Even though the Weimar Republic had many failures, some better things were accomplished too;
In 1924, Streseman was appointed as Chancellor, this was a popular decision as Streseman was popular in the Reichstag. He was very effective in the recovery of the republic. He called off passive resistance and restarted the reparations payments. He also managed to start the economic 1ecovery by introducing the new currency of the Rentenmark. Streseman was also responsible for negotiating the Dawes Plan which allowed Germany to spread their reparations over a longer period of time. Germany also received a loan of 800 million marks.
Although the Republic had not fully recovered, they were thriving culturally. The capital, Berlin, became the centre of various new art movements. They were also leading the way for other cultural activities such as cinema, philosophy and architecture. This was allowed to happen due to the fact that there was no censorship to stop these movements from happening.
Diplomatically, Streseman also re-introduced Germany into Europe, with Locarno in 1925, and in 1926 they finally entered the League of Nations.
There was also the Locarno treaty of 1925 the German foreign minister Gustav Stresemann proposed that France, Germany and Belgium should recognize as permanent their frontiers that was agreed at Versailles. This included the promise not to send German troops into the Rhineland and the acceptance that Alsace-Lorraine was permantely part of France. The French foreign minister, Aristide Briand, agreed with Stressemann's proposals and signed the treaty. This treaty allowed Germany to join the league and re-establish itself in European affairs. In 1929 the Young plan was signed this and this causes the allied forces to pull out of the Rhineland.
The Weimar republic secured the Dawes plan which gave 800 million marks to the Germans from the USA, this allowed the Germans to start repaying their reparations bills and spread their payments over a longer period. Many would say this is simply fixing a mess that they got themselves into (hyperinflation) therefore cannot be looked upon as a success however there are historians who argue that the Weimar government instigated hyperinflation in order to receive these loans and re-build their economy. An illustration of the re-growth of the German economy was that by 1928 industrial production had surpassed pre-war levels.
With the Weimar republic being a democratic state it meant that there was no censorship this sparked an explosion of creativity e.g. the Bauhaus movement and the German Expressionists (e.g. George Grosz). This broadened German horizons and people were pleased as it gave them the freedom to express themselves without being persecuted by the state.
In difficult times like these, the people carve for something secure and trustworthy. Hitler’s propaganda was due to this very effective.
The Nazis became adept at propaganda. Hitler emphasized its importance and established the principles on which it should be based. Propaganda must be addressed to the masses and not to the intellectuals. Its function was to call the attention of the masses to certain facts, not to educate them. Since the masses were influenced more by emotions than by reason, propaganda must be aimed primarily at the emotions. Given the limited intelligence of the masses, propaganda had to focus on constant repetition of a few basic ideas, eventually establishing these ideas as truths in the minds of the masses. In addition, mass meetings were psychologically important in creating support for a movement. They offered a sense of community, gave meaning to life, and created the emotional effects that gave people strong convictions. The party’s propaganda did not promise the people the sky and the stars, simply what they craved; lebensraum, bread and work.
Hitler's party also adapted their message and methods to include-based on the intended audience-planned opportunism, the Reichstag fire preceding the January 30, 1933 election, coarse antisemitism, mostly avoided in non-antisemitic regions, and stormtrooper violence, where welcomed.
Whether Hitler actually had that much of an influence over the politics in Germany at that time, or if he was just the official leader and a popular face for the public to rely on, has always been discussed by historians. Important to be said is that he did not do this alone, and that he had basically the whole country, and many others holding his back;
The man responsible for putting Hitler's principles into practice was Joseph Goebbels, the master propagandist of the Third Reich.
Due to this effective propaganda, he gained a lot of voters, but it was not just the working class who did. Many Protestants had voted for Hitler, the Protestant Church pastors were successful in the Nazi election speaking and they were also popular, The Church also supported some of the Nazi ideas like the military emphasis. Evidence confirms that the Protestants and the upper middle class provided the impetus for Hitler's rise to power. Examining 1928 to 1933 voting records of fourteen of Germany's thirty largest cities, as well as rural districts, facts can be presented to support this statement.
Many capitalist, rich businessmen saw their new chances and supported Hitler, thinking that they will gain something out of it themselves. They supported therefor Hitler also financially.
Although it should be said, that many actually voted more against the then existing Weimar Republic, than for The Nazi Party, voting for Hitler.
The Nazi Party went relatively fast from a small scale party, to getting almost a majority of the votes.
Hitler had in August 1932, 37% of the votes, in November only 33%. He persuaded therefor President Hindenburg to appoint him. Hindenburd did not want to appoint Hitler, but changed his mind in January, thinking that the Right Winged could use some of the Nazi’s popular support and he also felt that he could controll Hitler. Von Papen is also known for preparing the way for Hitler's appointment to the post of the Reichskanzler and that he actively helped Nazis in their seizure of power. Von Papen and Hitler were introduced by Kurt von Schroeder. On this meeting Hitler and Von Papen decided that von Papen will be the vice chancellor, and Hitler the chancellor. Although von Papens plan was only to later take advantage of the Nazi’s power, but this failed terribly when he was sent to Austria during "Nacht der langen Messer" that many of his co-workers were killed.
The Reichwehr-Army, that later changed it’s name to Wehrmacht, had a huge role in Germany. The whole Nazi regime was later built upon the thoughts of militarism, and that it comes in first hand. It gave a lot of people an occupation, therefor was it later essential
Schleicher was one of the most important people in the Reichwehr-Army, and can now afterwards be thought of as the most authorative voice it. He played an integral, though shadowy, role in the life of the Weimar Republic. He emerged quickly from a nobody to major-general, with a lot of helo from of General Wilhelm Groener, instructor at the War Academy. Schleicher supervised the most elaborate intelligence network in Berlin. He maintained spies in every ministry, he tapped telephones and he came to know every secret worth knowing. He also knew, from his days as a military information officer during the war, how to manipulate the press through leaks and insinuations and off-the-record briefings. Reporters found that Schleicher was a good source of information. Schleicher told them only what he wanted them to know.
Of course, entire of Germany was not filled with Nazism supporting voters and politicians.
Gregor Strasser, was even though he was a part of the Nazi party, actually more of a leftist. He had the nearly the same influence over things as Hitler. Gregor Strasser had different high positions within his party, but decided to give up politics after he had failed to convince Hitler to join in a coalition government. He was shot "Nacht der langen Messer". His brother was Otto Strasser, who formed with other “leftist” from the Nazi party, the party “Die Schwarzes Front”. Otto Strasser continued trying to fight Hitler, but when Hitler had reached the power, Otto Strasser fled the country. After all of this had happened there was, officially and politically, no one fighting against Adolf Hitler.
The conditions which enabled Hitler to rise to power coincide with Germany’s failure in all different ways. The people felt unfairly treated, and their economic and social situation was unacceptable. Propaganda opened up their eyes for new possibilities ax well as their need to anyhow return to progressive lines. These conditions include Germany’s political deal making after WW1, the horrific situation of the republic at the time, and the increase in popularity of the Nazi power due to all of these above; lead to a lethal victory for Adolf Hitler.
