The Reichskonkordat ("Concordat between the Holy See and the German Reich"[1]) is a treaty negotiated between the Vatican and the emergent Nazi Germany. It was signed on 20 July 1933 by Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, who later became Pope Pius XII, on behalf of Pope Pius XI and Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen on behalf of President Paul von Hindenburg and the German government. It was ratified September 10, 1933 and it has been in force from that date onward.

Franz von Papen

failure to secure a base of support in the Reichstag led to his dismissal by Hindenburg and replacement by General Kurt von Schleicher. Determined to return to power, Papen, believing that Hitler could be controlled once he was in the government, persuaded Hindenburg to replace Schleicher as Chancellor with Hitler in 1933

Adolf Hitler

Chancellor of Germany

In office

30 January 1933

Preceded by Kurt von Schleicher

On 9 January 1933, Papen and Hindenburg agreed to form a new government that would bring in Hitler.

On the evening of 22 January 1933, during a meeting at the house of Joachim von Ribbentrop in Berlin, Papen made the concession of abandoning his claim to the Chancellorship and promised to support Hitler as Chancellor