Trying to pay reparations, attempting the transformation of the factories back to their original product manufacture, all the while paying workers in Germany, aided to cause the hyperinflation of 1923, but these weren’t the main causes that led to the hyperinflation. As the government tried to pay the reparations, whilst in so much debt, they fell behind with the payments, which added to the idea in Germany that the reparations were set to cripple Germany permanently. By falling behind with the payments, they were breaking part of the Treaty, and that led to the French and Belgian soldiers being sent in to occupy the Rühr in January of 1923. This in turn, led to the workers calling a strike, or passive resistance to the occupation. It was supported by the government, which meant that strike pay was being paid to the workers, by the government, which added to the increasing inflation in Germany at the time. The Rühr was the industrial heart of Germany, so when the workers all went on strike, that heart stopped beating, therefore causing the French and Belgians to bring in their own ‘troop’ of workers on 11th January 1923, to get the reparation repayments going again. This is the main reason that hyperinflation occurred, because Germany was paying out (strike pay) more than it was getting in (the money it would have got from selling the products of the industries in the Rühr).
The hyperinflation itself meant the money became meaningless, whatever the value was written on the paper notes, which in turn made peoples savings, mortgages, loans, salaries and pensions become worthless, and everyday items become ridiculously expensive. This caused the monetary system of Germany to collapse entirely, and along with that, went the collapse of passive resistance. The middle and working classes were the most hit of the people of Germany, because the poor had been poor before hand, therefore the collapse of, and faith in, the monetary system didn’t really affect them, as they were still poor. Unemployment also rose dramatically at the time, because employers couldn’t afford to pay workers, and as money was worthless, people just didn’t bother to go into work anymore – by the end of 1923, only 29.3% of trade unionists were working full time.
Throughout all of this, was the fact that there seemed to be no clear leader of Weimar Germany. As soon as a problem or obstacle occurred, it seemed that the government broke up, and a new one replaced it. This occurred so regularly in Germany after the war, that no clear leader, or even government party, was leading them through this troubled time successfully.
Also during all of this turmoil and confusion, was the ever-present threat of a Left Wing attempt at revolution, especially as people would’ve remembered such incidents as the Spartacist Revolt of March 1919 in Berlin, and the smaller uprisings in Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven, which were all put down by the Friekorps, not the army. The threat from the left wasn’t all that great, but with incidents like these in people’s memories, and propaganda from right wing groups suggesting more events such as those occurring, the threat from the left seemed very large, and very real.
Support for Hitler and the NSDAP can be seen by their increase in membership, as people wouldn’t have joined if they didn’t think that they had anything to gain from the party, and also more money was being given or donated to the party from right wing elites (nobility, landowners etc) than had occurred prior to this point in time.
Another way that support can be seen to have increased, is the proposal of many other right wing groups to merge with the NSDAP. This wouldn’t have occurred, if the other groups, which were some of the more prominent right wing parties, didn’t take them seriously, and also didn’t think that the NSDAP and Hitler could help them. This small act, which was rejected furiously by Hitler as he thought that the NSDAP didn’t need outside aid and that their policies would get ‘watered down’ by a merger, shows that there was definitely support out there for the NSDAP and Hitler himself.
Hitler’s connections with the army and the Friekorps via Captain Röhm, again show that there was support in these times for them as, yet again, the army and Friekorps wouldn’t have supported someone or something, that they thought couldn’t aid them, was useless, or couldn’t do something to change the current political state of Weimar Germany.
The final, and main way, apart form seeing that the membership increased, of knowing that Hitler and the NSDAP had attracted support, is through the Munich Putsch. Thos is because it wouldn’t have occurred, if Hitler didn’t think that he would have sufficient support to carry it off, and be successful in this act.
