His oratory skills along with his personality and leadership skills were also other contributing factors. At the putsch, in the 1920s, he made himself a household name by giving long speeches at his trial. He was still determined to get people to see his point of view and encourage people to support him, which is a classic example of how strong his personality was. Then, after the putsch, still determined, he used his strong leadership skills to reorganise the party for when another disaster came. This was to take as strong an advantage of a possible forthcoming cataclysm as possible.
Hitler had put a representative in every area of the country in time for the 1930s’ depression; this was an example of effective leadership. Along with Hitler, these representatives persuaded people that they needed one strong leader, namely Hitler, in other words, a dictator. During his time before his power, he demonstrated his strength as a leader whom would not be manipulated. One of the best ways he proved this was when he was appointed Chancellor of Germany. The appointers, Hindenburg and Von Papen, thought Hitler could be controlled, however, they were wrong and he quickly seized power.
Another way he used the depression was through making long and passionate speeches about what was wrong with Germany, the depression, and how he could make it better. He was a very persuasive talker whom used lots of clever techniques. He used to turn up a few minutes late for his talks so people would become anticipant. People were so taken in by him due to the power of his speeches and felt strongly inclined to vote for him.
As is shown with the examples given, Hitler made use of his personality, leadership and oratory skills numerous times in the lead-up to him becoming Chancellor. Sometimes in the 1920s during the Munich Putsch and sometimes during the depression in the 1930s. The time that these skills were used was over a decade so the cause must be long-term.
The final long-term cause was the Munich Putsch. It made him realise that he had to take power legally – evidently, force ends you up in jail. Because he was changing his plan from illegally to legally, reorganisation of the Nazi party was necessary. Also the way in which he cleverly utilised his trial allowed him to publicise his views and made him a household name. Armed with publicity and new and better ideas on how to structure his party, he had a much better chance of getting into power.
When the depression starts he remembers that taking power by force will not work so instead he conducts a strong non-violent propaganda campaign making use of his personality, leadership and oratory skills. People also remember him and his ideas, which helps because he does not have to so much to get himself noticed; also it’s human nature to favour a familiar face over someone whom you have not met.
This is a long-term cause because he used what he learnt from it throughout his rise to power. Every time he decided to plan a demonstration, he remembered that it had to be done abiding all applicable laws so as not to be arrested.
All these long-term causes are vital in Hitler’s rise to power and without any of these long-term causes, the chances are he would not have become as successful as he was.
Short-term causes also helped him come to power. The three short-term causes were the Depression (1930s), The Actions of Von Papen and Hindenburg (November 1932 – 30th January 1933) and the Enabling Law (March 1933).
The depression in the 1930s caused a lot of anger and unemployment. People turned to extremist parties whom seemed to offer the best solutions and give the most powerful ways to resolve the problems. Their ideas were so popular because of this and many of them promised to get rid of the infamous Treaty of Versailles.
The most popular of all these leaders of these extremist parties was Adolph Hitler. His promises were as follows:
A policy of anticommunism won the industrialists’ favour because there was a fear that communism would spread westwards from the USSR, which would be their worst nightmare. A communist government would nationalise all their companies thus making them poorer (because they would lose their main source of income) – Germany was in a state of despair as it was because it was suffering after having unexpectedly paid back all its loans from the USA; the money you did have was very valuable.
Anti-Semitism (in other words, anti-Judaism) was another popular policy because Jews were professed as the cause of all of Germany’s problems – much like the BNP claiming that Islam is the cause of all the current terrorism in Britain. People were taken in by this idea so they voted for a party which would remove the Jews from German society and make the Jews’ lives unbearably miserable if they chose to remain. Hitler adopted this policy so people voted from him.
With these political ideologies, Hitler pretty much appealed to everybody, so as a result many people decided to vote for his party. However, he never had enough votes to become Chancellor: at his height, in July 1932, he had 230 seats, insufficient for the majority of the control. He only got to where he was by appointment.
The depression was a short-term cause because it only helped him when it was going on and not afterwards. As soon as it happened, it helped him immediately.
As aforementioned, Hitler only gained power by appointment. The men who appointed him were ex-Chancellor Von Papen and President Hindenburg. Von Papen, who also had insufficient votes to be Chancellor, and Hindenburg wanted Hitler to be deputy. He refused because he wanted to be Chancellor. He got his way as the two men thought that he could be controlled. In January 1933, he became Chancellor and only two months afterwards he passed the Enabling Law.
This was a short-term cause because it led to him immediately gaining power. As soon as he was appointed he was one step closer to acquiring total control (legally, of course).
The Enabling Law, passed on March 23rd 1933, gave him the power to pass any law that he liked. Basically, it meant that rather than being Chancellor, he was now Fuhrer (dictator) of Germany.
This was the final short-term cause and probably the most important one of them all because it was the thing that gave him total power and didn’t just contribute to it like all the other causes did. Without Hitler passing it, he would just be a normal democratic leader, which is not what he wanted.
It was a short-term cause because it helped him instantaneously gain power. If the Enabling Law was a government law passed that he could use over a long period of time to gain control then it would be long-term. However, seeing as the moment this law was passed he had control of Germany, it was short-term.
To conclude, Hitler used many a thing to acquire dictatorship over Germany. Sometimes he used events that happened many years ago, namely the Treaty of Versailles and sometimes things that had just happened, namely the things that Von Papen and Hindenburg did. He needed long-term causes to get him in the public eye and to help people remember him and short-term causes to give him quick rises in power and authority, or the chance of obtaining these. Both of these, though, helped him to obtain control and begin the Second World War.
Question Three
There were numerous reasons why Hitler came to power. They were the Treaty of Versailles (June 1919), The Munich Putsch (November 1923), The Depression (1930s), The Actions of Von Papen and Hindenburg (November 1932 - 30th January 1933), the Enabling Law (March 1933) and Hitler’s Personality, Leadership and Oratory Skills.
The Treaty of Versailles instantly gave him a reason to set-up the Nazi party because he thought people would vote for him if he had a strong policy. Most people in Germany were against the treaty so promising to destroy it should, in theory, quickly make him popular.
He could also use the treaty to make the government look weak, saying that they have been giving in and “stabbing their country in the back”. If the opinion of the government is that it is weak, then people will be less inclined to vote for them and choose another party, which promises to solve the problems; one of these parties was Hitler’s Nazi party.
Immediately, the treaty also gave him a focus all the way through his rise to power. He claimed that everything was the treaty’s fault and it’s the cause of many problems in Germany. He made it his mission to destroy the treaty and made long speeches about doing so. His oratory skills helped him in persuading people that this was the cause.
The treaty made Hitler himself very angry and lead to illegal revolts such as the Munich Putsch. A putsch is an attempt to overthrow the government by force and this one happened in Munich.
During this, Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, tried to seize power by marching into Munich expecting the police to support him in overthrowing the government. He chose the 8th November 1923 because people were fed-up with the government struggling with hyperinflation and the French occupation of the Ruhr so he was under the impression that all of Germany, including members of the Bavarian State Government, would help him.
He was wrong. The police killed 16 Nazis and Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison. He utilised his trial to publicise his views and criticise the government. This worked and it got him very well known.
He was released after nine months, equipped with some publicity and the knowledge that power would have to be obtained legally. He also organised his views into a book, which became very popular. It was entitled “Mein Kampf”, German for “My Struggle” and was released in July 1925.
Overall, the experience made him very popular and well-known. He was seen as a strong and determined leader as he could have easily given up after the failed putsch. His trial, in which he promoted his views, made use of his strong oratory skills, thus persuading people to see his side of the current situation.
This event would help him not only then in the 1920s but a decade later in the 1930s when the depression hit Germany. At that time Hitler remembered the lessons that he had learnt from the putsch and decided to seek power legally. He had since reorganised the Nazi Party in preparation for another big disaster. This helped him make the most of a bad situation. People had also remembered him and his policies from the putsch because of the publicity he received from the trial. In this desperate situation they were prepared to vote for an extremist party if they promised to sort things out, which they did; also, people like someone whom they already know and recognise.
As you can see, a great deal of leadership was required during this putsch and the events that followed it. He needed a determined personality to lead and carry out the putsch; he needed to be able to speak very well and be persuasive in order to make as much use of his trial as he could. All of these three skills Hitler had and used effectively.
At the putsch, in the 1920s, he made himself a household name by giving long speeches at his trial. He was still determined to get people to see his point of view and encourage them to support him, which is a classic example of how strong his personality was. Then, after the putsch, still determined, he used his strong leadership skills to reorganise the party for when another disaster came. This was to take as strong an advantage of a possible forthcoming cataclysm as possible.
Hitler had put a representative in every area of the country in time for the 1930s’ depression; this was an example of effective leadership. Along with Hitler, these representatives persuaded people that they needed one strong leader, namely Hitler, in other words, a dictator. It would take a lot of good oratory skills to persuade someone that dictatorship is a good idea but these people were very desperate and they would resort to anyone if they thought that they could offer them a way out of their traumatic situation. The suffering that resulted from the 1930s’ depression was the event that Hitler said that he could get them out of; these skills proved very useful during this time.
The depression in the 1930s caused a lot of anger and unemployment. People turned to extremist parties whom seemed to offer the best solutions and give the most powerful ways to resolve the problems. Their ideas were so popular because of this and many of them promised to get rid of the infamous Treaty of Versailles, which they blamed as the depression’s main cause.
The most popular of all these leaders of these extremist parties was Adolph Hitler. His promises were as follows:
A policy of anticommunism won the industrialists’ favour because there was a fear that communism would spread westwards from the USSR, which would be their worst nightmare. A communist government would nationalise all their companies thus making them poorer (because they would lose their main source of income) – Germany was in a state of despair as it was because it was suffering after having unexpectedly paid back all its loans from the USA; the money you did have was very valuable.
Anti-Semitism (in other words, anti-Judaism) was another popular policy because Jews were professed as the cause of all of Germany’s problems – much like the BNP claiming that Islam is the cause of all the current terrorism in Britain. People were taken in by this idea so they voted for a party which would remove the Jews from German society and make the Jews’ lives unbearably miserable if they chose to remain. Hitler adopted this policy so people voted from him.
With these political ideologies, Hitler pretty much appealed to everybody, so as a result many people decided to vote for his party. However, he never had enough votes to become Chancellor: at his height, in July 1932, he had 230 seats, insufficient for the majority of the control. He only got to where he was by appointment.
The men who appointed him were ex-Chancellor Von Papen and President Hindenburg. Von Papen, who also had insufficient votes to be Chancellor, and Hindenburg wanted Hitler to be deputy. He refused because he wanted to be Chancellor. He got his way as the two men thought that he could be controlled. In January 1933, he became Chancellor and only two months afterwards he passed the Enabling Law.
These people put him in a position of power, which he abused. He could pass any law he wanted now. One of the laws he chose to pass was the Enabling Law, which made him dictator.
The Enabling Law, passed on March 23rd 1933, gave him the power to pass any law that he liked. Basically, it meant that rather than being Chancellor, he was now Fuhrer (dictator) of Germany and could rule without the German Parliament (the Reichstag). The formal term for this law was the “Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich” (Law to remedy the distress of the people and the state).
I think that the most important of these six causes was the Actions of Von Papen and Hindenburg. Had they not made him Chancellor, he would have not have been able to pass his own laws, including the Enabling Law, which made him the supreme leader of Germany. All the other campaign work he did: touring the country giving speeches, promises to resolve the depression and to destroying the treaty, although it did help somewhat, didn’t get him voted into power because he was appointed. That being said, the Treaty of Versailles, the depression amongst other causes won him the support of the German people, which is invaluable if you want to become or are a leader.
