Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 played a vital role in the beginning of World War II. It was caused by a number of long term causes such as the Treaty of Versailles, strategic political activities and the Great Depression. Consequences also occurred as a result of his appointment such as transition from Weimar government to Nazi dictatorship, positive economic improvement, persecution of Jews and other cultural minorities.
CAUSES
The Treaty of Versailles
Indirectly, the Treaty of Versailles was a major long term cause of Hitler’s appointment. The Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 after World War I in an attempt to punish Germany for their actions and restore peace amongst the nations involved. This affected
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Their popularity didn’t begin to take off until around October 1929, soon after the Wall Street Crash began to take its toll on Germany. Prior to the Wall Street Crash, in 1928, the Nazis gained less than 3% of the popular vote. Weimar Germany appeared to be stable,and relatively prosperous. Just four years later the vote for the Nazis had increased to just over 37% of those who voted. At their peak in March 1933, soon after Hitler was appointed chancellor, the Nazis received 44% of the popular vote. From this it is evident that the Nazi Party took advantage of Germany’s crumbling economy and consequent distrust of Weimar Germany to put into place political strategies. 1930 marked the beginnings of Hitler’s colossal campaign throughout Germany, primarily with the use of public meetings, rallies and parades, as well as the strong use of Nazi propaganda. Hitler would travel the country, putting on carefully staged events where he would give speeches in the midst of dramatic processions and performances in venues heavily adorned with propaganda posters and banners. Hitler’s speeches were of mass appeal, promising to provide work to the unemployed, success to failed business people, profits to industry, expansion to the Army, social harmony amongst classes, and restoration of the power that Germany once had. His campaign appealed …show more content…
The Nazis began to spread their racial ideologies very soon after Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933. They believed that Germans were racially superior and that Jews and other minorities were a threat to the survival of the German race. Amongst the persecuted were other minority groups, such as Romani - an ethnic group originating from the Indian subcontinent - Africans, homosexuals and the handicapped. However, Jews, who made up less than 1% of the German population in 1933, were the primary target of the Nazis’ racially provoked hatred. They were unfairly blamed for the country’s economic depression and defeat in World War One. Following Hitler’s appointment as chancellor, laws were passed that declared Jews second-class citizens, segregating them from those of German descent and forcing them out of their jobs. The Nazis either seized Jewish businesses or forced them to be sold at exceptionally low prices. Between 1933 and 1935, laws emerged that allowed Romani, Africans, homosexuals and the handicapped to undergo medical procedures to be sterilized so that they were no longer able to produce children. Between 1933 and 1939, those belonging to minority groups were arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps, so that they were no longer able to partake in society. These concentration camps laid the
Undoubtedly, Nazi popularity placed pressure on government and on President Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor. Their astonishing rise in votes since 810 000 in 1928 to 13.75 million in July 1932 was extraordinary.
Around the time, he was trying to gain support for the Nazi party the mood of Germany was not too particularly great. The depression's effects had hit Germany and its people hard with millions of people losing their jobs. Still fresh in the German people’s minds was the humiliating loss of WWI. Also, people did not like the Weimar Republic government because it agreed to the terms of The Treaty of Versailles. Due to this, the German people lacked confidence in the Weimar Republic. These conditions provided the chance for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his party, the National Socialist German Workers' Party, or the Nazi party. Due to Hitler’s extravagant speeches, he was able to attract many followers to the Nazi party. In the article, it states “Hitler was a powerful and spellbinding speaker who attracted a wide following of Germans desperate for change”, but this quote doesn’t even show how impactful the speeches really were. The article later states that “The party's rise to power was rapid... the Nazis were practically unknown, winning only 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag (German parliament) in elections in 1924. In the 1932 elections, the Nazis won 33 percent of the votes, more than any other
Have you ever wondered what caused World War II? Have you ever heard of the Versailles Treaty? Did you know that the Versailles Treaty was a factor in causing World War II? The Versailles Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, seven and a half months after the fighting in World War I. Which at that time, was known as the great war.
This key appointment allowed Hitler, over the next year and a half, to consolidate power. Another key event was the February 27, 1933 arson attack on the Reichstag building, where the German parliament met. The Nazis blamed communists, and then pressured President Hindenburg to pass an emergency decree which suspended civil liberties and authorized mass arrests of communists, including all of the Communist parliamentary delegates. With them gone and their seats empty, the Nazis gained even more power. This is when hitler started to build his military bigger. He got a company name volks, volks started to produce things like the radio. This was so hitler could start brainwashing his citizens into believing his beliefs. He also banned all foreign radio stations so he could have full control of the media that his people could listen to. With all the economic hardships forced by the German people. Many of which were forced on by the Alice it left the people open for anyone with a plan to better the economy. They were also upset with how they were treated by the Allies as the loser of the war. This left them open to hitler’s ideals and ideas of unity. All the German people in different countries to make a stronger Germany. It also made them want to blame others such as the jews for their problems. In conclusion it was theses issues combined with hitler's drive. That on september 1st 1939
Due to the failure of the Weimar Republic and general public dissatisfaction arising from poor economic conditions exacerbated by the Treaty of Versailles, coupled with the 1929 Wall Street Crash, German citizens were understandably desperate for change. Until this point in time the Nazi party, and Hitler, had been essentially unpopular. However, the economic situation ensured Hitler’s increasing popularity as the people looked toward more extreme but non-communist ideals. The initial consolidation of Nazi power in 1933 arose from key events such as the support of the Nationalist Party with the Nazis to form a coalition government, implementation of the Enabling
Hitler's policies precipitated World War 11, which also led to the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a war that caused the death of six million Jews. After defeat Hitler and his wife Eva Braun had committed suicide. In conclusion, because Hitler was influenced by so many things, it led to so many bad things including
There are many things that the Treaty of Versailles help cause World War II. Economic losses, territory loss, overpowered by size, reparation and war guilt were causes that led to World War II. The Treaty of Versailles brought World War I to an end but began World War II.
During the 1930’s Germany was at an all time low as the worldwide economic depression hit Germany hard. The confidence in Germany from the people was lacking due to the fresh memory of their defeat in World War I. This caused great need of a new leader, someone who could give the people change, and Adolf Hitler knew he could do just that. His rapid rise to power began when he started to promise things that intrigued the German people. He promised the hopeless and needy a better life, and promised opportunities that were exactly what the people needed. This caught the attention of so many young unemployed and middle class people. His party, known as the Nazi Party, won 33 percent of the votes in the 1932 elections. And by January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor, which was the head of the German government. Germany started to feel like they might've found the leader they'd been so desperate for.
Due to Germany taking back the colonies lost after World War I and forming an alliance with Austria, Germany’s actions against the Treaty of Versailles contributed to the cause of World War II. After Germany got slapped with a $33 Billion dollar war reparation bill and Kaiser Wilhelm was removed from power, Germany was a mess, which allowed the rise of Hitler. Hitler, being a former Iron Cross winning
Even though Germany was left in a period of struggle and economic weakness after WW1, Adolf Hitler would take a stand by creating a party that would help refine the structure of the economy. This party, when abbreviated, was called Nazi, would also create harsh laws and unrelentless punishment. Due to the Nazi party’s quick growth, there was an immediate impact on lifestyle and politics for the people of Germany. The long term impact brought forth by the consequences or legacy of the Nazi party included a population decrease and an increase in deaths. To make both of these impacts, Hitler had to overcome many hard challenges.
ding to M Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust, Party) (Rise of the NaziHeafner 2 The Nazi Party began building a mass movement, From 27,000 members in 1925, the Party grew to 8,000 in 1929 Hitler was able to gain 8 thousand people in less than 5 years, A you can see, it wasn't hard for Hitler to receive what he wanted. He was able to work his way through every little problem Hence achieving what he set out for Dominance, Germany's government remained on the brink of collapse. The SA brownshirts, about 400,000 strong, were a part of daily street violence. The economy was still in crisis. In the election of July 1932, the Nazi Party won 37% of the Reichstag seats, thanks to a massive propaganda campaign. For the next six months, the most powerful German leaders were embroiled in a series of desperate political maneuverings. Ultimately, these major players severely underestimated Hitlers political abilities, (Rise of the Nazi Party) Soon after they received 37%, president Paul died. Germany was now in Hitlers palm. Hitler mainly started with Germanys youth, at this time many looked at Hitler as if he were a
In 1933 a horrible dictator started his rise to power in Germany, and would eventually be the main cause of World War II. There were many causes of World War II, but Adolf Hitler was the main cause over all. The war lasted six long drawn out years. World War II started on September 1, 1933 and ended on May 8, 1945 with Germany’s defeat. Adolf Hitler played a key role in World War II because he started the war, his anger stemmed from his early life, he rose to power with his plans ready, and made many decisions throughout the war, but in the end his plans failed.
The Effect of the Great Depression on Hitler's Power There is no simple answer as to why Hitler became chancellor in January 1933. There are a number of causal factors which all contributed to his rise into power. Any of the factors, on its own, however, would not have resulted in his appointment. They are all linked in a web of causation and if any of the factors were missing, Hitler would not have been appointed chancellor. Of the factors I would say that the Great Depression was the most important.
Despite the issues around Hitler and his army, the Nazi party gained a lot of support in the Reichstag elections during the Depression years as many people looked to extremist parties for answers to Germany’s economic problems.
Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler to Chancellor of Germany, 30 January 1933, there were specific legal measures that took place the following twenty months following Hitler’s appointment. The suspension of most citizens’ rights following the Reichstag fire, 27 February 1933, is one of many examples. The day after the Reichstag fire, President von Hindenburg suspended most of German citizens’ rights with the emergency powers in the Weimar Constitution, article 48 to be exact. This would allow for the arrest of Communists and other political adversaries, as well as allow the SA to terrorize other electors before the upcoming election.