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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