Alexander St John
Why did Hitler come to power in 1933?
Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 came as a result of a range of political and social factors but I think that the economic factor of the Great Depression was the most important in Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. The political factors; the decision by von Papen and von Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in 1933, The Enabling Act in 1933 and The Treaty of Versailles were essential to Hitler coming to power but they were merely causes to Hitler coming to power. The social factors, the Munich Putsch and Hitler’s oratory, personality and leadership, were equally important but they also didn’t provide the catalyst that resulted in Hitler coming to power. Hitler could have come to power if it wasn’t for any one of these factors but I think that the most important factor was the Great Depression as it was the spark that gave Hitler the popularity he needed in order for him to come to power.
The decision by von Papen and von Hindenburg was very important to Hitler coming to power in 1933 as it was the factor that made Hitler’s power certain. Hitler was shown to have lost support in the November 1932 elections, their share of the vote falling from 230 to 196, but now that he was Chancellor popularity was no longer so important. Being Chancellor gave Hitler the authority to pass laws and strongly influence the way in which Germany was run. It also enabled Hitler to manipulate his power as Chancellor in such a way that he became a dictator via the Enabling Act on 23rd March 1933. The Enabling Act was so important to Hitler coming to power as it was his final step in securing control over Germany and enshrined him from being a high powered but nonetheless democratic leader into being a fascist dictator. This enabled Hitler to institute the Nazi Revolution that turned Germany into a one party authoritarian state. The Treaty of Versailles was also essential to Hitler coming to power in 1933 as it led to the downfall of the Weimar Republic and resulted in debilitating levels of both poverty and unemployment in Germany. This stirred up hatred in the German people that they directed at the Weimar Republic as they had signed it and resulted in them being branded as the ‘November Criminals’. Germany’s empire and military might had been a source of national pride before the war and now Germany’s empire was broken up and its military was forced to embarrassingly weak levels. As a result of this many of the German people looked to extremism for change and gave Hitler increasing support as he used the treaty as a method of arising German Nationalism. However Hitler could have never done this if it wasn’t for his oratory, personality and leadership.
