lack of support from the German President Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichswehr. The restoration of the monarchy in 1933 would have required a change of the Bavarian constitution, at that point difficult to achieve. The office of Generalstaatskommissar was more feasible for Rupprecht, but did not appeal to the monarchists, who wanted a King. In any case, Heinrich Held's extensive political demands made the step impossible. Hitler warned Held, on 1 March, that a restoration would lead to a "terrible catastrophe". Von Hindenburg was only interested in a restoration of the House of Hohenzollern, not the King of Bavaria. All in all, the chances of restoration were slim in 1933 and slight after 1945. In the March 1933 German federal election the Nazis' support in the three electoral parts of Bavaria ranged from 35 to 50%. Monarchism 1933–1945 Despite some support from the Nazis for the monarchy prior to 1933, all monarchist organisations in the state were banned almost immediately in 1933 and their members prosecuted. Crown Prince Rupprecht survived the war in Italy, while other members of the royal family were arrested in 1944. Monarchism after 1945 In 1945, a Bayerische Heimat- und Königspartei was formed. The US occupation authorities outlawed the party in 1946. Reformed in 1950, it never regained any momentum. The Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest" was also reformed after the Second World War. In 1967, upon the suggestion of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, it was renamed Bayernbund, to focus more on safeguarding the Bavarian identity rather than on restoring the monarchy. Some hope was held that the monarchy could be reestablished after 1945, especially in the face of the monarchists' active participation in the German resistance. Attempts were made to establish the office of a President of Bavaria, but those remained unsuccessful. In a survey in 1954, 70 of 193 conservative members of the Bavarian parliament still declared themselves to be royalists. However, with the passage of time, a stronger emphasis has been set on supporting Bavaria's identity rather than on a restoration of the monarchy, a step encouraged by the former royal family. Rupprecht died on 2 August 1955 and was succeeded by his son Albrecht as the head of the House of Wittelsbach. Albrecht adopted the title Duke of Bavaria and was himself succeeded upon his death in 1996 by his son Franz. Franz Josef Strauss, the Minister-President of Bavaria