Hitler himself provided the backbone to the party with his confidence and public speaking skills. In his inspiring speeches he told the public what they wanted to hear; solutions to problems, scape goats and promises of a brighter future.
The Nazis controlled the news media with propaganda, making it very easy to manipulate the public. Josef Goebbels took charge of propaganda in the party, and campaigns regarded issues such as Jews foreigners and the November criminals, all of which the German public could empathise with.
Opposition parties were treated violently, meetings were banned and they used the SA to terrorise opponents.
The Nazis criticised the Weimar system of government. They felt that democratic government was failing and that the old system of government, including the Kaiser, should be brought back into power.
An alternative factor was opposition weaknesses.
By April 1932, conditions in Germany had reached breaking point. Over 5 million people were unemployed, poverty and hunger had swept the nation and the country was in desperate need of a strong Government. The Weimar Government failed to deal with the depression and solve Germany’s problems as a result, the economy got worse. This left the German people with no confidence in this ‘ineffective’ government and so they looked to extremist groups like the Communists and the Nazis.
The other political parties failed to cooperate with each other. This was good news for the Nazis as it divided the remaining voters, meaning that although Hitler could not win the election through having the majority of the vote, he could win through default.
People living in Germany in 1933 were looking for a party to provide stability and a return to a good standard of living. They felt that democracy was weak and dictatorship was strong. The Nazis could provide this tower of strength needed to get Germany back on its feet.
Other factors contributing to the rise of Hitler included the lack of political support for the largest party (Weimar republic) therefore the party found it difficult to pass legislation.
Hindenburg couldn’t find a Chancellor who had support in the Reichstag. To combat this problem, he appointed the inexperienced ‘Franz Von Papen’. However, Von Papen couldn’t govern so there were new elections held in June 1932. As a result of these, the Nazis won 230 seats to become the biggest party, but did not have a majority in the Reichstag. Consequently Hitler then demanded to be Chancellor. Hindenburg refused as he didn’t trust Hitler and instead reappointed Von Papen. Hitler was then offered the ‘Vice-Chancellor’s job instead, on the advice of Von Papen but again he refused and waited for the next set of elections. In January 1933, Hitler was finally offered ‘Chancellorship’, Hindenburg and Von Papen foolishly believed that together they could control Hitler.
The depression was another dominating factor that led to Hitler becoming Chancellor. It brought hatred to the Government from the German public and forced them to look towards extreme left and right wing groups.
The Treaty of Versailles provided a convenient scape goat for the Nazis and as a result was blamed, by Hitler, for all of Germany’s problems.
The terrible memories of the problems of 1923 were still fresh in many people’s minds. The people of Germany feared that this poverty and public humiliation could strike again.
To conclude I would state that in my opinion, the strong organisation of the Nazis is what made them dangerous but I believe it is a combination of the living conditions in Germany at the time and the need for a change that made Hitler’s rise possible.
