Nazi Rise to Power The Nazi Party’s rise to power was not simply due to luck. There were many key events and factors involved that were all partly responsible for the Nazis coming of power in 1933. A delicate democracy, an economy in which was crushed to pieces and an mortified people all played into the hands of the Nationalists. Hitler encouraged these theories claiming that he would rebuild Germany and lead his country to glory. The new republic faced crises on a number of fronts, but it was severely handicapped by a new constitution which was based on “proportional representation.” This system of voting meant that often the government was unable to pass laws in the Reichstag. Frequently the Chancellor would discard democracy and fall back on Article 48, which enabled him to rule singly. It was clear that the democracy was not successful, and the government was incapable of ruling the country. The Nazis used the constitutional weaknesses to great advantage, attacking the government and offering themselves as an alternative. The Nationalists could improve on the mess that democracy had made of Germany, they said. There was great appeal in this message for the majority of the population, who were delighted at the thought of restoring their country to greatness. The weakness of the Weimar Republic played a major role in Hitler’s rise to power. By 1923 the majority
of Germans had lost faith in the new democracy. The people were already bitter over the government’s signing the Treaty of Versaille on June 28th 1919. They felt they had been betrayed, or “stabbed in the back” by their government. They reasoned that Germany should not carry the blame for the war, and should have fought on. It was at this point that Hitler struck. On the 9th November 1923 he burst into a Munich beer hall, where Bavarian state politicians were sitting. He stirred up a rebellion which although it was quickly crushed, it gained the Nazis more support ...
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of Germans had lost faith in the new democracy. The people were already bitter over the government’s signing the Treaty of Versaille on June 28th 1919. They felt they had been betrayed, or “stabbed in the back” by their government. They reasoned that Germany should not carry the blame for the war, and should have fought on. It was at this point that Hitler struck. On the 9th November 1923 he burst into a Munich beer hall, where Bavarian state politicians were sitting. He stirred up a rebellion which although it was quickly crushed, it gained the Nazis more support and publicity. The Beer Hall Putsch as it later became known was a short-term failure, but it became a long-term a success. The events of 1923 too, greatly weakened the Republic and created more support for the opposition, the Nazis. It was in 1923 that the Republic had started to fall behind in their reparation payments to France. The French responded by invading the Ruhr, Germany’s most important industrial region and freely taking their payment in the form of raw materials, like coal. Workers adopted a policy of passive resistance. However this meant that Germany left with no goods to trade, and therefore no money to pay their workers. The worsening economy made the republic increasingly unpopular. This was good news for the Nazis who stirred up as much unpopularity and bitterness for the Government as was possible. The plunge in the German economy forced the government to call off the resistance, much to the disgust of the people . However this did not solve Germany[‘s economic problems. The country was still greatly in debt . In desperation, more money was printed, which led to hyperinflation. Businesses closed, unemployment rose, and the middle class saw their savings disappear. The suffering caused by the extreme poverty of the hyperinflation turned people against the Republic. The strengths of the Nazis also helped greatly in Hitler’s coming to power. They were masters of propaganda and used it to create as much fear and hatred of the Communists as possible. Nationalist leaders trained local groups in propaganda skills. They even went so far as to provoke violent confrontations at election meetings which would then be crushed by S.A who could be seen to be dealing with the “communist threat” The Nazis also used their figure head, Hitler to gain popularity. H e was cast as the powerful leader that Germany longed for. Posters were printed which managed to transform this short ugly man-the opposite of the Aryan ideal into Superman He became adept at working the crowds in the many mass rallies that were held all over the country. A further bonus for the Nazis , and a blow for the Republic was the Great Depression. In 1929, the Wall Street Crash was the beginning of a world wide slide into economic depression. This was particularly disastrous for the Weimar Republic and the German economy. American banks recalled their loans, which had supported German industry. Businessmen, farmers ,factory workers all suffered greatly as poverty grew and unemployment rapidly rose. To make matters worse, the Chancellor in an attempt to solve the problem cut wages, raised taxes and reduced unemployment benefit. The Nazis along with other extremist parties claimed they could solve the country’s problems, indicating that the Republic was clearly incapable of doing so. Hitler used this crisis to the best advantage, blaming the Weimar Republic, the Treaty of Versailles, the Marxists and the Jews. He vowed to get rid of the “enemy within” who was destroying Germany. Demonstrations, rallies and vicious battles between Nazi and Communist supporters were frequent. The government was in disarray; the Social Democrats withdrew from the coalition, and the chancellor, yet again, resorted to Article 48. Hitler had proved his point - the government could not govern. The Nazis gained support from powerful factory and business owners, and with that, their financial backing. Industrialists had, by this time, lost faith in the Conservative party and turned to the Nazis. Hitler worked hard to appeal to every sector of society. Workers were promised jobs- Hitler would often point out how the Nazis S.A had taken in the unemployed and fed them-. Employers were promised restored profits, farmers higher prices. All of these factors contributed to rise to power of the Nazis. But so did luck play a part. In 1933 Hitler was simply invited to become Chancellor, by President Hindenburg who had been advised by politcians such as Von Papen that they could control Hitler and rule through him. However Hitler used his position in government to increase his power, and became dictator in 1934, and the Weimar Republic was finally destroyed. However this factor was not entirely responsible for the Nazi rise to power. Mostly it was the failure of the Weimar Republic that caused such a rise in popularity for the Nazis. The events of 1923 were disastrous for the Government, and therefore advantageous for the Nazis. If the Weimar Republic had succeeded in handling the problems that arose and worked well as a democracy, the Nazis would have stood little chance of even winning a fair number of seats in the Reichstag. Yet it is not entirely the fault of the Weimar Republic, that democracy and the Government had failed. The problems that arose were in some cases completely unavoidable. For example, the signing of Treaty could not have been avoided, and the “stab in the back” theory was flawed. The depression too, and the suffering caused was not down to the government. Nazi strengths made best use of the Republic’s downfall, using propaganda to their best advantage and appealing to all areas of society Hitler encouraged all doubt of the Government.. He struck in the time of crisis for the Weimar Republic- the hyperinflation and the invasion of the Ruhr, with the Beer Hall Putsch.
