The signing of the Treaty of Versailles was an important factor that enabled Hitler to gain support from the German people and get his political party in the “public eye”. It helped him set a foundation to move forward as a strong political opposition and alternative choice for the people of Germany.
The Ineffective Constitution of the Weimar Republic caused unstable governments, i.e. Article 48 of the constitution gave the President sole power in ‘times of emergency’ – something he often took. The system of proportional voting led to 28 parties being present in the Reichstag, meaning frequent changes in the government and making it almost impossible to have a majority in the Reichstag. The German states had too much power and often ignored the Weimar government. Hitler was able to gain support through the Army, whose General Hans von Seeckt was ‘right wing’ and was not fully under control by the government. The Army failed to support the government during the Kapp Putsch and the crisis of 1923. Hitler also had many government officials - especially judges - who were right wing and wanted to see the Weimar government be abolished and replaced. After the Kapp Putsch, seven hundred rebels were tried for treason; only one went to prison. After the Munich Putsch Hitler was sent to prison for only 9 months.
The ineffective constitution helped Hitler gain support from right wing government officials and government organisations (Army). He had support from the right wing Army General Hans von Seeckt who had not helped the government in the Kapp Putsch. The right wing ‘arms’ of the government evidently helped Hitler rise to power and become more eminent in the public eye. He was given a public trial after the Munich Putsch and this gave him great publicity. He was sentenced to 5 years prison, yet only served 9 months. The ineffective constitution failed to stop Hitler during the Kapp Putsch and Munich Putsch and thus helped him more than it did hinder him.
The Munich Putsch or often referred to as the Beer Hall Putsch, was Hitler’s attempt to overthrow the Bavarian government. On the 8th November 1923 Hitler, General Ludendorff and Rohm with the help of his SA stormed in at a beer hall in Munich where the leaders of the Bavarian government, Gustav von Kahr, General Otto von Lossow and Colonel Hans Ritter von Seisser were honoured guests at a meeting of businessmen. Hitler took the three leaders in a back room and forced them at gunpoint to accept him as their leader and join him in the Nazi revolution and become part of a new government (they did not accept his terms). Hitler proclaimed to the people present in the beer hall that the three leaders had decided to join Hitler. Also, Several army barracks failed to be taken by the SA and Hitler left the beer hall to personally resolve the problems: he failed at resolving the problems anyway. Kahr, Lossow and Seisser all left (when Hitler was absent form the beer hall) promising Ludendorff that they would remain loyal to Hitler, however, they all disowned Hitler and ordered the immediate overthrow of Hitler’s putsch by army and police reinforcements to ‘break up’ the SA. Hitler, advised by Ludendorff, marched into the middle of Munich on the 9th November with about 1000 Nazis and attempted to take it by force and hope the Army and Police joined them. They were met by a large police force and subdued and disbanded. Hitler was arrested and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, however, only served 9 months.
The Munich Putsch helped Hitler understand how he was going to take power. He wrote his book Mein Kempf and came to the conclusion: “…Instead of working to achieve power by an armed coup we shall have to hold our noses and enter the Reichstag against the Catholic and Marxist deputies. If outvoting them takes longer than outshining them, at least the results will be guaranteed by their own Constitution! Any lawful process is slow. But sooner or later we shall have a majority – and after that Germany.” (Hitler while in Landsberg prison)
The Munich Putsch was a contributing factor to Hitler’s rise to power because he was seen as a strong authoritarian leader, something the German people wanted and needed. The Munich Putsch was one of the most successful acts of propaganda and this made Hitler and the Nazis a ‘household name’. As Karl Ludecke, an early follower of Hitler, said in 1924: “He was holding the masses and me with them, under a hypnotic spell by the sheer force of his beliefs. His words were like a whip. When he spoke of the disgrace of Germany, I felt ready to attack any enemy.”
On Tuesday, October 29th, 1929, the Great Depression begins. Probably one of the most important factors that contributed to Hitler’s rise to power and eventual take of power in 1933. The fall of the Stock Market in the USA affected Germany greatly because Germany was built on foreign capital, mostly loans from the USA and was very dependent on foreign trade. The USA called in their loans from Germany and then the world market demand for German exports ceased. This destroyed the German industrial machine. The German public was now thrown into poverty and high unemployment (six million unemployed) and they wanted solutions fast. Hitler and the Nazi Party saw an opportunity to gain support for their policy of ‘fixing’ the economic and employment problems of Germany.
The Great Depression had a positive affect on the Nazi Party and Hitler, mainly because Germany was a country that was known for its economic strength and after the Weimar government had know idea how to solve the problems of unemployment and poverty the German people had little faith in the leaders of the country and the Weimar government. The people looked for other political parties, such as the Nazis, who had answers on fixing the problems of Germany. Before the Great Depression it was clear that the Nazis were not a very powerful political force with only a member base of one hundred thousand in a country of sixty million. However the Great Depression saw Hitler and the Nazis gain support quickly because there was an insurgence in support for extremist parties. Hitler was supported for blaming the Weimar Republic, the Treaty of Versailles, the Marxists, Jews and also promising to expel the ‘enemy within’ who were destroying Germany. The number of seats the Nazis held in the Reichstag rose from 12 in 1928 to 233 in July 1932.
The Great Depression was probably the most important factor that enabled Hitler and the Nazis to assume power in 1933. Support for the Nazi party before the Great Depression was quite dismal with only one hundred thousand members and only 12 seats in the Reichstag in 1928. However, after the Great Depression Hitler and the Nazi Party had an influx of membership and gained 233 seats in the Reichstag in 1932. This proves that the Nazis gained huge support over the Great Depression with rise in membership and positive election results.
Hitler and the Nazis were able the gain power in 1933 with many contributing factors helping their cause. The Treaty of Versailles giving the Nazis a launching point, the Ineffective Constitution of the Weimar Republic which was continually attacked by Hitler, yet right wing collaborators within government areas (Army and Judges) helped Hitler, the Munich Putsch was a miscalculation, yet Hitler was put into the public eye and was gaining support for his actions, however the Great Depression being the most prominent factor that caused great turmoil in Germany and unrest with the Weimar government. The people were desperate for an answer to the problems and they were willing to listen to anyone, even Adolf Hitler.
Ben Godwin 12 NHI