Ben Wilson

He revokes his Austrian citizenship, and he doesn't yet have German citizenship.

And they find a clever loophole to get him citizenship in February of 1932, and he runs for president in April.

Okay, so he loses the presidential election in April of 1932.

In July of 1932, the NSDAP makes massive gains.

They go to 37.4% of the Reichstag, making them the largest party in the parliament.

Hitler demands the chancellorship and Hindenburg refuses.

He says, quote, I cannot in good conscience appoint you to the leading office of the Reich.

He says that a Hitler cabinet would quote, inevitably lead to a single party government with all the attendant consequences for an extreme aggravation of the conflicts in German society.

All right.

which is very prescient.

Like, obviously, he is right.

At first, they just leave the NSDAP out in the cold.

Eventually, as the NSDAP continues to do better and better, they finally make some offers to include them in the government.

After the NSDAP becomes the biggest party in the Reichstag,

Hitler is offered the role of vice chancellor, okay, of second in command, the prime minister's top lieutenant, right?

Hitler is kind of insulted by this, but they still are viewed as an unserious party, as rabble-rousers, as dangerous.

And so no one wants to give him the keys to the government.

And Hitler says no to the vice chancellorship.

Which is an amazing decision.

An amazing decision to say no to the vice chancellorship.