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How did Adolf Hitler become chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933?

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Birth of the Weimar Republic — Weimar Republic Learn about Germany's fledgling Weimar Republic and the challenges it faced.

Adolf Hitler’s appointment as chancellor on January 30, 1933, was the result of political maneuvering by conservative elites who mistakenly believed they could control him.123

Following the collapse of the Weimar Republic’s parliamentary democracy, President Paul von Hindenburg governed through emergency decrees and appointed a series of chancellors who lacked broad support. After Franz von Papen was ousted and replaced by General Kurt von Schleicher, Papen sought revenge against his successor.3452

Papen entered into negotiations with Hitler in January 1933 and persuaded Hindenburg to appoint the Nazi leader as chancellor, with Papen serving as vice chancellor. Hindenburg, who had previously distrusted Hitler’s "noisy aggressiveness," was assured by Papen that the Nazis could be easily restrained within a coalition government. This miscalculation allowed Hitler to attain the chancellorship legally, effectively ending the democratic era of the Weimar Republic and initiating the Third Reich.2314