when did hitler become the chancellor of germany

Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933, when President Paul von Hindenburg formally appointed him to the post.

Quick Scoop

• Exact date: 30 January 1933.

• How it happened: He was appointed by President Paul von Hindenburg; he did not win a direct popular vote for the chancellorship and did not seize it in a coup.

• Context: In the years just before 1933, Germany’s Weimar Republic was politically unstable, with frequent elections, weak coalition governments, and deep economic crisis after the Great Depression.

• Behind-the-scenes deals: Conservative elites around Hindenburg (notably Franz von Papen and others) believed they could use Hitler’s popularity but still control him, so they backed his appointment as Chancellor in early 1933.

• What followed: Within months of becoming Chancellor, Hitler and the Nazi Party dismantled German democracy and turned the country into a dictatorship, leading directly toward the policies and violence that culminated in the Second World War and the Holocaust.

In short: Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933, through legal appointment by Germany’s president, in a moment of severe political crisis that powerful conservatives wrongly thought they could manage.

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