Question 2: Using some of the causes in the list explain how both long-term and short-term causes contributed to Hitler’s rise to power?
The way in which Hitler got to power is complicated; there are many different factors involved. It must be recognised that Hitler got to power in a set of particular economic and political circumstances mainly stemming from the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles caused a kind of chain reaction which caused most of the other reasons for Hitler’s rise to power. The reparations included in the Treaty of Versailles caused the French occupation of the Ruhr and therefore passive resistance and the halt in the production and income of German goods. This led to high inflation rates and eventually the collapse in currency in November 1923. When the depression hit in 1929 it hit a lot harder in Germany because Germany was still recovering from the collapse of its currency. The collapse in currency and calling off of passive resistance by Streseman gave Hitler the opportunity to attack and rise up against the Weimar republic in the form of the Munich putsch. In this way the Treaty of Versailles was an indirect long term cause of Hitler’s rise to power because it caused a lot of the other reasons for his rise to power. It can also be argued that without all these contributions to Hitler’s reputation he would have never been appointed chancellor and therefore never got the enabling act that allowed him to gain complete control.
The Treaty of Versailles caused bitterness among many Germans towards France, Britain and other allied forces. Life after the war was pretty hard and the Treaty made it even harder; Germany lost land, pride and were told to pay 6.6 billion pounds in reparations. The “November criminals” who signed the Treaty were very much hated by the German nation, there was a general feeling of let down by the politicians. The effect of the Treaty of Versailles was long term in the way that it helped Hitler gain power, but also long term because its affects could still be seen twenty years later.
The economic depression of 1929 affected the whole world. Its short term affects were that Germany was very badly hit and many were starving, conditions were very poor. There was bitterness and desperation among the people and the Weimar government became very unpopular. The chancellor at the time raised taxes, cut wages and reduced unemployment benefit. Not surprisingly this was very unpopular. Solutions for the problem came from the right and left extremist parties, people who had never voted before started to vote to take action against the Weimar coalition government. In this way the short term affect of the depression helped Hitler to rise to power. Hitler promised people jobs, farmers higher prices, shopkeepers protection against competition, there was something for everyone. Because of the depression people were encouraged by these promises. The Weimar government had been a disaster and people looked to other solutions. Hitler’s personality and leadership skills, previously displayed to the nation after the Munich putsch, gave him an advantage over other speakers. He was a very good speaker and could voice his opinions to the public very well.
After the elections of 1932 where the Nazis lost 33.1% of their votes, things looked very bad for the Nazis, but on the 30th of January 1933 Hitler was appointed chancellor because of his co-operation with von Papen, who persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler. This short term luck for Hitler put him in very important position which he took advantage of.
This immediate short term affect gave Hitler an important position and power that he could abuse. In February 1933 Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to create the enabling act which gave Hitler full control in an emergency. Shortly after, the Reichstag building caught on fire and Hitler decided this was an emergency worthy of the enabling act. He declared a dictatorship which rendered the Reichstag useless, now he was in full control. The decision by von Hindenburg and von Papen to make Hitler chancellor was an indirect direct short term affect of his rise to power, it gave him the opportunity to get the enabling law which was also a direct short term affect. It is unlikely Hitler would have got to power without becoming Chancellor but this by no means makes the short term causes more important than the long term. Without the initial long term causes such as the Treaty of Versailles and the depression the short term causes would not have happened and so they are equally important in his rise to power. It is only in crisis that the extremist political parties such as the Nazis appeal to the public, therefore the long term causes gave Hitler his chance and the short term gave him his power.
Question 3: Was any one of these reasons more important than the others in Hitler’s rise to power?
All the reasons in the list contribute to Hitler’s rise to power in different ways. By removing any one, it would change the particular circumstance that allowed Hitler to come to power. It is impossible to give a single reason importance over other reasons because all the factors combine to give a special circumstance that allowed Hitler to come to power.
It can be argued that the Treaty of Versailles set off a kind of chain reaction affect by causing most of the other reasons in the list directly and indirectly. Without the Treaty of Versailles Hitler would not have had the ammunition to launch the Munich Putsch against the Weimar republic therefore losing his initial fame. Without the Treaty of Versailles’ reparations the crisis of 1923 in the Ruhr would never have happened; it led to hyper inflation and the issuing of a new currency, but it was also a cause for the Munich putsch because the Nazis were angry that Streseman called off passive resistance. Without all these contributions to Hitler’s reputation it is impossible that he would have got appointed as chancellor of Germany in late January 1933. Without the position of chancellor he would not have been able to get the enabling act. I have shown that these reasons have strong links between them because it is very important in understanding that they influenced one another in a specific order and therefore cannot be judged individually. If you take one out of the equation; then from that point it changes the rest of the story, and it is impossible to work out how likely it would have been for Hitler to get to power in any other circumstances.
Two underlying reasons for Hitler’s rise to power are the ones that affected Germany as a whole; The Treaty of Versailles and the economic depression. I believe these to be very significant because they set the general feeling in Germany at the time. Extremist parties tend to appeal to people only in times of crisis because in crisis people need someone to blame, and are desperate for a solution to their problems. Before the war ended the German people had no idea that they were losing. The loss of the war came as a great shock to them and the harsh treaty imposed on them caused even more bitterness. In 1923 the halt in industrial production in the Ruhr and collapse in German currency was bad for the economy. Germany was still recovering in 1929 when the depression hit, and the figure for unemployment reached just under 6 million by 1932. This struggle was becoming a way of life for people in Germany and the people were desperate to solve their problems. Hitler would have had no chance of gaining power had it not been for these political and economic circumstances.
The decision by von Papen and von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in 1932 saved the Nazis. After years of campaigning they were running out of money and the 1932 elections saw their vote drop by 33.1%. In February 1933 Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to give him an emergency act which suspended all the articles in the constitution that guaranteed personal liberty, it was called the enabling act. In the elections of 1933 the Nazis got their best ever result but they were still short of an overall majority by 72 seats. Later in February there was a fire in the Reichstag which Hitler classified as an emergency giving him full power by the enabling act. Hitler banned the communists and other political parties and set up a dictatorship which rendered the Reichstag useless. If Hitler had not become Chancellor it is very unlikely he would have got to power by winning a majority of votes.
It can also be argued that without oratory, personality and leadership skills he would have got anywhere with the Nazis party. Without his persistence, speaking skills and extreme ideas he would never have become famous in the Munich putsch trial. So as British Historian J.W. Hiden said in 1974:
“No single problem caused the downfall of the Weimar republic. The interaction of problems progressively weakened the new German state, and reached its climax in the crisis of 1929-33”.
