Assignment 1
Depth Study A: Germany, 1918-1945
. Choose any one reason from the list and explain how it contributed to Hitler's rise to power.
The depression had its greatest impact on Germany. By 1932 one out of three Germans was unemployed and the result was a massive discontent between the German population. The democratic government was already in trouble before the depression: many right and left-sided politicians had been unhappy for years for the way the democratic government was working. The depression added a new sense of crisis to the Weimar government, which gave total power to the president, Paul Von Hindenburg.
This depression was a big piece of luck for the National Socialists (Nazis) and especially for Hitler. Without the depression Hitler would have never come to power. Before the depression, the Nazi party was a very small party (only had 12 seats in parliament) but overnight the number of followers increased during the depression and the party grew bigger. Hitler achieved his aims as people lost faith in the democratic government because this wasn't the first problem it came up, and so people (especially the working class) turned to the parties that involved a change (the Nazi party and the communist party).
As unemployment rose in Germany, Hitler used it to offer people a better future and, especially, jobs. He promised a change and a solution for the economical crisis. Hitler's appeal was based on the problems of the depression: most of his supporters were impressed by the way his propaganda, run by Goebbels, called for 'Work, Freedom and Bread'. Unemployment strengthened all the hostility against the Treaty of Versailles and the Weimar republic, in general, that had been experienced by the Germans since 1919.
In conclusion, the evidence shows that without the depression Hitler would not have rose to power. He told the Germans what they wanted to hear and offered them a simple explanation for all their problems, the main one being unemployment: "More than fourteen years have passed since the unhappy day when the German people lost everything. Within four years, unemployment must be finally overcome." (Extract from a proclamation Hitler made on 1 February 1933, the day after he became chancellor)
2. Using some of the causes in the list explain how both long-term and short-term causes contributed to Hitler s rise to power.
It could be said that the Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the long term causes. The Treaty of Versailles caused a reaction of hatred and indignation to the Germans which had difficulty coming to terms with defeat after being proud of their army and their leader: they were surprised when Germany was defeated. The Germans who felt that Germany had been betrayed were totally horrified by the treaty. The politicians who signed the 'armistice' were called the 'November criminals'. Ebert, the Weimar's Republic first democratic president after the Kaiser abdicated, was facing a very hard ...
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It could be said that the Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the long term causes. The Treaty of Versailles caused a reaction of hatred and indignation to the Germans which had difficulty coming to terms with defeat after being proud of their army and their leader: they were surprised when Germany was defeated. The Germans who felt that Germany had been betrayed were totally horrified by the treaty. The politicians who signed the 'armistice' were called the 'November criminals'. Ebert, the Weimar's Republic first democratic president after the Kaiser abdicated, was facing a very hard position related to the treaty. He decided to accept the treaty of Versailles, so the Germans were angry with this idea. The section of the treaty that most angered the Germans was the 'war guilt' clause (they felt it was wrong to put the entire blame on Germany) and the payment of reparations.
Hitler took the opportunity from this because, as he also hated the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles, he made promises to the Germans that he would remove any sign of the terms of the treaty. People believed in him because of his oratory abilities, as he looked very confident of himself and by the way he spoke, he made people believe in him: "What I would like to do with the Treaty of Versailles! Each one of the points of that treaty is branded in the minds and hearts of the German people and sixty million men and women find their souls aflame with a feeling of rage and shame. A torrent of fire bursts forth as from a furnace, and a will of steel is forged from it, with a common cry- 'We will have weapons again!'". (Hitler expressing a common German view of the Treaty in 1925)
The treaty of Versailles was the most important of the long-term causes because it gave Hitler the chance to exchange the same ideas he had with the rest of the Germans about the treaty of Versailles.
The Munich Putsch was one of the most important of the short-term causes although it also presented long-term effects. Hitler tried to use the SA to seize control of Bavaria. It was planned to march to Berlin and force a Nazi government on the whole of Germany. The Nazi forces marched, on the 9th November, from the beer cellar and were stopped by armed police. Sixteen Nazis were killed and Hitler was arrested two days later and put in trial for treason. The short term effects of Hitler being arrested was that he became instantly famous, he used his trial as a platform to gain publicity and to put his ideas over, and he had time to write a book explaining his beliefs as a true German: the Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which stated Hitler's basic ideas of the Treaty of Versailles being unjust, that the leaders of the Weimar Republic were traitors for accepting the treaty and that the Germans needed more living space (Lebensraum), between others. During the trial, Hitler stated: "I alone bear the responsibility but I am not a criminal because of that. There is no such thing as high treason against the traitors of 1918. I feel myself the best of Germans who wanted the best for German people".
The long-term effects of the Munich Putsch were that Hitler learnt a lot from his failed revolution. He decided to change his strategy towards getting the Nazi party in power: he decided to concentrate on using legal means. When Hitler came out of prison (after 9 months) he immediately changed the Nazi's strategy, making possible that each time there were votes, the Nazi party, had more seats in parliament. As a result, it can be said, that this contributed to Hitler's rise to power because without this change he wouldn't have never rise to power, trying to seize the government by force.
There are other short-term causes for Hitler's rise to power as the Enabling act, in March 1933. This was a law that Hitler passed after winning the elections in March 1933 (288 seats) and this allowed him to make any laws he wanted for the next four years without consulting the Reichstag. This act was very important for Hitler's rise to power because it meant that he could make any law with the approval of nobody: he was in a complete power position as he could do anything he would want to: became a dictator.
In conclusion, the evidence shows that both the long-term and the short-term causes were very important for Hitler's rise to power, as the long-term causes didn't have an instant effect on Hitler coming to power: they were things that set the scene for what was going to happen in the long future. The short-term causes had a direct effect: they were more straightforward in giving Hitler power in Germany.
3. Was any one of these reasons more important than the others in Hitler's rise to power? Explain your answer.
There are very important reasons why Hitler came to power. It is very difficult to decide whether one is more important than the others, because all of them are connected in some way and all of them contributed to his rise to power.
The Treaty of Versailles was very important for Hitler's rise to power because with this, he shared a common view towards the Weimar Republic: it was the fact that he hated it and the hatred gave him something in common with the Germans. This is one of the more important reasons for Hitler's rise to power because without this he wouldn't have had a basis, a platform to start with, and the German people wouldn't have noticed him or had something they could associate him with: he wouldn't be known by anyone and he would have had to make a greater effort than he did to be known.
The economical depression was one of the most fundamental reasons in Hitler's rise to power. The economical depression was a big piece of luck for Hitler. Without the depression Hitler would have never come to power. Before the depression, the Nazi party was a very small party but the number of followers increased during the depression and the party grew bigger. Hitler achieved his aims as people lost faith in the democratic government, and so people (especially the working class) turned to the parties that involved a drastic change, as the Nazi and the communist party.
The Munich Putsch was a very significant for Hitler's rise to power because it gave Hitler his recognition after being put in trial. The effects of Hitler being arrested was that he became instantly famous, he used his trial as a platform to gain publicity and to put his ideas over, and he wrote a book explaining his beliefs as a true German: the Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which stated Hitler's basic ideas. Hitler also learnt from his failed revolution. He decided to change his strategy towards getting the Nazi party in power as he decided to use legal methods and turning the Nazi party democratic: this gave him more respect and support from the German people and other parties.
The next reason was Hitler's oratory personality and leadership. Hitler had very good public speaking skills. He told the people what they wanted to hear and the way they wanted. He created some sort of enthusiasm among his public: the Germans. The Germans saw Hitler as a sort of hero because of what he was bringing to Germany: he brought back confidence, something the Germans hadn't seen for a large period of time before with the Weimar Republic. People believed in him because of his oratory abilities, as he looked very confident of himself and by the way he spoke, he made people believe in him.
The decision by Papen and Hindenburg to appoint him as Chancellor in 1933 is one of the most important reasons because it gave Hitler the political recognition he needed to come in power. Von Papen and Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor because of the chaos in Germany after the economic depression and because the government didn't know what to do, so left Hitler in charge. They didn't think that Hitler would get total power as the Nazi party did not hold all the seats in parliament but they underestimated him, as he actually get total power, using force (he used the SA to intimidate the members of parliament).
The decision made by Von Papen and Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in 1933 is directly linked to the fact that Hitler passed the Enabling law: if Hitler wasn't to be chose as Chancellor then he wouldn't have had the enough power to pass this law which authorised him the power of making whatever law he wanted for the next four years without consulting the parliament.
In conclusion, the evidence shows that there wasn't a unique most important reason: none of them was more important than the others in Hitler's rise to power. Each cause leads to another as they are all linked together: if Ebert wouldn't have signed the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans wouldn't have turned to the parties which supposed a change in the way the government was working and Hitler wouldn't have had the opportunity to share his common view of hatred against the Versailles' treaty; or if Hitler wouldn't had been arrested in the Munich Putsch, he wouldn't had reconsider changing the party to democratic after the failed revolution, and, by this way, winning more votes. These reasons cannot be put into an order of importance, as each reason was important in its own way, building up to Hitler's rise to power.
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