How Did The Nazis Lose The 1932 Election

The NSDAP won the 1932 election as largest party with 37% of the vote (followed by the Social Democrats with 20% and the Communists under Ernst Thälmann with 17%), but President Paul von Hindenburg tried to form a coalition of the remaining democratic parties without either the Nazis or the Communists. Since the democratic parties were very splintered and squabbling amongst themselves, this failed as one coalition after another collapsed and new elections seemed certain to bring the same result. Nonetheless new elections were called in March of 1933, again with the Nazis leading, this time with 33% of the vote and the Communists with 17%. A leading conservative politician, Franz von Papen, decided to enter into a coalition with the Nazis —