President Paul von Hindenburg today ordered Adolph Hitler to definitely answer this afternoon whether or not he accepts the commission to “establish whether and under what conditions he could form a government with a positive working majority in the Reichstag and with a unified program.”
The President’s ultimatum was in reply to Hitler’s communication, the contents of which still remain undisclosed, but which it is understood asked for a broader base of negotiations.
Hitler, it is stated, according to intimations from Nazi headquarters, demanded of the President whether or not he has been commissioned to form an authoritative presidential Cabinet, responsible primarily to the President, or a coalition government, which would require the support of the Reichstag parties.
Hitler believes that if the president desires an authoritative government, the weapon of dissolution of the Reichstag should be in a Chancellor’s hands and not dependent upon the Reichstag majorities. The Nazi chieftain holds that if the President is seeking a coalition government, it is incompatible to impose advance condi-
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.