When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Rosenberg recruited Pfitzner, a notoriously bad speaker, to lecture for the Militant League for German Culture ("Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur") that same year and Pfitzner accepted, hoping it would help him find an influential position. Hitler, however, saw to it that the composer was passed over in favor of party hacks for positions as opera director in Düsseldorf and "Generalintendant" of the Berlin Municipal Opera, despite hints from authorities that both positions were being held for him.