The most important reason why Hitler was able to come to power in Germany was due to the effects of the depression(TM). How far do you agree with this statement?

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The most important reason why Hitler was able to come to power in Germany was due to the effects of the depression’. How far do you agree with this statement?

In 1920 Hitler seized control of the German Workers Party changing its name to the National Socialist Workers Party; the Nazis. In 1923 he was arrested for attempting to overthrow the Weimar Government, two years later when was released he honed his oratorical skills and worked tirelessly for the advancement of the Nazi party. Advancement was slow throughout 1925 to 1929; however as Wall Street crashed and the American banks demanded their payments, popularity for the Nazi party rose as they promised return to glory for the nation. In 1932 the Nazis one 37.3% of the popular vote and occupied 230 seats in the Reichstag.  By 1933 Adolf Hitler had gained power over Germany. In this essay I will look at how Hitler had gained the support of the German public and whether ‘the most important reason why Hitler was able to come to power in Germany was due to the effects of the depression.’

The weakness of the Weimar Government contributed heavily to Hitler’s rise to power. As Germany sunk further into an economic depression, people became hostile towards the Weimar Republic and blamed them for the economic crisis and their inability to successfully deal with the effects of the depression. As people began to lose faith in the democratic Reichstag and began to look to more extremist parties offering solutions to the problems Germany faced, the Nazis. The Nazis appealed to a widely to the German public, the SA in particular attracted many of the lower class unskilled, unemployed workers. The Nazis appeared to be a strong, well organised party that could offer a solution to Germany’s problems. Hitler was heavily portrayed as a strong leader who could make decisive decisions instead of a weak Weimar government. Hitler exploited the problems of the Reichstag in his propaganda and incorporated them into his policies and offered the German public a vision of a strong government with a strong leader. However the depression also links heavily with the weakness of the Weimar government as before the Wall Street crash and the depression the Reichstag had been fairly successful in maintaining political stability and preventing revolution and beginning to rebuild the German Economy.

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In 1932 the Nazis failed again to get majority seats in the Reichstag. Von Papen who was chancellor at the time could not get the support he needed in the Reichstag. Von Papen was then overthrown by Von Schleicher. In 1933 Hindenburg and Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to replace Von Schleicher with Hitler. With Hitler as chancellor they had the support of the Nazi party, believed they could influence and control him, but they were wrong. Hitler now had control of the Reichstag. This is a fairly important reason as to how Hitler came to power, as without Hindenburg ...

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