Propaganda played a crucial part in helping Hitler to rise to power. Nazi propaganda persuaded the German masses to believe that the Jews and government were to blame and that Hitler was their last hope. He used all available modern technology and mass circulation newspapers to increase the impact of positive propaganda glorifying his vision of Germany. Hitler also created negative propaganda stirring up hatred of Jews, Communists and foreigners. Through this Hitler achieved mass popularity allowing him to rise further into power.
Hitler manipulated people in order to gain more votes in the elections. He promised everybody something, so they supported him. He promised work for the unemployed, he promised bread for those who didn’t have much money. He targeted every all types of people. This was another factor which contributed to Hitler rising to power.
Hitler was a brilliant speaker, and his eyes had a peculiar power over people. He was a good organiser and politician. He was a driven, unstable man, who believed that he had been called by God to become dictator of Germany and rule the world. This kept him going when other people might have given up. Hitler was also great at giving tremendous speeches in front of millions of people, he was said to have great charisma. His self-belief persuaded people to believe in him- that he would do what’s best for the country. Hitler himself was a contributing factor to his rise in power.
Hitler was not the only person that contributed to his rise in power. The SA were vital in Hitler’s rise. The Storm troopers attacked Jews and people who opposed Hitler. Many opponents kept quiet simply because they were scared of being murdered. In a way this gained more votes for Hitler as many would have not heard what other parties had to say and offer to the people of Germany. Furthermore, many parties feared Hitler, and was afraid of starting a civil war.
Another factor which helped Hitler to rise in power was the failure in economics. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the US called in its loans to Germany, and the German economy collapsed. The Number of unemployed grew; people starved on the streets. In the crisis, people wanted someone to blame, and looked to extreme solutions – Hitler offered them both, and Nazi success in the elections grew. Germans turned to Nazism because they were desperate. The number of Nazi seats in the Reichstag rose from 12 in 1928 to 230 in July 1932. This is why the failure in economics helped Hitler rise into power.
During this time, the Weimar was a great failure. Franz von Papen (a friend of Hindenburg) was Chancellor, but he could not get enough support in the Reichstag meant that frequent elections were held. The weaker the government grew the more things people lost and demanded them to be restored. Therefore this was one of the great opportunities for Hitler to work his magic in order to gain as much votes as possible to take over the Reichstag. Hitler offered to give the people what they wanted to here. Eventually July 1932 the Nazi party were the biggest part in the Reichstag. Hindenburg and von Papen were having to govern by emergency decree under Article 48 of the Constitution. They offered Hitler the post of vice-Chancellor if he promised to support them. This was the perfect opportunity in order for Hitler to gain full control. He demanded to be made chancellor. Desperate times calls for desperate measure. In this crisis Hindenburg had no choice but to make Hitler chancellor. On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor. He thought he could control Hitler - how wrong he was. In the end, Hitler did not take power at all – he was given it.
Overall, it can be argues that Hitler rose to power because of the weak and crippled government; but others can also argue that Hitler rose to power through his own effort of careful planning.
In my opinion I think that Hitler rose to power through both those things. One main factor- Beer Hall Putsch. The time that Hitler spent in prison allowed him to carefully plan out exactly ways in which to gain power. Therefore this is one of the major factors which helped Hitler to rise to power. Without the prison sentence Hitler probably wouldn’t have had time to think about his future, therefore not had any idea how to gain full power of Germany. On the other hand the second, and most important factor that helped to raise to power is the weakness in the government. I think that without the weakness in the government, and the constant elections, Hitler wouldn’t have had an opportunity to rule over Germany. If the government was stronger there would be no economic problems, unemployment, lack of food, or any of the other things that occurred.
Contributing factors which aided Hitler's rise to power included things such as his exceptional personality, his use of aggressive propaganda, the Great Depression, the weakness of the Weimar Government, and the use of efficient and special tactics by the Nazi Party last but not least the Treaty of Versailles.
