The Nazi party considered Lebensraum necessary for expanding the German population. Hitler believed Germans to be of the superior Aryan Race and wanted to unite all people and take back the territories that were loss. There was also a major aspiration of the union of German people through the abolishment of the Anschluss. The party was popular with Nationalists who wanted a united German Empire and pledged to rearm Germany to make the nation strong again, which gained further support.
The party conjured up the image of the Jews being blamed for all of Germany’s problems: the humiliation of Versailles, Hyperinflation and unemployment. In addition to this, rich businessmen and the middle-class feared the Communists; therefore the Nazis were able to gain support through them by propaganda. The Nazis depicted them as the group of unruly people who created disorder through strikes by striving to get a classless society. Nazi ideas became popular because Germans were looking for someone to blame for all of the problems.
Hitler’s notions were very popular as Germany was facing many troubles. The Weimar government could not resolve economic problems created by the invasion of the Ruhr and hyperinflation. Therefore, the Nazis became very popular, as they took advantage of the failing Republic due to the desperation of the people. Hitler’s propaganda and speeches were very popular, especially with the middle class as they lost their jobs and savings became worthless. In 1921, Hitler became the party chairman and set up a private army – the SA – who used violence against adversaries, which meant that Hitler and the NSDAP could make gains through unlawful ways.
1923 saw the Munich Putsch, which was seen as a failure as people did not support him. Hitler was consequently arrested and incarcerated, and the Nazi Party was banned. However, the Putsch did help Hitler, as he used to trial to expose his ideas and to express his disapproval of the Weimar Republic by condemning the system. The trial gave him lots of publicity. In prison, Hitler thought about the methods he has used and tried to take control. He came to the realisation that the NSDAP would need to use legal and lawful methods to gain power through elections and he needed to build up prevalent and widespread support for his party in order to accomplish this. Therefore, Hitler wrote his renowned book – ‘Mein Kampf’ that helped him to publicise his ideas. The Munich Putsch was a defining moment for Hitler and the Nazis and the failure persuaded Hitler that the only way of gaining power was by legal means. It also led to the amendment in their approach between 1924-1929 that saw significant gains for the party.
Hitler reorganised the party, starting by asserting his status as Fuhrer of the Nazis, which meant there was to be total obedience to him. Also, Branches of the party were set up as well as paramilitary organisations being set up. There was a need to restructure the party as the new changes made the party look strong and regimented, which engrossed and attracted more members from different classes of society, for example, many ex-soldiers and young people were attracted by the uniforms of the SA; the image of order and discipline was a major factor in gaining more support of the people. This built up the strength of the Nazi Party and the beginnings of paramilitary systems were operated to defeat the rivals through violence.
Propaganda was also used to target the misery of the German people, and was aimed to stir up people’s emotions. It gave the impression of strength and order that the Nazi Party would bring. Notably, it made the Jews seem as if they were the scapegoats for all of Germany’s problems, which predictably led to hatred of Jewish people as well as hatred and fear of Communism too. The NSDAP used technology to publicise their message, utilising films, radio broadcasts and posters to do this as well as organised rallies. Most notably, Hitler was a high-quality public speaker, with immense oratory skills; this appealed to the emotions of the people and gave them hope.
His ideas appealed to all classes: businessmen and the middle-classes feared communism and wanted order and the use of the SA to crush Communist meetings showed them that the Nazis could deal with the communist threat and eased the fear of the people. There was also an increase in Anti-Semitic propaganda that appealed to the working class who wanted jobs; the party promised to end unemployment, again, giving hope to the unemployed, which built up further support of the party. The Right-wing people wanted rearmament of Germany to make it the strong nation that it was; the Nazis promised to restore armed forces by vowing to tear up the Treaty of Versailles. Promises were also made to farmers, to improve earning for a better quality of life.
Despite the growth of support from all the classes, in the Reichstag elections of 1928, less than 3% voted for the Nazis. However, five years later in 1933 – the Nazis were the biggest party in the Reichstag and Hitler was made chancellor. Many factors helped Hitler and the Nazis achieve this, most notably was the Great Depression, which created an atmosphere of fear and desperation that it created due to the political and economic crisis. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the worldwide economic crisis meant that the USA had no choice but to withdraw its loans to Germany, which inevitably plunged Germany into debts and bankruptcy again. This led to the country struggling to pay the reparations once again and the problems were further increased by the dramatic rise in unemployment that grew to six million in 1932. With this, it gave Hitler and the Nazis the opportunity to gain popularity.
President Hindenburg then used the emergency order of Article 48 to rule by decree and bypassed the Reichstag, which dissolved it in 1929 and another election was called. This gave an opportunity for the Nazis to enter the Reichstag as the second largest party in 1930 as they entered the government legally. The Economic crisis in 1929 amplified in support and recognition of the Nazis and Hitler: there was a loss of faith in the Weimar Republic as people were angry with the government. German people were desperate and supported extremist parties and ideas, which contributed to their gains.
The communists growing in power in 1930 was also an important factor in gaining support. The Communists frightened the people, especially the rich businessmen and farmers and only the Nazis were able to deal with that threat. More votes were gained as more people grew afraid of the Communists and they had state control of all the land and businesses and the party got the backing of the businessmen, as they feared the loss of their wealth and property.
The Great Depression gave the Nazis a chance to gain power and they used it to their advantage. The propaganda presented Hitler as the man who would solve all the problems of Germany and this was aided by his public speaking skills, as people felt he felt he identified himself with his listeners. The Nazi ideas were straightforward and appealed to a variety of sects in society as they promised jobs to the workers as well as land and food to the farmers.
Another pivotal factor in helping Hitler and the Nazis gain power was President Hindenburg in inviting Hitler to become Chancellor as they needed the Nazis to deal with the threat of the Communists. Hindenburg believed he could control Hitler and make use of his popularity to gain support for the government. Therefore, this gave Hitler the opportunity to take control of the government and become the dictator of Germany.
Considering all of the factors that were involved in the rise of Hitler and the NSDAP, there are a few ways we can see why they were so successful. Some would say that Nazism was due to the circumstances after the First World War and the depression, forcing dictatorship on the people. Many Germans also felt unsettled and at a complete loss within themselves as they were unexpectedly hit by an economic and political crisis and sought after firm leadership and guidance. Therefore the people were emotionally engrossed with the voice of Hitler, who unquestionably had zealous determination. Moreover, after assessing all of the factors that led to their success, Nazism was not just the product of Hitler and his acknowledged talents as a speaker and propagandist alone; it echoed deeper trends of the German’s reverence of authority and their previous failures to develop a democratic custom.