In What Ways and Why Did the Unemployed and Jews React in Different Ways to the Ideas and Promises of the Nazis in the Late 1920s and the Early 1930s?
History Coursework:
In What Ways and Why Did the Unemployed and Jews React in Different Ways to the Ideas and Promises of the Nazis in the Late 1920s and the Early 1930s?
Many people were attracted by the ideas and promises of the Nazis during the late 1920s to early 1930s because they thought that the radical values of this party were the only way out of the mess Germany was in. After the Wall Street Crash in October 1929, all the American loans were taken out of Germany, businesses closed, world trade declined, German exports slumped and millions of people lost their jobs. From 1929, unemployment rose from just over 1.5 million to 6 million in the summer of 1930 (although it is suggested that the real figure could have been as high as 8 or 9 million).
The Depression had great effects on the German economy. The groups of people that suffered were businessmen, young people (60% of new university graduates couldn't get a job, by 1933 over half of 16-30 year olds were unemployed), factory workers (40% of factory workers were unemployed by 1932) and farmers (prices had been falling since 1925). Germany was left in a state of economic collapse after the American loans were withdrawn. Industries had to sack employees as they couldn't afford to pay them, which lead to businesses closing. More people were now on unemployment benefits which meant the government had to raise taxes to pay them. This meant money had to be taken out of other areas such as education. The rest of the world suffered too, which meant a decline in world trade as people couldn't afford to buy any luxuries anymore.
Many unemployed people began to listen to the ideas and policies of the Nazis in the late 1920s because the Weimar politicians were doing relatively little to help the situation. Where they had no solutions, the Nazis had plenty. Some examples of the Nazi policies were; 'to protect farmers against foreign competition', 'to reduce taxes', 'to create work for the unemployed', 'protect big businesses from communism' and to 'restore the middle class to their former status as the "backbone" of the nation'. These policies would have appealed to a wide range of people, not just the unemployed.
The Nazi party offered new hope to many people as well as the unemployed. Hitler promised the unemployed jobs on public works such as roads and stadiums. The Nazis also used many crude slogans aimed to attract different areas of society, such as "Work and Bread" which appealed to the unemployed. The Nazi party seemed to be offering them a future of employment and rewards. One reason why the Nazi party became more successful was that they targeted many different areas of society with specifically chosen propaganda that would appeal to the intended people.
Nazi support was ...
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The Nazi party offered new hope to many people as well as the unemployed. Hitler promised the unemployed jobs on public works such as roads and stadiums. The Nazis also used many crude slogans aimed to attract different areas of society, such as "Work and Bread" which appealed to the unemployed. The Nazi party seemed to be offering them a future of employment and rewards. One reason why the Nazi party became more successful was that they targeted many different areas of society with specifically chosen propaganda that would appeal to the intended people.
Nazi support was spilt up in the different areas of Germany. The Nazis found themselves to be most popular in protestant rural communities. Communism was generally feared in such places. Even when the full force of the depression hit Germany, Hitler's support was greater in small towns rather than large cities, where the Socialist and Communist parties focused their efforts. In the cities the Nazis were faced with the challenge of turning the fierce traditional loyalties into Nazi votes. Here the Nazis weren't very successful with gaining votes from the unemployed and largely their number of votes rose and fell in line with unemployed statistics. It seems that the fear of unemployment was what motivated many Nazi voters, but the unemployed were actually twice as likely to vote Communist as opposed to Nazi. The urban unemployed may feel that communism would allow them to get back at the big factory boss that sacked (or was forced to sack) them. Other people that were likely not to vote for the Nazis were people living in mainly catholic or urban areas, or industrial and commercial economies or large cities. Many businessmen were hostile to the Weimar Republic, but most would have preferred a non-Nazi successor. Another factor to the likelihood that someone would vote Nazi was gender and age. At least in the early 1930's woman were more likely to vote for the Nazis than the Communists. In July 1932 a higher proportion of women than men voted Nazi, which may have been because they had fewer existing political allegiances. The Nazis projected themselves as a youthful dynamic party, with an average member age of 29 (between 1925-1932). However they were still successful attracting votes from pensioners and the elderly, particularly those whose savings had eroded in value. This group, particularly elderly women, were a source of previous non-voters who were attracted by the Nazi's appeal.
Many people were dissatisfied with the Weimar Republic. They had no solutions and people quickly began to lose faith in the democratic system. Germany was a mess. Prices of agricultural products and consumer goods had slumped which meant financial hardship for farmers, small businesses and the self employed. The country was in chaos, there were food shortages, homelessness, high taxation, strikes and demonstrations. These feelings of despair lead to;
o The increase and acceptance of political violence on the streets
o An increase in the fear of communism
o The swamping of the social security system within 6 months of the crisis occurring.
o Increasing support for Communism and Nazism (extremist parties thrived on national crisis's, when people searched for a radical alternative)
o A loss of pride and respectability as people's economic position declined
o A growth of social unrest; "You had to sign on at the dole office. Everybody met there, the Nazi people, the SPD, the Communists-and then discussions would start and the fights" (contemporary account)
The republic was slow to make decisions. In 1930 the center parties' coalition broke up due to various disagreements. One of the issues they failed to solve was unemployment, which would have lead to the unemployed or people who feared unemployment to look elsewhere for solutions. Many turned to either the extreme of Communism or Nazism. Even two unemployed people in exactly the same situation may have supported different political parties. Everyone has their own individual and personal reasons why they chose to support 'their' party. For example if a person had lost a son in world war one, they may be more inclined to not vote Nazi due to the Nazi desire to make Germany great by (e.g.) conquering 'lebenstraum' or living space, which would result in conflict. The Nazis wanted to; rearm Germany, conquer lebenstraum, nationalize important industries, create a string central government, increase old age pensions, educate gifted children at the state's expense, make sure no non-Germans were newspaper editors, remove Jews from all positions of leadership in Germany, challenge terror or violence with your own violence, destroy Marxism, destroy the Weimar Republic, abolish the Treaty of Versailles and wipe out Americanism. Apart from the anti-Semitism all of the Nazi policies seem quite reasonable and target exactly what many people wanted. However firstly anti-Semitism was widespread and not unusual throughout the late 19th and early 20th century and Hitler didn't push this message in Nazi propaganda at election times even though it was an important part of Nazi ideology. Where the anti-Semitism message was used it provided people with a scapegoat for the problems in Germany.
Even though one of the Nazi party's values was anti-Semitism, some Jews may still have voted Nazi. It has been suggested that despite the extreme views of the Nazis expressed in the Nazi's 25 points, many Germans were still unsure of exactly what the Nazis stood for. The Nazis were quite vague with their promises, many people would be unsure if they fell into the Nazis 'Jew category' and if indeed the Nazis wanted to get rid of them. Some people may have not necessarily have known that they were of Jewish descent, or may feel that they are excluded because they had a strong national pride in Germany or fought in World War One. This promise to rid the country of Jewish blood was very vague and many people assumed that it wasn't them; they weren't the ones the Nazis blamed for Germany's problems. Not every Jew was a 'fat cat' so would feel that the anti-Semitism wasn't targeted at them. Also Hitler wasn't particularly famous at the time of the publishing of 'Mein Kampf' so many people, including Jews, may have just assumed the anti-Semitism expressed by Hitler in it to only be rumors. The average person probably wouldn't read a political book, so therefore wouldn't know about Hitler's ideas in detail.
In conclusion, the Nazis support was quite widespread due to the successful propaganda techniques that were implemented, particular areas of the 'Nazi appeal' specifically targeted at certain people. They managed to attract support from every area in society, from both men and women and for both the older and younger generations. However, despite this they still didn't manage to achieve a majority vote. Generally speaking the Nazis were most popular in rural and protestant areas. They exploited people's fear of unemployment and communism and lost faith in the Weimar republic to gain votes, all of which were successful tactics. Obviously everyone had their own personal reasons for voting how they did, and many may have been torn who to give their vote to. Vague promises made by the parties would not have made this decision any easier, particularly for any Jews who had heard of Hitler's anti-Semitism message. Times were desperate in Germany; people looked for radical alternatives from the extremist parties, they needed a way out of the disorder and chaos. Many may have felt a dictatorship was the only option.
Charlotte Harper 11MPC Mrs Almond
