Hitler and the Nazi Regime
...sions as well as take actions and have a confident feeling that the President would support him in those decisions. The support from Schleicher however, was not nearly as strong if it existed at all. (p.18) Both Papen and Schleicher took active measures against each other with intentions of politically destroying one another. While Schleicher continued to dissolve Papen’s political career, he put himself in a position to become chancellor. (p.19) Franz von Papen resigned from his position on December 2, 1932, at which time President Hindenburg appointed Schleicher Chancellor. Not only did Schleicher become chancellor of Germany, but he also took back over the role of defense minister and commissar for Prussia. (p.19) Throughout his rule, Schleicher focused on preventing Hitler and the Nazi party from gaining power. He wanted to do this by making a deal with Hitler, or at least gain some type of understanding on where Hitler stood politically as a threat. He wanted to split off the moderate wing of the Nazi Party and gain support from the Catholic trade unions. Schleicher also not only demanded power from the President, but also voiced plans for dissolving the Reichstag and assuming emergency powers. Schleicher attempted to reach the Nazi party on a number of levels. When deals with Hitler did not seem to materialize, Schleicher turned to the second man in command in the Nazi party, Gregor Strasser. While Strasser seemed to be a dedicated member of the Nazi party, he was not always in support of Hitler’s actions. It was because of these differing opinions between Hitler and Strasser that Schleicher found it important to continue down this path. (p.24) While there seemed to be a scheme by Schleicher to get Strasser into the cabinet, and specifically the candidate of the Prussian ministry-president, Hitler quickly caught on and altered their plan. Instead of Strasser be potentially placed in this position, Hitler brought Hermann Goring into the picture. (p.26) “Even those who sympathized with Strasser submitted to Hitler’s will” (p.26). While Schleicher’s plans had not been carried out, he continued to fight politically. He suggested that the Reichstag be shut down and that elections should be carried out despite the constitutional requirement for elections within sixty days. On January 23, 1933, Papen refutes this suggestion, and decided to find someone to be chancellor that he felt he could control. Meanwhile, Schleicher continues to petition the President about dissolving the Reichstag. At this point, it seems as though Schleicher’s thoughts as well as his actions have been diminished. No one was paying a great deal of attention to his suggestions, and while they were sure to be heard, other voices were stronger. It is reported that Papen became humiliated by Schleicher’s actions. Not only did Schleicher fail to present the parliamentary support he had promised, but he was also unable to successfully carry though with his own private actions that were suppose to save his political career. “Schleicher left no record of his motives for this politically suicidal course of action, and the surviving evidence provides no simp...