He had very clear views on how the country should be run and in his book “ Mein Kampf” translated to “My struggle” he puts his views on anti-Semitism, the Aryan race, the destruction of the Treaty of Versailles which had been harsh on Germany, his childhood and his experiences before the failure of the Munich or beer hall putsch. He wrote it during the few months he spent in prison for treason in 1923.
Hitler's party was very well arranged. He made sure that the people who were in charge of different areas were wholly competent. One of his ministers was an expert in propaganda and won much support for Hitler.
Some people believe that the harshness of the treaty of Versailles was a factor in Hitler's rise to power. The allies forced article 231 on to the Germans, which meant that the German government and people had accepted that they alone were entirely guilty of starting World War One. This caused a dislike, and even hatred of the Weimar Republic to form in the minds of the public and Hitler used this hatred in his power campaign.
Many of the conservative elite, the aristocracy of the day, also had this hatred of the Weimar republic. They didn’t want the communists to come to power because that would mean they would have to share their wealth. They supported Hitler both financially and by sending persuasive letters to Hindenburg when Hitler was trying to become chancellor. He was, maybe, not exactly what the conservative elite wanted in a chancellor but he was better than the communists or any other option. They underestimated him and must have realised their mistakes before war broke out in 1939.
The letters sent by the conservative elite to President Hindenburg were very persuasive and eventually in January 1933 Hindenburg made him chancellor. Both he and Von Papen thought that they could control Hitler. Von Papen once quoted as saying “We’ve hired him”. Von Papen obviously thought that Hitler was no risk and that he wouldn’t last long.
With the voting system of proportional representation it was very hard to achieve a stable government. The governments were often made up of lots of smaller parties and a few larger ones but parties rarely had a majority. Hitler blamed the Weimar republic for this voting system, because it meant that he never got a majority. After he came to power as chancellor he only had three members of the Nazi party in the cabinet. There were nine members of the cabinet so Hitler only just had a third of the seats for his party.
When the constitution was written the Allies included Article 48, which allowed the president to take total power in an emergency and pass laws without goin through the Reichstag – the equivalent of a parliament. The use of this article increased between 1929 and 1933. This shows a weakness and a lack of confidence in democracy. Hindenburg himself wasn’t a supporter of the Weimar republic, yet he was President of it.
After the Beer Hall putsch Hitler was arrested and sent to jail. Many of the judges in the Weimar republic were against the democracy. The judge that sentenced Hitler after the putsch gave him a shorter sentence than he should have been given for treason. He was sentenced to five years but only served a couple of months. The judge was lenient because he too wanted to see the government overthrown. This short term in prison allowed Hitler to write his book – “Mein Kampf” meaning “My Struggle”. It also allowed him time to mastermind his plan to over throw the government. He planned to gain power legally, through the Reichstag, and not by illegal means such as revolution.
In 1929 the Wall Street Crash occurred. It hit most of the Western Europe and America, but Germany was the worst hit. Because America was hit hard and demanded the loans they had given Germany, back, Germany, who relied heavily on the money, fell. Unemployment rose rapidly and the voters of Germany turned to extremists to get them out of the trouble. The Nazi party grew rapidly.
Had it not been for this support won for the Nazis during this time they, and Hitler, may never have come to power.
There were many things about Hitler that made him acceptable to a broad spectrum of the German population. He was a strong leader with good public speaking skills. He knew exactly what the people wanted to hear, and he said it. He was brave enough to try and take power, but when he was defeated he was committed enough to try again. He had a well-arranged party behind him and support from a majority in the country. Yet it took others help and mistakes, and an economic disaster to bring him to power. I believe that had the country not fallen into depression, and if Hitler had not had the vital support from the rich conservative elite, then he would never have come to be as powerful as he did.
Bibliography.
(1996) Nazi party is formed. www.niester.de/g_neuzeit/ns/hitler/hitler.html. Collier and Pedley (2000) Germany 1919-45. Heinemann
Gordon. R (2002) Hitler's rise to power. Modern History review, Vol 14 no.1.
