There are a number of important issues which demonstrate the reasons why the Nazi Party gained support and eventual power
DRAFT
Michelle Solley
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In the elections of May 1928 the N.S.D.A.P. polled only 2.6% and yet by September 1930 the N.S.D.A.P. became the second largest party in the Reichstag. Explain how the Nazi Party achieved this electoral breakthrough.
There are a number of important issues which demonstrate the reasons why the Nazi Party gained support and eventual power. Hitler Joined forces with the D.N.V.P. in hope of becoming more popular in a time when Germany was at its most vunerable. Hitler had strong public speaking abilities and as Germany was in a state of unrest socially, economically and politically after their unexpected defeat in world war one, Hitler used this to his advantage in winning over the German people. He targeted the Mittelstand (Middleclass) for votes in the coming elections as due to hyperinflation they had lost their savings and were most discontented and although the Nazi's only polled 2.6% in May 1928, Hitler had strong support from the north west (10%) and was preparing behind the scenes for when Germany was less affluent and even less stable. The Wall Street Crash also contributed to the success the Nazis had in the elections after 1929.
The stigma that surrounded the Nazi's working class image would become less important due to their association with Alfred Hugenberg. Hugenberg was elected leader of the D.N.V.P., German Nationalists party in October 1928. Hitler was to benefit significantly by gaining support from the D.N.V.P., it gave him and his party a more conservative respectable image as the D.N.V.P. were already a well established party. The parties had much in common and worked well together, they also shared similar political views. The closer links between the N.S.D.A.P. and the D.N.V.P gave Hitler the publicity he needed as Hugenberg was a respected and wealthy business man who had the support of the conservatives and the industrialists. Hugenberg helped fund the N.S.D.A.P.'s election campaigns and gave Hitler access to his cinema and newspaper network. As a result of their work together Hitler became a household name and more Germans were aware of who he was and what the Nazi's were promising.
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Hugenberg became more extremist after the D.N.V.P.'s poor election
results in May 1928 (From 20.5% in 1924 to 14.2%in 1928) and he invited the Nazi's to help him organise a referendum for a law which would reject
the Young Plan and force the Weimar government to stop paying reparations. Although the campaign was a failure an agreement was made to conclude payments of reparations to the sum of 3000 million marks at the Lausanne Conference in June 1932. This was never paid
The Young Plan's content set ...
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Michelle Solley
Page 2
Hugenberg became more extremist after the D.N.V.P.'s poor election
results in May 1928 (From 20.5% in 1924 to 14.2%in 1928) and he invited the Nazi's to help him organise a referendum for a law which would reject
the Young Plan and force the Weimar government to stop paying reparations. Although the campaign was a failure an agreement was made to conclude payments of reparations to the sum of 3000 million marks at the Lausanne Conference in June 1932. This was never paid
The Young Plan's content set a timescale for reparations. Germany was to make payments for the next 59 years until 1988. It was to pay 2000 million marks a years instead of the 2500 million marks as laid down by
the Dawes Plan. Responsibility for paying reparations was to be given to Germany. Payments were to increase gradually and from 1929-1932 Germany was to pay 1700 million less than it would have paid under the Dawes Plan. If Germany agreed to the plan the French promised to evacuate the Rhineland by June 1930.
Another of the key factors in the Nazi's electoral breakthrough was a decision to target the Mittelstand for votes in future elections. The Mittelstand were recognised as being more responsive as they lived in depressed rural communities. German economist Kurt Borchardt (1982) argued that 1924-1929 were years of slow growth and 'relative' stagnation in the economy. Borchardt suggests that the main reason for this was that trade union power kept wages high and therefore squeezed profits and middleclass income.
The Wall Street Crash in October 1929, Forced businesses to cut labour or close down which meant unemployment rose from 14.5% in 1928 to 17.7% in 1929. 5.6 million people were out of work by 1932. America withdrew their loans and Germany's already weakening economy went into sharp decline. In an effort to improve the economy the government wanted to reduce its expenditure. Between 1928 and 1933 war victims pensions were reduced which made thousands of people very bitter. The economic catastrophe made the authority appear weak and separated. The blame, in the eyes of the people, was placed not only on the parties and the leaders but on the whole of the Weimar Republic. As a result of this German voters were more attracted to extreme solutions offered by
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the extreme left and right wing parties, and so they voted accordingly.
Hitler's use of Propaganda was very rewarding, the N.S.D.A.P.'s message of 'salvation' was now much more appealing. Hitler's election posters had very powerful messages such as: 'First Bread! Then Reparations.' 1924 and 'Our Last Hope, Hitler' 1932, In short, Hitler's Propaganda machine was far more effective than any of his rivals.
With unemployment rising Karl Alexander Von Muller's (Chancellor 1928-1930) government began to collapse. The parties in the coalition
disagreed over payment of unemployment benefits, which contributed to growing antagonism between the parties. The peoples party wanted to
reduce unemployment benefits so that industrialists would pay less towards the cost of higher unemployment. The S.P.D. wanted industrialists to pay more contributions to help unemployed workers. The coalition could not agree and finally broke down in 1930. President Von
Hindenberg was looking to replace Muller as chancellor which meant fresh elections and an opening for Hitler and the Nazi party.
The main figure at the centre of all the pressure to set up a more dictatorial government after the collapse of Muller's coalition, was the Army's political expert General Kurt Von Schleicher. Schleicher put pressure on Hidenburg to appoint the leader of the centre party, Henrich Bruning as Germanys new chancellor(1930-1932).
Bruning's government relied on presidential decrees rather than the
Reichstag. The S.P.D. put up with Bruning for fear of another election, they feared that radical parties would gain more votes, and they were right, in the elections of September 1930 the N.S.D.A.P.'s vote rose from 2.6% in 1928 (Smallest Party) to 18.3% in 1930 (second largest party) and they were now in a much stronger position to challenge for power. The amount of people voting in Germany has also risen significantly, the Nazi vote had risen from 1.5 million in 1928 to 7.5 million in 1930.
Bruning's government survived until May 1932 but the continuing rise in
unemployment allowed Schleicher to engineer Bruning's downfall. Schleicher persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Franz Von Papen as chancellor (May-December 1932) Papen's government did not contain any
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members of the Reichstag, it was seen as a presidential government.
Papen hoped to gain support from the Nazi's to help maintain his government. In the Scheduled presidential election in July 1932. Hitler polled a massive 37.4% of the vote. Some said that the Nazi party should
now be incorporated in government. After His triumph in the Reichstag Hitler, with 37.4% of the vote, insisted that Hindenburg made him chancellor. Hidenburg who disliked Hitler, bluntly refused his demand.
Papen's government continued without the support of the Reichstag, in September 1932 they voted no confidence in him 512 votes to 42. Hidenburg dissolved the Reichstag after one day. Schleicher persuaded Hidenburg to hold another election.
In the November 1932 elections the Nazi's lost 2 million votes and 34 seats. This was because Voters had become disillusioned as the N.S.D.A.P. had failed to gain any power and their protest vote seemed to be wasted, also the party itself had become exhausted and over worked after so many elections in so few years. Between May 1928 and December 1932 there had been 6 elections.
The Nazi's electoral breakthrough was owing to many significant factors. The Weimar republic had distressing political developments to contend with which made the government extremely unstable. Germany's economy was too reliant on Americans finance and this gave way to political extremes: D.N.V.P., K.P.D and the Nazi Party. These parties became more popular after the Wall Street Crash when discontent and unemployment caused support for the extreme parties. The Nazi's made their electoral breakthrough in September 1930 when they polled 18.3%. President Hindenberg advised Schleicher in August 1932 ' Put him in charge of the Post Office, that's the best job he'll ever get' five months later in January 1933, Hindenberg appointed Hitler as Chancellor.
Bibliography
Hite, J & Hinton, C, 2000, 'Weimar & Nazi Germany', John Murray Ltd.
Noakes, J & Pridham, G, 1983 & 1998, 'Nazism 1919-1945, Volume 1, The Rise to Power 1919-1934', Exeter, University of Exeter Press.
