Was any one reason more important than the others in Hitler's rise to power?

Authors Avatar

Was any one reason more important than the others in Hitler’s rise to power?

There are many reasons why Hitler came to power in 1933. These include the weakness of the Weimar Government, the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the Munich Putsch (1923), the economic depression (1929), Hitler’s oratory, personality and leadership, the decision by von Papen and Hindenburg to appoint him as chancellor (1933) and the Enabling Act (1933).

The Weimar Government was in power between 1919 and 1923. It followed a system of proportional representation, which produced weak coalition governments, which were unable to provide Germany with a strong, decision-making government. Blackmail was rife in the government as the Chancellor needed the backing of the smaller parties and the Chancellor was often appointed because of his friendship with the President rather than the number of seats he could command in the Reichstag. The government also lacked support from many Germans including the army, the police, the judiciary and the education sectors. Overall the government was unable to make quick decisions, which was crucial in the 1923 depression and the hyperinflation that followed. The weakness of the government also allowed Hindenburg to take power from the Reichstag and rule by Presidential Decree. If he had not been able to do so he would not have had the power to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in 1933. The Weimar Government failed to gain the support of the German people from the very beginning.

The Treaty of Versailles contained four main points, which helped Hitler to come to power. The first was clause 231, which blamed Germany and Germany alone for the war. The people resented this clause and blamed the Weimar Government for signing the Treaty. The Germans often referred to the Weimar Government as “a gang of wretched criminals”. This gave Hitler something to attack. He had found a weakness that he could work on. If the Government had been strong then it would have made Hitler’s task more difficult. This was shown during the Stresemann years when the Government was stronger as support for Hitler was very low. As Richard Overy stated, “Until 1928 Nazism was an insignificant political force trying to win factory workers away from Marxism… It was a marginal political movement on the radical right. But under the impact of the slump, the rise of communism and the political stalement of parliamentary politics the movement began to attract more attention”. The second point of the Treaty was reparations. Germany was ordered to pay £6600million. When Germany refused to pay the reparations the Treaty allowed France to invade the Ruhr. The invasion caused the Germans workers to go on strike. As a result of the strikes, the value of the mark (the Germany currency) went down until it became worthless. This led to the Depression of 1923. The weakness of the Government meant that it was unable to deal with the crisis effectively and the situation worsened. Hitler took this opportunity to lead his Putsch. The third point of the Treaty was disarmament. This meant that Germany could not have an army of more than 100,000, was only allowed six battleships and no submarines, tanks or planes. The Rhineland was also demilitarised and conscription was banned. Disarmament humiliated the Germans especially the army, who resented the limits. The army was so resentful of the Treaty and the government that had signed it, that they turned to the extreme views of Hitler. The soldiers were also impressed by the bravery Hitler had shown on the front line in the First World War and the fact that he had gained the coveted Iron Cross. Hitler also gained support from ex-soldiers in the time of hyperinflation. The fourth point of the Treaty was the loss of territory and colonies. Much of Germanys prime industrial land was removed and so they could not afford to pay the reparations, which in turn led to the French invading the Ruhr. The loss of territories and colonies again led to resentment of the weak Weimar Government who had signed the Treaty in 1919. The Deutsche Zeitung printed the following, “Today, in the Hall of Mirrors, the disgraceful treaty is being signed. Do not forget it. The German people will reconquer the place among the nations to which they are entitled. Then will come vengeance for the shame of 1919”. The problems of the Treaty of Versailles and the weakness of the Weimar Government were present in both 1923 and 1933 and so they cannot be the only reason for the collapse of democracy. If they were then Hitler would have come to power in 1923. What else happened? Amongst other events, there was a world economic depression in 1929, which must have something to do with Hitler’s rise to power.

Join now!

The Munich Putsch happened in 1923. Hitler decided the time was right for a revolution in Germany because of the occupation of the Ruhr and the hyperinflation.  Chancellor Stresemann had just agreed to end the strike in the Ruhr and to start paying reparations again and Hitler hoped that this would have angered many Germans and so would push them to support an extremist. He was wrong. The Putsch had three main consequences. The main consequence was the change it sparked in Hitler’s political direction. He dropped his revolutionary ideas and turned to democracy. While writing in prison he said, ...

This is a preview of the whole essay