The appointment of Hitler as Chancellor

The fall of Bruning's government, May 1932

• Bruning's government was in power from March 1930 to May 1932. His appointment by HIndenburg was heavily influenced by Schleicher, so he could not pass laws or remian in office without these men's support. 
• Bruning's priority was to reduce state expenditure by cutting welfare benefits, reducing the no. of civil servants and cutting wages - this didn't improve the economic situation but deepened the Depression, causing unemployment to exceed 6 million for the first time. As unemployment increased, electoral support for the NSDAP and KPD and political violence rose too - the middle and upper classes were worried that Germany was descending into chaos and a communist revolution was possible. Bruning imposed a ban on the SA, causing Schleicher to withdraw his support - he was worried that this would provoke a Nazi uprising. 
• After the presidential election, Schleicher decided that no government could rule without the Nazi Party's support. He talked with Hitler who said that he would not join a coalition government unless he was appointed Chancellor but agreed not to oppose a new government as long as there was a new election and the ban on the SA was lifted. Hindenburg refused to sign a presidential decree Bruning had submitted (he was acting on Schleicher's advice), causing Bruning to have no choice but to resign. 

Papen's government, May-December 1932

The 'cabinet of barons'
On the orders of Hindenburg and Schleicher, Papen constructed his government on a non-party political basis; the only political party that supported the government was the DNVP and the other positions were filled by non-members of the Reichstag, many from the landowning industrial elite. Papen ruled by decree. Papen believed that the greatest threat to Germany was a communist revolution and he sympathised with much of the Nazi ideology ands saw them as useful allies. Therefore, he lifted the ban on the SA and issued controls on the left-wing press, causing a new wave of street violence. 

July 1932 election
Hitler and Schleicher agreed that there should be a new election which would be held in July. Most moderate parties, apart from the Centre Party, suffered losses, particularly the DDP and DVP who were essentially reduced to fringe parties. The DNVP suffered losses as the NSDAP established itself as the main party on the right. The Nazis managed to attract many middle-class voters, many who had never voted before and many of the unemployed, but they didn't win voters away from the SPD or KPD or Catholic voters. Though, HItler was now in a stronger position in his talks with Papen and Schleicher - Papen invited Hitler to join his government, Hitler refused as he wanted to be Chancellor. Hitler also felt free to break his agreement with Schleicher and attack Papen's government along with other parties - the Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence in Papen's government with a massive majority. Papen's weak position meant he had to ask Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and call a new election. 

Hindenburg's inner circle

• Through the differing political situation of 1932, a small group of men made up Hindenburg's inner circle of advisors and were involved in all key decisions - they advised Hindenburg on the appointment of Chancellors and the issuing of presidential decrees.
• Kurt von Schleicher was a prominent member of this inner circle - he persuaded Hindenburg to withdraw support for Bruning and appoint Papen in his place but he was also deeply involved in the downfall of Papen (Papen was too independent for Schleicher's liking). Schleicher worked to restore authoritarian rule in Germany and with the rise of the Nazi Party, he aimed for an alliance between the old conservatives and the Nazis, who with their popular support, would legitimise this authoritarian regime dominated by old conservatives.
• Oskar von Hindenburg, the President's son, held a key position. He controlled access to the President and his opinions were highly valued by his father.
• Dr Otto Meissner held a key position - he was a civil servant who ran the President's office and acted as a key go-between in negotiations between Hindenburg and Hitler.
• Hindenburg regarded Hitler with disdain and disliked the Nazis - he was reluctant to let Hitler be Chancellor in which he would be free to act as he wished. But, after the fall of Papen's government, Hindenburg was running out of options. 

November 1932
The Nazi Party lost support - they remained the largest party in the Reicstag but they lost 2 million votes and 34 seats. It appeared that Nazi support had peaked in July and was now in decline. This can be partly explained by many middle-class voters having been alienated by Hitler's attacks on Papen and his refusal to join the government unless he was made Chancellor. These voters retuned to the DVP or DNVP. Also, three election campaigns in the space of eight months had exhausted Nazi funds. It appeared that Hitler had lost his chance to take power by legal means.

The end of Papen's government
Papen's government still faced a hostile Reichstag and he began to lose creibility in the eyes of the army. Papen wanted to ban the Nazis and KPD and to use the army to enforce an authoritarian style government (which would bypass the Reichstag). But, Schleicher told Papen that the army would not support him, meaning that Papen had no choice but to resign. 

Schleicher's government, December 1932 to January 1933

• Schleicher persuaded Hindenburg to appoint him as Chancellor - though he experienced difficulties in establishing a stable government as he had alienated Papen and lost some of Hindenburg's trust due to the way he had conspired against Papen. So, he needed to persuade the Nazis to join a coalition led by him. 
• At first, this didn't seem impossible - the Nazis had lost support in the November election and in state elections in December, their support continued to fall. They were virtually bankrupt and within the Nazi Party, there was criticism of Hitler's tactics in refusing to join a coalition. There were divisions in the Nazi Party over ideology and tactic e.g. Gregor Strasser and his brother Otto, long-standing members of the NSDAP, advocated socialist policies, like the nationalisation of banks and industies, and wanted there to be a 'national revolution' which would sweep away the old elite. These ideas made potential middle-class supporters wary of the Nazi Party and Hitler saw them as a challenge to his authority. Schleicher believed that he could put pressure on Hitler by playing on these divisions and so he opened negotiations with Gregor Strasser about joining his government. Strasser was purged from party leadership and Hitler reasserted his control. Schleicher had failed in winning the Nazis' support.

• Instead, Schleicher decided to take a progressive social policy which would win support from trade unions and therefore the Reichstag. He cancelled the cuts in wages and benefits imposed by Papen, considered a large job-creation scheme and thought about breaking up the large estates in the east and distributing them among small farmers. Landowners and industrialists, who were influential in conservative politics, opposed these measures and these didn't attract support from trade unions.
• Then, Schleicher asked Hindenburg to suspend the constitution, dissolve the Reichstag and give him basically dictatorial powers. Hindenburg refused and Schleicher resigned.
• Meanwhile, Papen had been negotiating with Hitler over forming a new coalition government. Alfred Hugenburg, the leader of the DNVP, said he would support a Nazi-led coalition. There were talks between Hitler, Papen and Hindenburg's inner circle about Hitler forming a coalition government with himself as Chancellor. Hindenburg had doubts but Papen and Oskar von Hindenburg assured him that Hitler would not be able to freely govern Germany - Papen would be Vice-Chancellor and apart from HItler, there would only be two other Nazis in the cabinet.