The Economic Crisis that followed the Wall Street Crash on the 29th October 1929 would see an unparalleled economic slump throughout both the USA and Europe. After years of unprecedented profits and spending, individuals’ private savings evaporated leading to the disappearance of working capital for businesses. The numerous short-term loans that had been made from America to Germany since 1924 were recalled and the export markets that Germany’s economy relied upon disappeared as the economic crisis plunged most of the international markets into a financial depression. The economic slump led to a worldwide rise in unemployment but nowhere was hit as severely as Germany, which saw an increase in unemployment from 9% to 44%, leaving nearly half of the nations entire work force without jobs.
When one considers the drastic effect that the Economic crisis would have had on German society it can be hardly seen as surprising that it would ultimately lead to such equally drastic and immediate effects on their political scene. Germany would be merely one of numerous states whose political leadership would be severely altered from the status quo present prior to the Wall Street Crash. Clearly not all nations turned to parties with ideologies such as those that the Nazis held but neither were their problems so severe nor their current Governments structure so weak. It must be remembered that it was not only the Nazi Party that gained unprecedented support in the years following the Wall Street Crash but the Communist Party also saw similar patterns of growth. As the depression deepened Germany saw a marked rise in those changing their political allegiance to the more radical political groups who offered the ordinary people whose lives lay in ruin some hope for the future. These people, the nucleus of who were made up of self employed businessmen, artisans, retailers, peasant farmers and industrial workers that had previously voted for the other parties, turned to the Nazis in a time of crisis when it seemed radical changes were needed. The socio-economic dislocation caused by the Wall Street Crash seemed to be irreparable by the current Weimar system and the electorate therefore looked for other solutions, solutions that the Nazis seemed to offer.
It is almost certain that the depression would have brought about an upheaval in German politics with or without Hitler, as the similar rise in votes for the Communist Party suggests. However, why was it that the German people opted for the Nazis and not another political party and why did millions of ordinary German citizens find what Hitler said appealing? Certain historians have claimed that the German nation was historically and sociologically different which led them to be predisposed to Nazism. However these claims are essentially racist and can therefore be ignored as such. Other’s have suggested that Hitler’s charismatic appeal, the party’s effective use of propaganda and their youthful and dynamic image were the vital factors in persuading voters to switch allegiance to the NSDAP. However these factors had not previously managed to attract people to vote for the party, albeit in an extremely different socio-economic environment. It therefore becomes apparent that another factor must have been in place, without which Hitler could not have succeeded. It is this vital factor that this essay will now attempt to discuss.
For the five years following the 1923 hyperinflation, the Weimar Republic managed to create a stable economy giving the German public a renewed sense of normality and hope for the future, leaving parties such as the Nazis and the Communists politically contained. Eric Fromm, a social psychologist believes that all humans have certain basic existential needs. He puts these needs as a frame of reference, a sense of rootedness, unity, effectiveness and excitation. While society provides these needs they will not seek radical change. However, all of the above would have been thrown into disarray by the Economic slump and it is therefore natural to assume that the human psyche will looks for ways to repair this. Psychohistorian Gerald Platt suggests that the anxiety at the collapse of socio-political system leads society into a ‘sense-making crisis’, during which time we will attempt to restore the basic needs that Fromm listed. This made the simplistic solutions by the Nazis appealing to the public as a whole. Many would have ignored the ideologies of the Nazi party, perhaps subconsciously, giving an explanation as to how millions of ordinary people could turn to a party who were undemocratic, racist and violent. Indeed, when these Germans flocked to vote for Hitler and his party they had expected a new era of stability and growth, not war and destruction.
In conclusion, it was the ordinary people of Germany that supported Hitler but not necessarily his ideologies. Of course there were some that did hold the same views but these people had been members of the Nazi party long before 1929. To suggest that the millions of ordinary citizens that voted for Hitler would willingly support a regime bent on destruction and world power is surely wrong and as discussed above essentially racist. Instead, they sought a normal, economically stable life, something that the Weimar Republic had failed to give them. Their desire to rediscover the basic human needs that Fromm listed led the people of Germany to unwittingly vote for the Nazis. The Nazis growth was simply a product of events that possibly began with the outbreak of war in 1914 and culminated with the Economic Crash of 1929. The Nazis use of propaganda and Hitler’s demagogic oratory skills simply manipulated the German people into voting for them. They were simply able to take advantage of the situation that Germany had found itself in, persuading people into believing that what lay ahead was the a Thousand Year Reich, not war, destruction and ultimately the loss of 50 million lives.
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