Secret Meeting of 20 February 1933

The Reichstagspräsidentenpalais (Reichstag Presidential Palace), the building in which the meeting took place

The Secret Meeting of 20 February 1933 (German: Geheimtreffen vom 20. Februar 1933) was a secret meeting held by Adolf Hitler 25 industrialists at the official residence of the President of the Reichstag Hermann Göring in Berlin. Its purpose was to raise funds for the election campaign of the Nazi Party.[1]

The German elections were to be held on 5 March 1933. The Nazi Party wanted to achieve two-thirds majority to pass the Enabling Act and desired to raise three million Reichsmark to fund the campaign. According to records, 2,071,000 Reichsmarks (equivalent to €9,600,103 in 2021) were contributed at the meeting, although Goebbels also claimed that a full 3 million were received.[1] Together with the Industrial petition, it is used as evidence to support the idea that big business played a central role in the rise of the Nazi Party.[2]

  1. ^ a b The Trials of the War Criminals Before Nuremberg Military Tribunal (PDF). Vol. VII. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. 1946. pp. 16–17.
  2. ^ "Eingabe führender Persönlichkeiten des Landes an Reichspräsident von Hindenburg für die Berufung Adolf Hitlers zum Kanzler 19.11.1932". NS-Archiv. Retrieved 10 January 2018.