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In the
Reichstag elections in 1924, the Nazis received only 3 percent of
the votes and were considered a phantom party. The political and
economic crises that swept Germany in the late 1920s animated a
dramatic Nazi ascent in the 1930s, the party’s parliamentary
strength increasing apace. In the so-called "disaster
elections" in 1930, the Nazis took 18.3 percent of the vote. As
parliamentary crises continued to afflict Germany, new elections
were called in July 1932; this time, the Nazis earned 37.3 percent
of the vote and became the largest party in the Reichstag. President
Paul von Hindenburg, who had misgivings about Hitler, refused to
appoint him to the chancellorship; Hitler, in turn, refused to join
any coalition. The Conservative minority government did not hold on,
and the electorate went to the polls again in November. In these
elections, the strength of the Nazi Party slipped to 33.1 percent;
many believed that the party had passed its peak and would begin to
decline. The Conservative leader, Franz von Papen, held the
chancellorship a little longer but was forced to resign amidst
increasingly frequent coalition crises. In early December, the
Defense Minister, Kurt von Schleicher, was named chancellor. His
government, too, was not long-lived, and it fell on January 28,
1933. Hindenburg had little choice but to appoint Hitler to the
premiership.
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