How and why did Hitler become chancellor in 1933?

In 1933, Adolf Hitler, devastatingly powerful dictator of Germany, succeeded the role of chancellor after being set free from his one year prison sentence. His crime was attempting the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, and during his imprisonment, he used his time efficiently by reconsidering his political strategy and encountering better ways of manipulating the public towards his ideologies. When Hitler was released in 1925, several changes had occurred in Germany, related to both political and economical aspects. Because of the crisis occurring during this time, Hitler and the Nazi Party were able to take advantage of the situation, as well as the honest people of Germany by using political manoeuvring. Of course, that’s not all; there are several more factors of how and why Hitler was able to become chancellor. In this essay, I will discuss these factors, analyse and justify their relevance to the topic and present the stages taken by Hitler to his appointment as chancellor, thus concluding with a final remark and my personal opinion.

The First World War, also known as the War to End All Wars took place in Europe from year 1914 to 1918. This global military conflict shook the world, and all nations which participated in the war suffered larger casualties than ever before, leading to 8.5 million deaths and 21 million wounded. After World War One, the Western Allies imposed the severe Treaty of Versailles to Germany, as they were held accountable for the war. The terms of this treaty were: reparations of 6.6 million pounds, reduction of territory and loss of overseas colonies. Along with that, the military reductions were devastating, as only 100,000 soldiers were allowed in the German army; not being allowed to have air forces, nor submarines, and only 6 naval ships and 12 torpedo boats. Presumably, these conditions were set as a form of reassurance to the Western Front that Germany would no longer be seen as a threat; this can be proven as France had fought hard for the German soldiers to only be permitted approximately 50 km away from the border of France. All of this contributed to Hitler’s and the Nazi Party’s rise, due to the fact that the Weimar Government accepted defeat which offended the national pride of the country.

Once this treaty was signed, the German people lived in ruins. The economy was failing, as Germany would have to reconstruct their own economy while pay the reparations of the treaty, leading to serious consequences. These impacts were hyper inflation, uncontrollable strikes and the invasion of the Ruhr. All of these impacts caused rifts in the government, and communism amongst the middle classes became a constant fear.

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Nevertheless, soon things started to resolve. Von Hindenburg, the leader of the government, arguably did his best to assure Germany’s economic prosperity. A new currency was launched, the Rentenmark, and as a result of these measures the French agreed to leave the Ruhr and inflation stopped. Due to this success, foreign banks had begun to lend money to Germany – the United States lent 25,000 gold marks to Germany.

However, this success did not last for long. Because of the crash of the United States stock market, a market which heavily invested in Germany’s economic prosperity, Germany was once again in ruins. All of this led to unemployment, and caused the hatred for the government to fester within the Germans due to their country’s consistent weakness.

This was the time where the Nazi Party began to take roots, thanks to Gregor Strasser, Hitler’s acquaintance and an important role to the German parliament. The Nazi party followed the ideology that «the nation was the expression of the race; the greatness of a race could be evaluated according to a race's ability and desire to acquire a large homeland. »

As an attempt for the Nazi party to advance, the Munich Putsch was assigned.

When the Beer Hall Putsch failed, Hitler was able to see that in order to upstage the government, he needed to opt for a new strategy: to get hold of power by using legal ways and being elected.

While the Nazi policies were not followed by everyone, it managed to be the second largest political part in Germany with 18.3% preference of the public. This was seen the Great Depression (from America) had come to Germany, and elections were demanded in September 1930 because a stable government was needed – something which the Weimar Government wasn’t.

Now, all the Nazi Party needed was to push the German people further towards their policy, which Hitler managed by using his personal quality: brilliant and persuasive public speaking. Hitler was flexible in his speeches, and was able to distort the truth depending on who he was addressing. This can be seen as a form of lying, in order to persuade the German people to follow his policies, as the words will be set to suit the individual’s preference. Karl Ludecke, an early follower of Hitler, stated in 1924: «He was holding the masses and me with them, under an 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. » That statement truly emphasises the power in Hitler’s words, whether they are true or false.

Another type of persuasion that Hitler consistently used was political maneuvering that was portrayed in form of propaganda. There were various posters that portrayed different ideas: some presented the failure of the Weimar government for having accepted the treaty of Versailles, which can be seen as enraging the Germans as it is reminding them of their humiliation, while enforcing the ability to create change of the Nazi Party; while others presented promises to the Germans, that no matter what happens, Hitler will never allow any German to lack any of their necessities; and others showed an ironic view of the situation, presenting the opposite of the truth, causing the German people to think for themselves and conclude exactly what the Nazi Party aimed. All of these techniques manipulated and presented the general idea to the German masses that Hitler was their last hope, as the Germans were now desperate.

However, even with so many manipulation methods, when the November elections came in 1932, the Nazis once again failed to conquer majority of the votes. Hitler’s campaign was named as “Hitler over Germany”, which can now be seen as evidence for Hitler taking control over Germany.

After the elections, Hindenburg chose Franz Von Papen as chancellor; however the decision was contradicted as he did not manage to get enough support from the Reichstag. Considering that Von Papen was under government degree, new elections were called upon. The Nazis won, being the largest political party and winning 230 seats in the Reichstag. Hitler was offered the position of vice-chancellor, but he refused. Hastily, Hindenburg made Hitler chancellor on 30 January 1933. He believed that he had the power to control Hitler – but that was soon proved wrong.

After Hindenburg’s death, Hitler established a system called the Third Reich, which followed acts that committed with the intent of destruction, resulting to the death of around 12 million people. This and other factors led to World War Two, where more than 60 million deaths occurred.

Overall, in conclusion, it can be said that Hitler succeeded his endeavour of becoming chancellor due to his political expertise and manipulation qualities. Hitler took advantage of Germany when its people were facing both psychological and physical difficulties, related to the rapid change in their lifestyles. These difficulties resulted from the root of problems - Treaty of Versailles, which was followed by hyper inflation, the Wall Street crash and the great depression. Hitler’s goal was to influence and manipulate the public by portraying himself as the only hope for their well being, and promising them a better future. Hitler had learnt from past experiences that the only way to gain immediate power was not by using violence, but by pleasing the Germans, and using legal and political measures.

Furthermore, as for my personal views, I believe that it was wrong for Hitler to have gone against the Weimar Government, because if his intention was to aid the German people, then he could have worked with the central government instead of against. However, I believe that by attempting to gain power he prepared the world for worse, and provided the origin of a better future: “Hitler left a devastated Europe and with it a warning for the future. His regime had illustrated the dangers of nationalism, the obscenity of racism and the importance of democracy. It was an expensive lesson, but it did provide the basis for a better future.” Nevertheless, I feel that despite the path of destruction and devastation which Hitler left behind, it must not be forgotten that he did not take power from any being or substance, but was given it. And like any individual would, he used it to his advantage.