forced to name Adolf Hitler for that post.

Over the next few months, during the so-called Gleichschaltung, Hitler decided to wield both executive and legislative powers of government. Thus, he convinced Hindenburg to dissolve the Parliament (Reichstag) of the Weimar Republic as a legislative body by a decree. Next, he eliminated all rival political parties in Germany, so that by the middle of 1933 the country had become a one-party state under his direction and control. Nevertheless, Hitler did not exercise absolute power, despite his swift consolidation of political authority. As chancellor, Hitler did not command the army, which remained under the formal leadership of Hindenburg, a highly respected WW1 veteran field marshal. While many officers were impressed by Hitler's promises of an expanded army, a return to conscription, and a more aggressive foreign policy, the army continued to guard its traditions of independence during the first two years of the Nazi regime.

Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act

As soon as he was appointed chancellor, Hitler opposed any attempt of the opposition parties to build a new majority government that would force him to leave the chancellorship. Because of the political stalemate, he asked Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag. After the Parliament was dissolved, the new elections were scheduled for early March 1933. However, before the elections took place, the Reichstag building was set on fire in February. Hermann Göring blamed the communists for the fire, because Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe was found in incriminating circumstances inside the burning building. According to Kershaw, the consensus of nearly all historians is that van der Lubbe actually set the fire. Others, including William L. Shirer and Alan Bullock, are of the opinion that the Nazi Party itself was responsible.

At Hitler's urging, Hindenburg responded with the Reichstag Fire Decree of February 28, which suspended basic rights and allowed detention without trial. The decree was allowed under Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which gave the president the power to take emergency measures to protect public safety and order. Activities of the German Communist Party (KPD) were suppressed, and some 4,000 KPD members were arrested. The Weimar Republic ceased to exist when the new Reichstag, with Nazi party's representatives majority, passed the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933, giving Hitler and his cabinet the power to pass legislation without the Reichstag. When Hindenburg died the following year, Hitler also became the commander of the Reichswehr (armed forces), which would be renamed 'Wehrmacht'.

The new chancellor Adolf Hitler shakes hand with Paul von Hindenburg, the President of Germany, on January 30, 1933.