September 1930
14 September
The KPD and the NSDAP make substantial gains in the Reichstag elections. With 18.2% of the vote, the NSDAP becomes the second-largest party after the SPD with 24.5%. The Center Party and the BVP make slight gains whereas the DVP and the DDP (now called the “German State Party”) register slight losses. However, the biggest loser in the election is the DNVP, which loses nearly half of its seats compared to the election of 1928. Due to the high number of seats apportioned to the extreme left or the extreme right, it is practically impossible to form a “positive” government majority. In view of this situation, the SPD decides for the time being to tolerate Brüning’s policies and to not give the government another reason to dissolve the Reichstag.
[Kolb, p. 127 / 134-35]
25 September
During the high treason trial of three Ulm Reichswehr officers before the Federal Court in Leipzig, Hitler professes that he wants to attain the envisaged “Third Reich” by constitutional means. In the period that follows, Hitler’s statement is referred to as the “oath of legality”.
[Overesch/Saal, p. 488-489]