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“Hitler versus Hindenburg: The 1932 Presidential Elections and the Collapse of German Democracy” will be presented by Larry Jones, PhD, professor of history, at the next College of Arts and Sciences Colloquium on Monday, November 23, at 3:30 p.m. in Regis North.

The last years of the Weimar Republic witnessed a dramatic shift to the right that culminated on January 30, 1933 in Adolf Hitler’s appointment as chancellor. At the heart of this process stood two men: one, the sitting Reich President Paul von Hindenburg and an icon of the authoritarian and military traditions with which Germany’s rise to world power was so closely associated. The other, Adolf Hitler, a self-styled political revolutionary who saw the destruction of German democracy as an indispensable precondition for Germany’s return to great power status. In the spring of 1932, these two men faced off against each other in two epic elections that defined the struggle for political power in the last months of the Weimar Republic.

In his presentation, Jones will discuss the two protagonists, their respective campaigns, the outcome of the elections and the irony with which this exercise in democracy foreshadowed the collapse of Germany’s republican system of government a scant 10 months later. Jones will present examples of campaign propaganda and reflect upon what the campaign meant in terms of the events that were to follow.

All faculty and staff are welcome!

Submitted by: Veronica Serwacki, executive associate to dean, college of arts and sciences