When the Great Depression hit Germany, the Weimar Republic could not respond in an efficient way. The coalition governments fell apart due to ideological differences, as again, they could not agree on the right course of action to take after the Depression. The chancellor had to rely on article 48 of the constitution, which gave the President emergency powers. The president of the Weimar Republic, Hindenburg, was an old army general, who was really and truly a monarchist – himself elected 4 years ago by the public, reflecting their attachment to the old regime. He was under the influence of rich industrialists, and he supported the chancellor’s line of policy, which was to raise taxes, and cut unemployment benefit and wages.
This proved to the people what a shambles the Weimar Republic really was; it fell apart under pressure, and people lost faith in it. The condition of the German people was desolate; the government could not alleviate their problems, and instead pushed through unpopular policies. This had been their only experience of democracy, and it had failed. Life under the Kaiser seemed to have been much better than life under the Republic; Germany had been strong and powerful; now Germany was weak; and indebted to the allies. This sentiment amongst the people caused them to turn away from democracy, in search of something else.
In the wake of the Great Depression, Hitler saw his chance. The people were fed up of democracy and were looking for something radically different. There were two ways they could go, the extreme left or the extreme right. Hitler would make sure they chose right. Hitler stood out from the rest of the political party leaders. His domineering personality and powerful public speaking skills impressed the people, and kindled hope in their hearts. Here was a man who was impassioned in his concern for the welfare of Germany and its people. He seemed to share the same anger and frustration as them. He too, could remember the days when Germany was a superpower, and wanted the things that had contributed to its greatness then returned. This was reflected in the policies of the Nazi party, which were aimed at all members of society.
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the things that the Nazi party despised, and many German people hated it too. Hitler attracted a lot of support because he seemed like the only one who would stand up to the Allies, and disregard the Treaty of Versailles. The reparations it demanded were instrumental in the destruction of the German economy. Everyone could remember the years of hyper-inflation, when France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, halting the better part of German industry. The loans from the USA, agreed upon by the Weimar Republic to help pay back the reparations, were also remembered as the force that had dragged Germany into the Great Depression, when the USA recalled the loans.
Under the Kaiser, the German military had been a force to be reckoned with. The terms of the treaty destroyed this military might, by reducing the amount of soldiers in the army from a few million to 100,000. . Hitler was all for rearmament, which Hitler believed was indispensible in creating a powerful Germany. He hoped to achieve strength through military conquest, gaining ‘lebensraum’ or ‘living space’ for the German people. This ideology attracted support from nationalists and the many demobilized soldiers in Germany. Hitler perpetrated the myth that the Weimar politicians had ‘stabbed Germany in the back’ by signing the treaty of Versailles, thereby inciting hatred of the social democrats and other pro-democratic parties. Many soldiers and members of the public believed that Germany could have won the Great War, urged on in this belief by army generals falsely claiming that the army could have carried the war on successfully. In truth the German army would invariably have been defeated, what with the British naval blockade of German ports stopping essential supplies reaching the military. Conditions were so bad that naval officers mutinied when ordered into a suicidal battle with the British Navy. The truth, however, did not matter to Hitler, as long as he could use the myth to gain more votes.
The Nazis party’s blatant hatred of Communism attracted the upper and middle classes. Hitler utilized the SA to break up opposition meetings and beat up and intimidate Communists; although this lost them support from some people, who were horrified by their tactics. Hitler’s hatred of Jews, however, went unchallenged, because many Germans themselves were racist, and anti-Semitism was generally present all over Europe at the time. The success of Jewish businesses worried some Germans too, and Hitler’s anti-Jewish propaganda fuelled this fear. This was in line with Hitler’s ideal of an Aryan super race, which he believed Jews were purposely trying to infiltrate to destroy it. He believed in the unification of all countries in which people of this race inhabited, as his vision of Greater Germany. This ideal also helped win the support of German Nationalists.
The Nazi Party claimed to be both nationalist and socialist; however Hitler himself did not care greatly for the plight of the working class, and was more reliant on votes and funding from wealthy, middle class business owners. Some of the Nazi’s socialist policies, such as the nationalization of industry, alarmed these industrialists, and Hitler had no qualms about suspending the policies in order to keep their support, demonstrating his lack of commitment to socialism. Other socialist policies, such as free education for gifted children and higher pensions were promised by the Nazis, but it seemed that Hitler was only using them as a tool to gain votes. His prime objective was to gain power, and he seemed to adhere to the philosophy that in achieving this, the ends justified the means.
Hitler not only geared Nazi policy to secure him the maximum amount of votes, but also made use of the various other skills his party members made available to him. The Nazis were a very well organised movement, with support from army generals, and many of their members coming from military backgrounds. They bought discipline and efficiency to the party; valuable assets of any organization.
One of the most effective components of his election campaign was propaganda. With the help of Joseph Goebbels, a mastermind in propaganda, Hitler capitalized on all the media opportunities in Germany to make his message clear and influence the masses; tactics which the opposition had not yet used extensively. The Nazis printed their own newspaper, and Hitler made use of radio to broadcast his speeches everywhere and travelled across Germany so that everyone heard his message, giving public speeches as he went. The main aim of this was not just to raise awareness about the Nazi Party and its philosophy; but to focus on Hitler as a leader. To emphasize the strength that Hitler and the Nazi Party possessed, in contrast to the weakness of the Weimar Republic. It was exactly what the public needed and wanted to see.
Hitler had millions of election posters and leaflets printed and distributed widely. They were aimed at different parts of society, all portraying strong and convincing messages. One poster that stands out in my memory has a sketch of a crowd of German people, looking diverse as individuals from different walks of life, but all having the same expression and mood. The words ‘Our Last Hope’ at the top and ‘HITLER’ in large, white print at the bottom are printed on it. It is a powerful image that seems to represent the German nation collectively, and captures the mood of the people – depressed and desolate. It shows that the Nazis understand how the people are feeling, understand their condition, and that they alone care. Hitler is the only one who can save them from their plight, he is their ‘last hope’, and is the only one who can unite the people, from different walks of life, under one banner and bring them out of the darkness. Ultimately, this image would have gained the Nazis universal support as the only party who could relate to the people, which is why I believe it is so effective.
Together, all the above mentioned tactics brought the Nazi Party great support from the people, and by 1932 they had leaped from 12 to 230 seats in the Reichstag. The only thing left to do was get Hitler the position of chancellor. He had the strongest support in the Reichstag, as the Nazis were the largest party. However, only President Hindenburg had the power to appoint him chancellor, and Hindenburg disliked Hitler. Instead he chose Franz von Papen, who held the support, albeit weak of the German National People’s party to keep his chancellorship legitimate. Papen hoped to strengthen his position by gaining the support of the Nazi party, and lifted a ban on the SA in aid of this, but Hitler refused to support him.
Then General von Schleicher, Hindenburg’s advisor, decided that he wanted the chancellorship for himself. He used his influence with Hindenburg to remove von Papen from the position and take it for himself. Nevertheless he was unable to maintain his position as chancellor, because he failed to get enough support from the Reichstag. Hitler was the only man left for the job, as he had the most legitimate claim towards it because he had the most support from the Reichstag – and the Nazis would probably revolt if he was not given the chancellorship. Franz von Papen assured Hindenburg that if he appointed Hitler as chancellor, and von Papen as vice-chancellor, Hitler, who had no experience of the job, could be controlled by von Papen.
In this way, Hitler went from being the leader of an obscure right wing party to the last chancellor of the Weimar Republic. It is intriguing that he achieved this through the support of the German people, using democracy’s weaknesses to cause its own downfall. Of course, he capitalized on the opportunities presented by the Great Depression, and it was from then on that the Nazis gained real momentum, but one could say that the Great Depression was a disaster waiting to happen; on the backs of loans taken out to fix the crisis of hyper-inflation, and to pay back reparations. In the end, though, it was a desperate people, searching for hope, guidance, and most of all, strong leadership, who enabled Hitler to reach the height of power with which he could implement his policies, and turn his ideals into reality.