862.00/2877
The Ambassador in Germany (Sackett) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 15.]
Sir: In amplification of my telegram No. 223 of December 1, and in continuation of section 2 of despatch No. 2058 of December 3, 1932,44 I have the honor to report that after more than two weeks of negotiations with party leaders, which were marked by dramatic incidents and political excitations, President von Hindenburg commissioned General Von Schleicher on December 2 to form a cabinet.
The die was cast in favor of General Von Schleicher at a meeting of the Papen Cabinet on the morning of December 2, when several members of the cabinet expressed apprehension that Von Papen’s reappointment would sharpen the political tension. According to a semi-official statement, President von Hindenburg was inclined to reappoint Von Papen, but the latter himself urged him to appoint General Von Schleicher because he felt that a cabinet headed by the General had better prospects of averting a clash with the Reichstag.
Quite aside from this semi-official statement, it seems clear to me that the President personally would have much preferred to reappoint Papen than to make Schleicher Chancellor, and if he could have possibly seen his way to do so would have named the former. From the President’s point of view Papen must appear a far more dependable agent, his whole career having shown a readiness to accept orders from high authority and to do his best to carry them out. Schleicher, on the other hand, though also a soldier, is a man of a different stamp, and it is my impression that even the President and his small circle of personal advisers are both somewhat uncertain and apprehensive as to where the General’s restless energies and abilities may lead him.
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Respectfully yours,
- Despatch not printed.↩