For my conclusion The Treaty of Versailles was a major cause of political humiliation for Germany. This created a feeling of bitterness and a depression throughout Germany. Adolf Hitler came and changed that by convincing the people that he would change the country into a better place and bring Germany back to power. The important thing about Hitler was his determination to make sure that the Nazi party never gave in which was essential at the time. If there was nothing to push Hitler to anger such as the treaty of Versailles than Hitler would never have argued and come to power in the first place.
Question 2:
Long-Term and Short-Term causes contributing to Hitler’s rise to Power:
There were many factors which led to Hitler’s rise to power. These included Long-term and Short-term causes, which affected the path he took into power. In order to get into power Hitler needed some support from the parliament. All of these factors gave Hitler the support in one way, or another.
Each of these factors was very important but the question everyone referred to concerned which of these factors were more important. They were just equal as each other. The Munich Putsch was a significant cause to Hitler’s rise, but it is fair to say that if there hadn’t been a Treaty of Versailles then there wouldn’t have been a rebellion. Another point to consider is that if Papen and Hindenburg didn’t put Hitler into power then there wouldn’t have been an enabling law. Also, you could say that if Hitler’s oratory, personality and leadership skills weren’t as good as they were he wouldn’t have come into power and have succeeded to be the leader of Germany.
One of the most effective factors is how Hitler convicted faith and contribution for his to-be German people. There was resentment in sorrowed German hearts and Hitler was almost seen as ‘Oxygen Mask’ for them.
As the Nazi party grew Hitler began to unite with other political groups who were also against communists. This would get Hitler enough support to come into power. However, another long factor which caused Hitler’s rise was is how he exposed the weakness of the Weimar system which he exploited through propaganda. Hitler’s speeches and attendance in Nazi rallies were also valuable in his rise.
The Munich Putsch was a long-term contribution to Hitler’s rise and was very important to Hitler’s political campaign. In 1924 the Nazis won seats in the parliament but during the following four years the Nazi party’s seats dropped heavily. At this time Hitler changed his party from socialist to fascist. Since the Nazi party was declined thanks to the Locarno treaty and the Kellog Pact, Hitler came to a decision that there was no need for a Nazi Party. Although there seemed to be little long-term benefits for Hitler in the Munich Putsch, it was a good starting point for Hitler and his party, as it turned out to be a long-term benefit.
The depression which started in America in 1929 when the Wall Street crash sent nearly all America’s businesses and industries into a cash crisis. The depression was very important to Hitler and the Nazis since there was a big crisis involving unemployment. It is reasonable to say that if there was no depression then Hitler would not have made it into power. It is fair to say that the depression was a short-term cause since it did not last for a long period of time and was cured quickly.
Behind the clutter of hysterical ideas Hitler brought about, he showed a sure sense of how to appeal to the lowest intuition of frightened masses. The anger and resentment that built up in Nazi Germany - and which was played on by Hitler during his rise to power and when he became Chancellor in January 1933 - had long-term causes that went back to the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. The election that chancellor Brüning called in 1930 was unnecessary and very helpful for the Nazis as their seats in the Reichstag to increase from 12 to 107. Had this not happened, the Nazis had still only had 12 seats by the next election in 1932.
This long-term factor was an open ticket for Hitler and the Nazi party in the ‘Popularity Phase’. Patriotic Germans had never forgotten their nation's treatment in Paris in that year.
Question 3
The ‘Web of Causation’:
There is no straightforward answer as to why Hitler succeeded in becoming chancellor in 1933. There are many essential factors which are vital to his rise into power. Each factor on its own would not have resulted in Hitler’s appointment. Each aspect was an outcome of its previous occurrence. E.g. Reparations (Treaty of Versailles) > Depression > Hitler’s chance to rise etc. The factors were all linked in a web of causation. If any of these factors were missing Hitler would not have been appointed as chancellor. All of these had a connection to his success in Germany.
A very important factor in Hitler’s time in being the Chancellor was the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War. Many of Hitler’s policies were embittered over the non-negotiable terms of the Treaty, which helped win votes once after the Munich beer hall Putsch, it was clear that power would have to be obtained on the terms of the Weimar Constitution.
Had the Versailles treaty been less harsh on Germany, the desire of people like Hitler to abolish it would probably not have got any public support. The Treaty was signed by Germany with the allies on 28 June 1919, forcing Germany to pay ₤6,600 million in reparations. This put Germany in a large amount of debt, especially after all the money spent on the war. The Treaty also consisted of terms where Germany had to lose 10% of her land and to have her army reduced to just 100,000 men.
When Germany couldn’t pay part of the reparation in 1922, France and Belgium troops entered German soil and took goods and materials. The German government were dissatisfied. So the government ordered inert changes but workers needed to be paid. Hyper-Inflation then took root as the German Government started to print money as Germany was gradually being sucked into a whirlwind of misery. As a result of this the treaty drove Germany into this crisis (The Great Depression).
Hitler tried to seize power over Germany but his downfall was that his support rate was too low. The Nazi party weren’t getting the amount of votes they required. After 1929, the Great Depression acted as a channel which brought upon hatred in German heart’s and anger towards the Treaty, therefore, with Hitler’s ability to blend in with the current German problems eager to get solved, he was now able to rise to power.
Another factor was the conspicuous failure of the Weimer Government and the weakness of the constitution which frequently caused deadlocks in the government because of the impossibility of an overall majority for the leading party, necessitating unstable coalitions. Whether any other government could have dealt with the civil unrest is unsure, but the German people suffered unemployment, Hyper-inflation in 1923 and attempts at militant revolution by both right and left (The Kapp Putsch, The Spartacist uprising) and were unhappy with the new democracy.
On 9th November 1923 Hitler, Ludendorff and 3000 SA men marched on Munich's army headquarters. On the way they met a police barricade that opened fire, killing sixteen Nazis. Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison and Ludendorff was found not guilty. Hitler gained more popularity with the German people while on trial as every word was printed in newspapers etc.
Hitler used the trial as a public platform to announce his concerns on the Weimer Republic. The tried made Hitler a national figure despite the seriousness of the charge. Hitler was sentence to five years in prison but he only served his sentence for less than 9 months. This gives the idea that no matter what situation Hitler was in he could turn it around and use the situation for his advantage.
Hitler had now been exposed to the public eye which helped him into power in 1932. Hitler claimed to be acting for the good of Germany, secure in the knowledge that the judge was sympathetic, was good for the image of the party and would make sure that the Nazi party, when it was reformed on Hitler’s release from a lenient sentence, had a wider geographical base than just Bavaria.
While in prison, Hitler gave a lot of thought to the problem of how to win power. He dismissed the idea of another attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic by force.
Hitler won support of his army – (this is extremely advantageous, as a government without support of their country’s army is nothing, yet Hitler benefited from it). Hitler also joined with industrialists; this helped spread his words and beliefs through other means of channels.
While imprisoned, Hitler wrote his own book called ‘Mein Kampf’ where all of his beliefs and ideals were written. This was a great idea as Hitler’s views would not only be in the newspapers and radio but also on the bookshelves of the German people.
Even though it seems as a very fundamental and key element in Hitler’s rise, the Munich Putsch is deemed as the least important reason. But yet again, the web of causation continues; Before the Great Depression, Hitler hardly received any votes, and would have continued to have this many if the Depression didn’t come about.
Hitler’s personality and leadership was astonishing. He attended several rallies a week and believed that travelling across Germany preaching would increase his prestige. His speeches included infinite passion as his words touched many German hearts. Hitler was a very convincing speaker and succeeded in gaining the German people’s attention.
He would speak on behalf of the sheer amount of German ’s and gave them words that they wanted to hear e.g. how the Treaty was immoral and amiss, he promised to take them out of the ‘Great Depression’ they were facing etc.
Hitler would visit many children’s camps and hand out sweets and play games with the children. This allowed the German nation to see Hitler as a ‘people’s-man’, where he can connect, not only with adults and all types of class’s, but children as well; yet again, Hitler is able to gain respect and attention by being able to merge himself with everyone.
The great depression is a key factor which showed why an extreme government came into power in Germany. The depression weakened the Republic further, coalition governments never agreeing on what policy to take, creating further deadlock in government (Remember, the Depression only occurred as the aftermath of the horrendous treatment in Versailles). German voters were therefore pushed to the political extremes, Communism or Nazism because they would not be restricted by the constitution and could therefore deal with the problem more effectively.
The final reason was the political manoeuvring of Franz von Papen and Kurt von Schleicher/ the ongoing rift between them. These two men created the perfect environment for Hitler to be left as the only option to be chancellor. Von Papen’s hatred of Schleicher came when Schleicher forced Hindenburg to fire Von Papen as Chancellor because of his ineptitude to run the Reichstag without a majority. This allowed Von Papen to want revenge on the new chancellor, Schleicher. It forced him to come up with a plan which involved Hitler as chancellor.
Von Papen forced his friend Hindenburg to allow this because his plan deployed himself as vice-Chancellor. This allowed Von Papen to think that somehow they could control Hitler. Von Papen recommended to Hindenburg that Hitler be chancellor, Intending to supplant him once the problems in Germany at the time had been solved by Hitler’s extreme methods.
Once Hitler became chancellor it brought a breath of belief to the party’s supporters and showed them that Hitler and the Nazi party were the strongest party and that they were getting stronger.
To conclude this Von Papen and Von Schleicher and the enmity between them was the reason why Hitler came to power in 1933. Hitler never would have succeeded and become chancellor however, if long-term factors like the weakness of the Weimar Constitution, the hyper-inflation of 1923, and the Great Depression had not occurred. His whole rise to power seemed to be a ‘domino-effect’ as one thing happened and a next thing occurred. Little did the German’s know that their ‘captivating’ leader would turn into such a disillusioned tyrant. If the Treaty of Versailles had not been so harsh, and had been negotiated, and if the problems that faced Germany prior to 1933, it is possible that Hitler would never have pursued a life of politics and would never even have been heard of.