The Nazi rise to power: the role of Hitler - Why did support for the Nazis increase in the late 1920s?

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The Nazi rise to power: the role of Hitler - Why did support for the Nazis increase in the late 1920s?

In 1928 the Nazis won support outside of Bavaria for virtually the first time. They began to win votes in farming areas of north Germany, as prices fell. But their big break came in 1929. 

  • On 3 October 1929 Gustav Stresemann died. He had been responsible, more than any other politician, for Germany’s recovery in the 1920s.
  • On 24 October 1929 Wall Street, the American Stock Exchange crashed. US bankers called in their loans to Germany.  German companies had to close down.
  • This led to the Depression of the 1930s, which affected Germany more than any other country. By 1932 6,000,000 Germans (one in three of all workers) were out of work. Unemployment pay only lasted six months. After that came real poverty and homelessness. 
  • The Weimar government seemed unable to deal with the crisis (along with most governments in the world).  The Social Democrats refused to cut unemployment pay and so went into opposition. As they were the largest single party this made it difficult to make coalitions. Governments came and went. Support for Weimar, never strong, declined and people began to look for other solutions to Germany’s problems.
  • In this situation, President Hindenburg began to allow Chancellor Bruning to use his emergency powers on a regular basis to by-pass the Reichstag. Democracy in Germany had really ended by 1932.
  • From 1929 support for the Nazis rose steadily.
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1928     12 members of the Reichstag

1930  107 members

1932 July 230 members

Why did support for the Hitler and the Nazis go up so quickly? 
 

  • Hitler told the German people that the problems of the Depression were not their fault. He blamed the Jews and the Weimar democrats for Germany’s problems. He used them as a scapegoat.
  • The Nazi Party propaganda chief, Goebbels, had Hugenberg’s money and newspapers to back them. Hitler hired a private plane to fly around Germany.
  • He was the first politician to do this. Goebbels organised torchlight processions, rallies, radio broadcasts, films. Nazi ...

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