Ribbentrop Villa on Lentzeallee in Berlin-Dahlem (1930s)

In a series of secret meetings at the Berlin villa of Joachim von Ribbentrop, Adolf Hitler pressured Franz von Papen to support his appointment to the chancellorship. President Hindenburg’s representatives, Oskar von Hindenburg and Otto Meissner, were also persuaded to support Hitler’s bid and to recommend his appointment. Hindenburg remained reluctant, however. At a meeting on January 24, 1933, Papen finally conveyed his support for Hitler’s chancellorship to Nazi party lieutenants Wilhelm Frick and Hermann Göring. The three agreed that the best way to overcome Hindenburg’s opposition to Hitler was to present him as the chancellor of a rightist nationalist front cabinet surrounded by conservatives. Papen was promised the vice-chancellorship and an appointment as Minister President of Prussia – he received the first but not the second, which went to Hermann Göring – and planned to use these positions to wield true power, aided by his close ties to Hindenburg.

print version     return to image list

previous image      next image

© ullstein bild / The Granger Collection, New York