The Hitler Cabinet de jure formed the government of Nazi Germany between 30 January 1933 and 30 April 1945 upon the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of the German Reich by President Paul von Hindenburg – contrived by the national conservative politician Franz von Papen, who reserved the office of the Vice-Chancellor for himself.
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Hitler succeeded the conservative Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher and similar to the preceding cabinets of the Weimar Republic, the parties of his coalition government, NSDAP and DNVP, initially had no majority in the Reichstag parliament until the elections of March 1933. The conservative plans to "enframe" the Nazis failed: after the Enabling Act had passed on March 24, Hitler was no longer dependent neither on presidential decrees according to Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution nor on the support of his coalition partner. On 27 June 1933 the DNVP officially dissolved, with its Reichstag MPs joining the Nazi Party.
At first, only three members of the cabinet were affiliated to the NSDAP: Hitler himself, Wilhelm Frick heading the strategically important Interior ministry, and Hermann Göring as Minister without portfolio. Shortly afterwards, Joseph Goebbels entered the cabinet upon the establishment of the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, furthermore the former Stahlhelm leader Franz Seldte joined the Nazi Party in April 1933. After the dissolution of the DNVP in June, the party's "strong man" Alfred Hugenberg, who had held two ministerial posts, retired. Vice-Chancellor von Papen chose to resign after the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, his post was not filled again. After von Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934, Hitler also assumed his office as head of state, styling himself Führer und Reichskanzler.
From the beginning, Hitler did not admit any votings but expected the ministers to obey his orders. The cabinet met less and less often, the last session being held on 5 February 1938.
Besides Hitler himself, Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk and Wilhelm Frick were the only people to serve in the cabinet continuously from Hitler's appointment as Chancellor until his death.
The Reich cabinet consisted of the following Ministers:
| Office | Incumbent | In office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chancellor | Adolf Hitler | 30 January 1933 – 30 April 1945 | NSDAP |
| Vice-Chancellor | Franz von Papen | 30 January 1933 – 7 August 1934 | none (Centre until 1932) |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Konstantin von Neurath | 30 January 1933 – 4 February 1938 | none (NSDAP from 1937) |
| Joachim von Ribbentrop | 4 February 1938 – 30 April 1945 | NSDAP | |
| Minister of the Interior | Wilhelm Frick | 30 January 1933 – 24 August 1943 | NSDAP |
| Heinrich Himmler | 24 August 1943 – 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister of Finance | Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk | 30 January 1933 – 30 April 1945 | none (NSDAP from 1937) |
| Minister of Justice | Franz Gürtner † | 30 January 1933 – 29 January 1941 | DNVP (NSDAP from 1937) |
| Franz Schlegelberger (acting) | 29 January 1941 – 24 August 1942 | NSDAP | |
| Otto Georg Thierack | 24 August 1942 – 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister of the Reichswehr (from 1935: of War) | Werner von Blomberg | 30 January 1933 – 5 February 1938 | none |
| Wilhelm Keitel (as Chief of the OKW) | 5 February 1938 – 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister for Economics | Alfred Hugenberg | 30 January 1933– 29 June 1933 | DNVP |
| Kurt Schmitt | 29 June 1933 – 3 August 1934 | NSDAP | |
| Hjalmar Schacht | 3 August 1934 – 26 November 1937 | none (NSDAP from 1937) | |
| Hermann Göring | 26 November 1937 – 15 January 1938 | NSDAP | |
| Walther Funk | 5 February 1938 – 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister for Food and Agriculture | Alfred Hugenberg | 30 January 1933– 29 June 1933 | DNVP |
| Richard Walther Darré | 29 June 1933 – 23 May 1942 | NSDAP | |
| Herbert Backe | 23 May 1942 - 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister for Labour | Franz Seldte | 30 January 1933 – 30 April 1945 | NSDAP (from 30 April 1933) |
| Minister for Postal Affairs | Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach | 30 January 1933 – 2 February 1937 | none |
| Wilhelm Ohnesorge | 2 February 1937 – 30 April 1945 | NSDAP | |
| Minister for Transport | Paul Freiherr von Eltz-Rübenach | 30 January 1933 – 2 February 1937 | none |
| Julius Dorpmüller | 2 February 1937 – 30 April 1945 | none (NSDAP from 1941) | |
| Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda | Joseph Goebbels | 13 March 1933 – 30 April 1945 | NSDAP |
| Minister of Aviation | Hermann Göring | 5 May 1933 – 24 April 1945 | NSDAP |
| Minister for Science and Education | Bernhard Rust | 1 May 1934 – 30 April 1945 | NSDAP |
| Minister for Church Affairs | Hanns Kerrl † | 16 July 1935 – 15 December 1941 | NSDAP |
| Hermann Muhs (acting) | 15 December 1941 – 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister for Armaments and Ammunition (from 1943: for Armaments and War Production) |
Fritz Todt † | 17 March 1940 – 8 February 1942 | NSDAP |
| Albert Speer | 8 February 1942 – 30 April 1945 | ||
| Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories | Alfred Rosenberg | 17 November 1941 - 30 April 1945 | NSDAP |
| Minister of State for Bohemia and Moravia | Karl Hermann Frank | 20 August 1943 - 30 April 1945 | NSDAP |
| Ministers without portfolio (from 1938: Reich Ministers) |
Hermann Göring | 30 January 1933 - 28 April 1933 | NSDAP |
| Ernst Röhm (SA Chief) † | 1 December 1933 - 1 July 1934 | ||
| Rudolf Hess (Deputy Führer) | 1 December 1933 - 10 May 1941 | ||
| Hanns Kerrl | 16 April 1934 - 18 July 1935 | ||
| Hans Frank (Governor-General from 1939) | 19 December 1934 - 30 April 1945 | ||
| Hjalmar Schacht | 26 November 1937 - 22 January 1943 | ||
| Otto Meissner (Chief of Presidential Chancellery) | 1 December 1937 - 30 April 1945 | ||
| Hans Lammers (Chief of Reich Chancellery) | 1 December 1937 - 30 April 1945 | ||
| Arthur Seyss-Inquart | 1 May 1939 - 30 April 1945 | ||
| Martin Bormann (Chief of Nazi Party Chancellery) | 12 May 1941 - 30 April 1945 | ||
| Wilhelm Frick (Reich Protector) | 24 August 1943 – 30 April 1945 |
As the Third Reich government was disintegrating at the end of the Second World War and following Hitler's death on 30 April 1945, it was succeeded by the short-lived Cabinet Schwerin von Krosigk of the Flensburg government.
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