William Woollett 6D1
How important was propaganda in bringing Hitler to power
Propaganda was important in strengthening the image of Hitler and the Nazi party but not in bringing him to power. Propaganda only exploited the events that created trouble for the Weimar republic. The Nazis were able to carefully manipulate events to their advantage, such as the signing of the Versailles treaty and the Wall Street crash. This was done through the persuasive and appealing speeches made by Hitler and by the captivating posters that the Nazis created. It is also important to consider the influence PR had on the success of the Nazi party and how the party targeted almost every part of society. There is no doubt about the fact that the Nazi party knew how to use propaganda to it full potential through the media and other forms. However it is hard to measure the effects propaganda had on the public. It is obvious that without the damning events that shook the Weimar republic Hitler may have never got to power, their use of propaganda was not the main contributor in bring Hitler to power.
The Weimar republic had a system of proportional representation that helped Hitler gain power more than the propaganda he used. This made the Nazi party’s propaganda even more effective because for every vote they got a seat. Even though the party lacked a sense of unity and an image for itself, it still gained 32 seats in the Reichstag elections of 1924. This can only be due to the events that had given the German people several reasons to lose faith in the Weimar republic, such as hyperinflation and the occupation of the Ruhr. When the Weimar republic failed public opinion soon changed to thinking that maybe an extremist party would be better in power. The proof of this in that the communist party also did well in the 1924 election and gained 62 seats in the elections. Therefore it can be seen that the events that passed in Germany had a bigger effect on the popularity of the Nazi party because it was an extremist party and not because of the image it projected or the propaganda it used.