Rise_of_Nazi_Party

Date: 8th Feb. 2011 Nitin Goyal Rise of the Nazi Party M.M. 20 Q) What are the events which led to Hitler becoming the Chancellor' Ans. Since it’s established in 1919 the Weimar Republic had been constantly waning. The Weimar possessed more weaknesses than strengths. The very fact that it was born out of defeat weakened it considerably and other factors like faulty constitution made it absolutely limb by 1933. At this time the German Nationalist Socialist Workers party or The Nazi party was the largest political party in Germany and its leader Adolf Hitler was demanding the chancellorship of the Democratic Republic after the abrupt dismissal of Kurt von Schleicher by President Hindenburg. Shortly after Schleicher’s dismissal Hindenburg gave the Chancellery of the Democratic Republic to Hitler who had sworn to destroy it. The reason behind Hitler’s success was blend of many events. In the 1930 elections the Nazi vote jumped dramatically from 810,000 to 6,409,000 (18.3 per cent of the total vote) and the party received 107 seats in the Reichstag. In the elections of July 1932 the Nazis emerged as the largest political party in Germany, obtaining nearly 14 million votes (37.3 per cent) and 230 seats. Although they fell back in November 1932 to 11 million votes (196 seats), Hitler was helped to power by conservative politicians led by Franz von Papen, who persuaded the reluctant von Hindenburg to nominate him as Reich Chancellor on January 30, 1933. Once in power, Hitler swiftly outmanoeuvred his rivals and was declared Führer in August. When the stock market collapsed in October the 29th, 1929 sent financial markets worldwide into a nightmare. Germany was especially vulnerable since it was built up of mostly loans from America and was very dependent on foreign trade. When those loans suddenly came due and when the world market for German exports dried up, Germany’s industry quickly ground to a halt. As production levels fell, German workers were soon made redundant. Along with this, banks failed throughout Germany. Savings accounts, the result of years of hard work, were instantly wiped out. Inflation soon followed making it hard for families to purchase expensive necessities with devalued money. Overnight, the middle class standard of living so many German families enjoyed was ruined by events outside of Germany, beyond their control. The Great Depression began and they were cast into poverty and deep misery and began looking for a solution, any solution. Adolf Hitler knew his opportunity had arrived. In the times before the Great Depression the Nazi party experienced slow growth, barely reaching 100,000 members in a country of over sixty million. But the Nazi party, despite its tiny size, was a tightly controlled, highly disciplined organization, poised to spring into action. Hitler had changed tactics and playing by the rules of democracy. Hitler had gambled in 1923, attempting to overthrow the young German democracy by force, and lost. Now he was determined to overthrow it legally by getting elected while at the same time building a Nazi government that would one day replace the democracy. The depression was a key factor to the Nazis success. 1932 was an up and down year for the Nazis. Paul von Hindenburg defeated the Nazis at the Elections in March and soon after the Sturm Abteilung is banned. Although in June the Sturm Abteilung was re-instated and the Nazi party begin to rebuild itself. Then, later in July, The Nazi Party won 230 seats in the Reichstag which gave the Nazis confidence to push for the win next election. But Hitler was still angry as he was deemed the ‘2nd President’ although he knew that he was a big step closer to becoming the ruler of Germany. All he had to do now was keep public speaking and release a new wave of propaganda to spur on the German public and twist them into thinking that Hitler and his Nazi party had all the answers. The main reasons for Hitler’s success were ones that not only affected him, but others around him. For example; The Weimar Republic were weak and had little support during the 1900’s so Hitler was able to point out their flaws and say how he could do better. This meant that the public viewed Hitler as very wise. He also used ‘the stab in the back myth’ to run alongside his views. This meant that the public decided that it was un-popular to vote for the Weimar Republic. Hitler’s success was also influence by his organisational skills and public speaking. Hitler was ready to prove himself to any audience at any time. He believed in what he stood for with a passion and this made the people convinced that he was the right way forward for Germany. He also used a lot of propaganda designed to make the opposition look weak, this worked effectively alongside the ‘word-of-mouth’ from the German public. Except this, Hitler’s most important reason for power was his public speaking. He could keep his audience spell-bound for hours, speaking about the key topics that affected them; and what Hitler would do to change it. This key tactic influenced the German public even more than anything else; it proved that Hitler didn’t need to cower behind his government when put up against and audience. This gave him the edge over his rivals. It was mostly Hitler’s skills and a little bit of luck which bought Hitler to power. In the words if William Shirer the author ‘The Rise and fall of The Third Reich’ said that “the Germans imposed the Nazi tyranny on themselves.” They did not realise it then but they learned it in days to come.