In the late 1920s and early 1930s, German universities faced the rise of Nazi ideology both among their own students and among their political stakeholders. University leaders were typically embedded in a conservative milieu opposed the new ideology, which resulted in aggressive political confrontations within universities. This study investigates how the tensions between these conflicting ideologies played out in the Technical University of Brunswick [Braunschweig] between 1930 and 1933. I explore on how key actors operated within the governance structure of the university to enact their respective political agenda. The conflict surfaced with the (failed) attempt to appoint Adolf Hitler as professor at the university and culminated in the dismissal of key actors after the Nazi take over in 1933. This study provides insights into the corrosive nature of a fascist ideology, and into the importance of formal governance structures for managing tensions between competing political ideologies.