Assess the reasons for Hitler being made chancellor in 1933

by nikolaysmirnovkonstgmailcom (student)

Assess the reasons for Hitler being made chancellor in 1933 (30)

Hitler being made chancellor is what allowed the Nazi part to completely take over the Reichstag and eventually eliminate the concept of the chancellor altogether according to the Fuhrer principle. There are many factors which contributed to Hitler becoming chancellor through the “backstairs intrigue” and they are all inexorably linked to each other. Hitler’s own successes and qualities combined with the favourable to him economic situation in Germany in the 1930s allowed him to take advantage of the failures of the Weimar republic to promulgate his party into a very strong position where he had full support to become chancellor. In this essay, we will examine these factors and evaluate their relative importance to show that the failures of the Weimar republic was the most important factor as they allowed the Nazi party to become popular and Hitler to become chancellor.

Hitler’s personal qualities and actions led up to the point where Hindenberg was forced to make him chancellor to prevent any further unrest in the country through the “backstairs intrigue”. Hitler was a very charismatic orator who promised to restore German honour and overthrow Versailles. His use of simple, straightforward, and extremely emotive slogans allowed the general public to understand him and his views for the country. Whilst in jail in 1924 Hitler developed the Fuhrer principle establishing that Germany needed one clear leader to lead it to prosperity, this appealed to the German population as they were dissatisfied with the failing democracy and large amount of parties constantly in dispute in the Reichstag. Hitler targeted all classes in German society. He earned the support of the farmers by saying that their blood and soil was the bedrock of Germany. Many middle classes supported him because he promised to contain communism and his promise of “Work, Freedom, Bread” gave him some support within the working classes of German society. The bad choices made by the Weimar Republic allowed Hitler to succeed, this lays weight to Ian Kershaw’s argument that “Weimar Germany was a very peculiar, specific theme when people were ready to see the qualities of a national saviour in Hitler”. Indeed, the failures of the Weimar Republic and the tense atmosphere in the political sphere is what made Hitler’s personal qualities so valuable. There would not have been a “backstairs intrigue” if the government was not already under much pressure for the constant appointment of unpopular chancellors.

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The Weimar Republic started off on a bad foot with the Treaty of Versailles, people were opposed to the new regime for replacing the previous Kaiser regime which imbued Germans with a sense of honour and pride about their country. The Weimar politicians were widely despised for being “November Criminals” who betrayed Germany and allowed it to lose the war when there was seemingly still a chance that Germany would have come out victorious. The Freikorps and Spartakist rebellions exposed the weaknesses of Weimar Germany from the very start and showed just how much dissatisfaction there was within the population. The fact that Hitler only got five years in prison for creating the failed Munich Beer Hall Putsch displays that even the judiciary system was not ready to severely punish a person who went against the new democracy thus reinforcing the idea that negative opinion towards the Weimar government was within the government itself. By 1932 the economy was in a state of degradation and the abuse of article 48 by president Hindenburg was used to persuade him into appointing Hitler as chancellor to prevent any further unrest both within the Reichstag, since the NSDAP occupied the most seats and in the country, itself. As Wolfson states “In the last resort, Hitler was not swept into power by the German people, nor was he democratically elected: he was put into power by backstairs intrigue”. Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933 in a coalition government with Von Papen as vice chancellor. The absence of democratic election shows that the economic situation in the country played a heavy role in placing Hitler in position of chancellor. Without the economic crisis, the Nazi party might never have become the most popular party in Germany and the previous failures of the Weimar Republic could not have pressured the president to an extent where he was ready to name Hitler as chancellor.

Hitler becoming chancellor in 1933 is undoubtedly interlinked with the state of the German economy in 1933. The Dawes plan of 1924 stabilised the German economy after the hyperinflation crisis of 1923 that resulted from the Ruhr invasion. However, while the Dawes plan did indeed stop the hyperinflation it also made the German economy dependent on the economy of the USA. The Wall Street crash of 1929 sent the US economy into turmoil and the US government decided to recall the loans that were given to Germany according to the Dawes plan. This sparked another economic crisis within Weimar Germany. Interestingly from 1924 onwards Nazi support began to fall due to the stabilisation of both political and economic situation in the country. The popularization of Bohemian lifestyle decreased the negative public opinion towards the Weimar republic, it is when another economic crisis hit Germany that support for the NSDAP and Hitler especially rose exponentially. By 1932 ¼ of all Germans were left unemployed due to the devastating impact of the depression, and Hindenburg infused the situation even more by freezing unemployment benefits due to the fear of another crisis of hyperinflation. Hitler’s promise of “Work, Freedom, Bread” to the working class could not have been more relevant, the people wanted work and thus support for Hitler and his party rose. Many rich people also started to give large donations to the Nazi party hoping that Hitler would stop the spread of communism in Germany, this allowed for more propaganda and campaigning which made the Nazi party the most popular party in Germany at the time. Therefore, it was the economic crisis that arose from the Great Depression in the United States that allowed the Nazi Party’s outreach to various sections of German society to render itself efficient. Hitler’s own successes and the previous failures of the Weimar republic proved not to be enough to gain a large enough amount of support due to the observed decrease in Nazi sentiment after the introduction of the Dawes Plan in 1924. By the summer of 1932 Hitler was the leader of the largest party in Reichstag with 230 seats. The economic crisis created the pressure Hindenburg was faced with in 1933 and therefore made Hitler chancellor through the “backstairs intrigue”.

In conclusion, Hitler was made chancellor in 1933 due to Hindenburg being pressured to do so to prevent unrest in the country mainly, because of the economic crisis that arose due to the Great Depression in the United States. The previous failures of the Weimar republic and created an atmosphere in Weimar Germany where people were appealed by Hitler’s ideas and Hitler’s own qualities and successes as a leader proved to be fundamental in reaching out to various sections of German society. However, it was the economic situation in Weimar Germany after the Great Depression in the US that allowed for Hitler to become chancellor in 1933 through the decision between Von Papen and president Hindenburg.