Why was Hitler able to become chancellor of Germany in 1933?

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Why was Hitler able to become chancellor of Germany in 1933?

On 30th January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany and Von Papen descended himself to a vice-chancellor position. There was political scheming between the leaders which allowed Hitler to become chancellor. There were factors that helped the Nazis and Hitler to gain recognition and come to power. Some factors were long-term reasons such as the Treaty of Versailles which indirectly helped Hitler to become chancellor because the Weimar Government could not cope with the reparations payments. The weaknesses of the Weimar Republic is another long term reason playing a huge part giving the Nazis opportunities to take action and persuading people to vote for them. Some were short term factors such as the Wall Street Crash which led to a depression. This essay will look at how Hitler achieved his chancellor ship.

Germany was never governed by a strong leader who kept serious issues under control. The three main leaders Ebert, Hindenburg, and Stresemann all had problems. Ebert could not deliver his promises because he had to form coalitions and had to agree with the people who joined. Hindenburg was not a good politician; he was 84 years old and was controlled by army leaders and business men. The best leader was Stresemann who was respected within and outside Germany. He died, however, before having a big effect. Without a strong leader and a weak government made German citizens turn to more extreme groups.

The Treaty of Versailles is one of the factors that helped Hitler to become chancellor. The Germans were disgusted by this treaty, devastated and felt bitter at the total sum that had to be paid and accept the war guilt clause. At the end of the year 1922 no reparations had been paid by Germany. This led to a terrible economic crisis caused by the occupation of the Ruhr a (key industrial area of Germany) by the French and Belgian troops. In order to try to pay the reparations, Germany started to print money and it led to a hyper-inflation. The inflation mainly affected the middle class people. They had lost faith in the government after they lost all their savings.  

This inflation suggested that the government was weak and could not cope with the serious debts. This was an important factor as it showed that Germany was in a crisis and needed a strong leader who disagreed with the Treaty of Versailles and would abolish it.

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Adolf Hitler was a good leader who commanded respect. He was an articulate speaker and could move his audience. He was in the army during the First World War and importantly, shared the German people’s hatred of the Treaty of Versailles.

The first drastic measure that Hitler and his SA took, to try to become nationally recognised, was the Beer Hall Putsch in the same year as the hyper-inflation of 1923. The putsch backfired as Hitler was sentenced to prison. Prison was where Hitler reflected the past and realised that he would have to change tactics and ...

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This is a very comprehensive response that is well written and persuasive. Although there could be more examples used in places, it covers all major factors and explains how they link together well.