People had different views of the S.A and their violence depending on whom they supported, so contrasting evidence was given. Albert Speer wrote in 1931 praised the S.A as “The sight of discipline in a time of chaos.” he later went on to become an important and powerful Nazi leader. This shows that the source is biased, as the man was a strong believer of the Nazis. Another source was from an Englishman’s memories from when he was living in Berlin in 1932 so you can expect the source to also be biased. “All three flung themselves on the young man and began stabbing and kicking him…A group of policeman nearby took no notice of the whole affair” This shows that the S.A only appeared righteous and disciplined if you supported and believed in the Nazis cause. The other thing it goes to prove is that the S.A did indeed have the support of the police.
Their Criticisms Of The Weimar System Of Government
Hitler had strong criticisms of the Weimar government he believed that it made the country weak. Hitler thought that Germany needed one strong leader and party instead of many small squabbling ones. He like many other Germans aspired to the glory days of the when the Kaiser was in power. He believed that the current system of government was indecisive and to blame for the countries lack of money and unemployment. Hitler also wanted to rid Germany of the bane of the Treaty Of Versailles. These views helped Hitler because many middle class Germans believe the same and that having one strong leader would prevent a repeat of the hyperinflation of 1923. And that the leader himself would help Germany back to its former glory.
Through the texts I have read there isn’t much evidence showing that Hitler’s ideas on politics were good for him though there is evidence showing how strongly he felt. In a book assessing Hitler’s rise to power, S Williams states that “The Nazis made it clear that they would destroy democracy” This shows just how clear the Nazis made it that they hated democracy.
Nazi Policies
Hitler always made his and Nazi policies Clear. He was firm in what he stood for and always spoke his mind. This helped the Nazis because people knew exactly what they stood for so there was never an air of mystery about them; an example of this is Hitler’s 25-point program. Hitler strongly believed in what he spoke of proof of this is when he was in prison when in his book ‘Mein Kampf’ (my struggle) he wrote “It WILL be necessary to pursue a new policy” He also said at his trial “I feel myself to be the best of the Germans who wanted the best of the German people” by this he means that though there were many Germans who wanted to succeed he felt that he was the only one that could do it.
Support From Big Business
The Nazis early on received financial support from many big companies and organizations that were keen for Hitler and his party to gain power. They supported Hitler because the Nazis were an extreme right wing party that believed in keeping strong businesses strong. Whereas their opposition the Communists were extreme left wing and if they gained power all the wealth of the companies would be spread out among the people. This helped Hitler because it gave him funding to produce propaganda and to hold rallies all this gave Hitler a huge advantage over his opposition as he could do things and reach people that the other parties couldn’t
Through the texts I have read I cannot find any evidence supporting the financial help from businesses.
Opposition Weaknesses
Failure To Deal With The Depression
Because the Nazis opposition didn’t do anything to stop or prevent the depression and the Nazis themselves did at least say they would do something this made all the people affected by the depression almost immediately support the Nazis. Hitler said that if came to power he would prevent a repeat of 1923. People also believed that having one strong party and leader would prevent this.
There is proof that the people were losing faith in the Weimar government that comes from someone inside the government itself: the Reich interior minister stated that in 1932 “the situation is such that half the German people have declared themselves against the current state”. This source is important because if someone inside the Reich itself admitted there were problems then those problems must have been serious.
Failure To Co-operate With Each Other
Hitler had another advantage in that because he had his own personal army he didn’t have to deal with the opposition himself. His opposition however had to deal with both Hitler and their own opposition. Had Hitler’s opposition joined together to make one large more powerful party they probably would have been strong enough to stop Hitler’s rise to power they didn’t though and there was nobody else who could stop him.
There is evidence backing my thoughts on the opposition that comes from S Williams book assessing ‘The Rise And Fall Of Hitler’s Germany’ he says that “Had the communists and socialists joined forces they probably would have been strong enough….to block the Nazis” This proves that they would almost definitely have succeeded in stopping the Nazis if an established historian believes it to be so.
Attitudes Of Germans To The Democratic Parties
The German people had almost by the time of the Depression began to lose interest in the petty squalling of the political parties and all they wanted was one strong leader to bring Germanys glory back and to prevent a recurrence of the Hyperinflation of 1923. This is where Hitler stepped in he provided for and appeared to know what the lower and middle class citizens were going through. The German people simply didn’t care what the political parties said unless it directly affected them.
There is little evidence displaying the attitudes of the German people at the time. In E Amy Bullers book ‘Darkness Over Germany” they say that one man at one of Hitler’s talks lent forward “And with sort of convulsive sob said: He Understands” This is also demonstrates the power that Hitler’s speech had over people.
Other Factors
Weaknesses Of The Weimar Republic
Because the Weimar republic itself had many weaknesses this gave Hitler a major but unwilling help to his cause. The Weimar system of government called the Weimar Constitution, which had a careful balance of power this made quick and strong action almost impossible which unfortunately, which was exactly what it didn’t need during the depression. The people knew however that one strong leader could take firm decisive action and so could prevent the depression from happening once again.
Scheming Of Hindenburg And Von Papen
Hindenburg and Von Papen both thought that in turn they could hold Hitler down and they were both wrong. In July 1932 Hitler asked the president to be chancellor, Hindenburg refused and instead let Von Papen carry on in his post soon though Von Papen lost all support within the Reichstag so Hindenburg gave the Chancellors commission to another man Kurt Von Schleicher who also lost support eventually on the 30th of January Hindenburg much to everyone’s surprise gave Hitler the post.
The Impact Of The Depression
The depression caused much unemployment and loss of wealth and Hitler promised he would return these things this gave him huge support from the people of Germany
The Treaty Of Versailles
The treaty was one of the worst things that ever happened to Germany and all that Hitler wanted to do was get rid of it he stated this in his 25 points program and had always made it clear in his campaigning.
Memories Of The Problems Of 1923
All the German people had bad memories of the Hyperinflation that occurred in1923 they believed that one Strong Leader would prevent this from ever happening again. Hitler stood up and offered to be that leader this coupled with all the other ‘factors’ set him apart from his opposition all these major advantages over the enemies were a great asset on aiding him to power
Summary Paragraph
I think that there are 4 main reasons why Hitler rose to power the first was his own speaking skills because without those he never would have been able to make millions of people listen to and believe him. The second is the Nazis propaganda campaigns, these were important because it made more people go and see the Nazis so Hitler himself could turn there minds. The third reason is the oppositions failure to co-operate because if they had the Nazis and Hitler would most likely been stopped in their tracks rendering all their other assets useless. The fourth and final reason is the impact of the depression, if it had never taken place people never would have had wanted to listen to Hitler’s extremist views. None of the above reasons would work on their own and each in turn needs the others. So in conclusion Hitler’s rise to power was not based on one trait it was based on many, which built up to a very powerful combination indeed.