Hitler Becomes Chancellor

Active learning works for this topic because the events of January 1933 were shaped by personalities, backroom deals, and miscalculations rather than inevitable forces. Students need to experience the contingency of these events through role-play, debate, and source analysis to grasp how fragile democratic institutions can be undermined by elite choices.

• Year 11
• History
• 4 activities
• 35 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the key factors contributing to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor in January 1933.
2. Evaluate the arguments Franz von Papen used to persuade President Hindenburg that Hitler could be controlled.
3. Assess the relative importance of popular support versus political maneuvering in Hitler's rise to power.
4. Explain the significance of the Nazi Party's electoral gains in the July and November 1932 elections.
5. Compare the motivations of conservative elites like von Papen and Hindenburg in their dealings with Hitler.

Ready-to-Use Activities

Decision Matrix

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Role-Play: Hindenburg's Audience

Assign roles to Hindenburg, Hitler, von Papen, and von Schleicher. Provide scripted arguments based on historical accounts. Groups perform 5-minute scenes, then switch roles and discuss outcomes. Conclude with a class vote on appointment decision.

Prepare & details

Analyze the key factors that ultimately led to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor.

Facilitation Tip: During the Role-Play: Hindenburg's Audience, assign students to play specific historical figures with clear personality traits and motivations to heighten the drama of the backroom negotiation.

Setup: Groups at tables with matrix worksheets

Materials: Decision matrix template, Option description cards, Criteria weighting guide, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Decision Matrix

⏱ 35 min·Pairs

Causation Card Sort: Key Factors

Prepare cards listing factors like Depression, Nazi votes, Papen's deals, and Weimar flaws. In pairs, students sort into 'most/least significant' piles with justifications from sources. Share rankings in plenary and refine based on peer challenge.

Prepare & details

Explain how von Papen convinced Hindenburg that Hitler could be 'tamed'.

Facilitation Tip: For the Causation Card Sort: Key Factors, provide students with pre-sorted cards of events, figures, and economic conditions, then ask them to argue why some factors matter more than others in small groups.

Setup: Groups at tables with matrix worksheets

Materials: Decision matrix template, Option description cards, Criteria weighting guide, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Decision Matrix

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Source Stations: Backroom Intrigue

Set up stations with excerpts from diaries, letters, and newspapers on 1932-33 events. Small groups rotate, noting evidence for popular will versus opportunism. Each group presents one key source to class for debate.

Prepare & details

Assess whether Hitler's rise to power was primarily a result of popular will or political opportunism.

Facilitation Tip: At the Source Stations: Backroom Intrigue, rotate students through three stations with different types of sources (e.g., a letter from Papen to Hindenburg, a newspaper editorial, a diary entry from Goebbels) to analyze how each reveals a different perspective on the negotiations.

Setup: Groups at tables with matrix worksheets

Materials: Decision matrix template, Option description cards, Criteria weighting guide, Presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Formal Debate

⏱ 40 min·Whole Class

Formal Debate: Votes or Deals?

Divide class into two teams: one argues popular support drove appointment, other political maneuvering. Provide evidence packs. Teams prepare 3-minute openings, rebuttals, then whole class votes with justifications.

Prepare & details

Analyze the key factors that ultimately led to Hitler's appointment as Chancellor.

Facilitation Tip: In the Structured Debate: Votes or Deals?, give students 10 minutes to prepare arguments using evidence from the previous activities, then enforce strict time limits to model the urgency of political decision-making.

Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest

Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Decision-Making

Teaching This Topic

Experienced teachers approach this topic by treating it as a case study in how democratic norms erode when elites prioritize power over principle. Avoid presenting Hitler’s rise as a foregone conclusion; instead, emphasize contingency and the unintended consequences of conservative miscalculations. Research shows that students better retain lessons about democratic fragility when they analyze primary sources and role-play the perspectives of decision-makers.

What to Expect

Successful learning looks like students recognizing that Hitler’s chancellorship resulted from political maneuvering, not popular mandate, and articulating the roles of key figures like Hindenburg, Papen, and Schleicher. They should also distinguish between electoral gains and executive power grabs, avoiding deterministic explanations of Nazi rise.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Role-Play: Hindenburg's Audience, watch for students assuming Hindenburg was enthusiastic about Hitler’s appointment. Redirect them by having them reread the role card, which states Hindenburg called Hitler a 'Bohemian corporal' and was pressured by Papen.

What to Teach Instead

During the Causation Card Sort: Key Factors, have students sort cards into two columns: 'Factors that increased Nazi popularity' and 'Factors that led to elite support for Hitler,' then discuss why popularity alone did not secure his chancellorship.

Common Misconception

During Structured Debate: Votes or Deals?, watch for students oversimplifying Hindenburg’s motivations. Redirect them by reminding them to reference the primary sources from the Source Stations that show Hindenburg’s distrust and Papen’s pressure tactics.

What to Teach Instead

During Role-Play: Hindenburg's Audience, assign a student to play Hindenburg and another to play Papen, with the rest observing how Papen’s assurances ('We can tame him') contrast with Hindenburg’s reluctance, making the backroom deal visible.

Common Misconception

During Causation Card Sort: Key Factors, watch for students claiming Hitler’s rise was inevitable after 1932. Redirect them by highlighting the contingency cards, such as 'Schleicher’s failed coalition' or 'Papen’s return to politics,' and ask students to explain how these events changed the outcome.

What to Teach Instead

During Structured Debate: Votes or Deals?, require students to cite at least one card from the Causation Card Sort in their arguments, forcing them to connect popular support (or lack thereof) to elite decisions.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After Structured Debate: Votes or Deals?, facilitate a 10-minute debrief where students revise their initial arguments based on new evidence from the debate. Collect one key takeaway from each student to assess their understanding of how elite machinations, not just elections, shaped Hitler’s rise.

Exit Ticket

After Role-Play: Hindenburg's Audience, ask students to write down the name of one figure they played and one reason that figure supported or opposed Hitler’s appointment. Use these to check if students grasped the motivations behind the backroom deal.

Quick Check

During Causation Card Sort: Key Factors, circulate and ask each group to explain one card they placed in the 'most important factor' pile. Listen for students distinguishing between factors like 'Nazi popularity' and 'elite support,' then clarify any misconceptions immediately.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students to write a 200-word memo from von Papen’s perspective explaining why he believed Hitler could be controlled, citing evidence from the source stations.
• Scaffolding: Provide a graphic organizer with sentence stems for students to fill in during the debate, such as 'The Nazis gained support because...' or 'Von Papen supported Hitler because...'.
• Deeper exploration: Ask students to research the Enabling Act of March 1933 and compare it to the events of January 1933, identifying how the earlier appointment set the stage for later authoritarian measures.

Key Vocabulary

Chancellor	The head of government in Germany, appointed by the President. Hitler's appointment as Chancellor was a crucial step in his consolidation of power.
Reichstag	The German parliament. The Nazi Party's increasing representation in the Reichstag, though not a majority, was a key factor in political negotiations.
Coalition Cabinet	A government formed by a combination of political parties. Von Papen proposed a coalition to limit Hitler's power, believing he could be controlled.
Political Intrigue	Secretive and cunning plotting or scheming, especially in politics. This describes the backroom deals and negotiations among conservative elites that led to Hitler's appointment.
Popular Will	The desires or opinions of the general population. This refers to the extent to which Hitler's appointment reflected the wishes of the German people as expressed through elections.