After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the USA called in its loans to Germany, and the whole German economy collapsed. Unemployment soared, and people grew hungry, desolate and desperate. In the midst of all this, Hitler arrived with the promise of “Work and Food”- the two things they needed most and offered them the stability that they so badly wanted. The main reason why the vast majority of Germans turned to Hitler was basically because he at the right time, at the right place, with the right message. The people were desperate, and Hitler was the answer. In 1928, the Nazis had a total of 12 seats in the Reichstag. After the depression of the 1920s, the numbers rose to 230 seats in parliament.
One way that Hitler gained such popularity in such a short period of time was by his use of Propaganda. Hitler targeted a huge range of groups of people- from the young, the workers to the women- no stone was left unturned. As stated in the example above, Hitler’s most famous slogan of “Work and Food” reached out and appealed to the people, due to the food shortage amongst the common folk. Hitler knew what would reach out to the different groups, and fed on their fears and wants. He made the people able to identify with his messages, and reached out to a huge range of people- and this in turn, won him the popularity of the masses and helped unite the nation behind a common ideal, which then made it easier for him incorporate them into a one-party state, under the pretence of being a “unified” state for all. Hitler also banned and censored all forms of broadcasts, publications or press that he found to be “anti- Nazi” and which encouraged the people to go against the Nazi state, this meant that it was actually impossible for the people of Germany to go against, or hear about people going against Hitler through means of public channels, and by effectively, cutting off all other access to the rest of the world, Hitler established sole control of the State.
Hitler’s personality also greatly helped him gain popularity amongst the people. He was a brilliant speaker, and was able to make people feel like he was addressing them, and them alone, and really touched the hearts of the desolate, desperate people of Germany at the time. He was charismatic and really driven by his goals. His determination to succeed, and his belief that he would succeed, made people want to believe in him more.
However, the in elections of November 1932, the number of seats for the Nazi Party in the Reichstag fell from 230 to 196. This meant that the Nazis had failed to get the majority of seats. This leads me to my third point- the significance of Hindenburg. At the time, General von Papen was Chancellor, and Hindenburg President of the state. However, von Papen couldn’t get enough support in the Reichstag. Therefore, von Papen and Hindenburg decided to offer Hitler the role of Vice-Chancellor if he supported them. Hitler refused this title, and in January 1933, von Papen and Hindenburg gave in, and gave Hitler the title of Chancellor. Hindenburg thought he would be able to control Hitler, however, as proven later on, he was horribly mistaken. This oversight on his part was what led to Hitler’s eventual control of the entire German state. Furthermore, the irony was that Hitler never took power, he was given it. This role of Chancellor meant that Hitler had huge control over a large part of government, put him in a prime position, placing him only one step away from achieving his goal of the Presidency. Once he had gotten this, Germany would, in effect, be under his control.
After Hitler’s election as Chancellor, Hitler was in a position where he was the leader of the Weimar Republic, by law, however, he still did not manage to get the majority of votes he needed. The incident of the Reichstag Fire provided him with the perfect opportunity to take over. The starting of the Fire was blamed on a communist, and with it followed the arrest of 4000 communist members who were sent to concentration camps all around the state.
This brings me to my most important point- Hitler’s use of the law to create his ‘one-party’ state. Following the Reichstag fire, the Enabling Act was put into effect, which gave Hitler the power to make his own laws, and essentially, made Hitler the dictator of Germany with the power to control the state in any way he wanted- legally. From now on, everything Hitler did, or would do, could not be questioned, and he had supreme sovereignty over the state. Hitler kept this power by the use of terror. He used the SA to instil widespread fear amongst the people. The Storm troopers attacked Jews and anyone else who opposed Hitler. Many opponents just kept quiet in fear of being murdered, and so by doing this, Hitler managed to remove anyone that might oppose to his one-party state, and left him with little political oppression.
However, the SA was growing in size and power, and Hitler was soon scared that they themselves might seize power. On the Night of the Long Knives, Hitler stated that Rohm, the leader of the SA, had plotted to overthrow him and the majority of the members of the SA were rounded up and killed. This brutal action secured the loyalty of the German Army who had previously been wary of the SA's influence. Hitler was now in control of both his party and the Government.
Finally, in July 1933, Hitler established a law- The Law against the Formation of Parties which stated that the Nazi Party the only political party in Germany. All other parties were banned, and their leaders were put in prison. Finally, through all these factors Hitler had gained total control of Germany, and his vision of a “unified” Germany under his Nazi party, was fulfilled.