On This Day – Hitler Elected Chancellor of Germany

Hitler and Hindenburg. Photo taken by Theo Eisenhart.
Hitler and Hindenburg. Photo taken by Theo Eisenhart.

On this day in 1933, Adolf Hitler was elected the Chancellor of Germany. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed as the Chancellor of Germany by President Paul Von Hindenburg. It would have disastrous results for Germany and the entire European continent. In the year and seven months that followed, Hitler was able to exploit the death of Hindenburg and combine the positions of chancellor and president into the position of Führer, the supreme leader of Germany.

Although Hitler lost the election against Hindenburg in 1932, the election results showed that the Nazi Party had grown both powerful and popular. After managing to increase the popularity and influence of the Nazi party over the next year, he was officially sworn in as Chancellor in 1933, meaning that the downfall of the German Republic had officially begun, particularly when he was made Fuhrer after Hindenburg’s death in 1934.