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Hitler's Appointment

Decent Essays

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 …show more content…

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

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