How and Why Hitler and the Nazis Came to Power in Germany Essay example

After Germany’s humiliating defeat in World War I, Germans had little faith in their government, and in the early 1930s following the stock market crash in New York, Germany was economically struggling . Millions of people were out of work due to the world wide catastrophe making it an opportune time for Hitler and the Nazis to rise into power. Hitler, who was a powerful and spellbinding speaker, attracted Germans desperate for change. He promised to make Germany a better country and promised the disenchanted, a better life. Nazis appealed especially to the youth, unemployed, and members of the lower to middle class. Hitler’s rise to power seemed instantaneous. Before the economic depression, Nazis were virtually unknown, winning less than 3 percent of the vote to the Reichstag, which was the German Parliament. However, in the 1924 elections, the Nazis won a whopping 33 percent of the votes which was more than any other party. In January of 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor, the head of German Government . The Germans were convinced that they had found a savior for the Nation. The timing of his rise made it very easy for Hitler to gain power in a democratic government because people were hopeless and wanted a fast solution to the deficit. He promised things like a stronger economy, prosperity, and anything that they desired . He focused on first getting noticed and then grew from there. He didn’t say anything but what the people wanted to hear. Getting the people of Germany to trust him was how he started to gain so much control. Unfortunately, Hitler’s charm and persuasion was not the sole reason why Hitler gained so much power in a democratic

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.

One of the main factors in Hitler’s rise to power was the Economic Depression of 1929. After the Wall Street crash, the U.S. called in its loans to Germany thus increasing both poverty and unemployment levels. The Weimar government did not understand how to reverse the situation so the general public became angry and lost confidence in the relatively new democratic system. During a depression, political trends become extremist and so the Nazis flourished; Hitler offered both a scapegoat and himself as a strong leader to look up to. The depression gave Hitler the edge he needed to gain ninety-five[1] seats in the Reichstag and ultimately progress from the leader of a minority party to the Dictator of the Third Reich.

In 1871 the nation of Germany formed under the 2nd Reich. Soon after this German nation would begin rivaling the superpowers in Europe of the time. By the beginning of the 20th century, Germany under the leadership of its kaiser would challenge the British Empire for the top power in Europe. In 1914 Germany would throw its self into a war which would end in chaos for its people. The following years after brought hardships that would strike the new Weimar Republic, creating a breading ground for extremists groups. These extremist groups came from both ends of the political spectrum, and were able to push their ideas based on the fears of the middle and upper class, and the strife of the down and out working class. The party that would

World War I led to the deaths of over 70 million people in Europe, and destroyed the already weak infrastructure left from the imperialist age of the 19th century. During this time of rebuilding, Germany turned to people they believed would help them rebuild. The people who would rebuild would also destroy the freedoms of the German people through their aggressive takeover. This takeover by the German National Socialist Party, dubbed the Nazi Party by Bavarians, was defined for the brutality and the totalitarian government by which it ruled. So the question is, how did they take over? How did a party made from the hands of but 5 people manage to conquer all of Germany during the 1930s? This is due to the harsh stipulations enforced by the post-war efforts of the allied powers and the following collapse of many European countries.

When The First World War finally ended on November 11th 1918; Germany were labelled the losers. It was a terrible time however it was very good for extremist parties as people living extreme conditions are more likely to listen to extreme ideas. The Nazi’s were extremes with their leader Adolf Hitler. Hitler's rise to power can’t be pin pointed down to one event but many including; Germany’s economic state, the main factor, that Hitler was a charismatic man and The Treaty of Versailles. Hitler used all these factors to his advantage which meant finally in 1933 he become Chancellor.

In 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor of Europe, and at the same time threw not only Europe, but the world as a whole into chaos.In the text “1933 Hitler Comes to Power” by Patricia Smith, Adolf Hitler abused his power as chancellor of Europe and declared war against the United States. He refused to accept and follow the Treaty of Versailles and promised food and jobs or Germans. Hitler also began to exterminate “undesirables” who were seen as inferior or enemies of Germany and the citizens of Germany. Political and economical conditions as well as worsening conditions for “undesirables” ignited Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror following World War I.

After the loss of World War 1, Germany was crippled and severely punished. During the 1920’s, Adolf Hitler (WW1 veteran) started spouting about these bizarre ideas. Germany was desperate; he seemed like their only hope to get out of this mess. People took to Hitler because Hitler assured them he would get them out of debt, which he successfully did. The Nazi party was then formed and gained a mass amount of popularity amongst the German population. The Nazi party at first received only 3% of the vote at the Reichstag in 1924, and in the 1932 elections; Hitler received 33%, more than anyone else and was the new Chancellor of Germany. The German people were cheerful; they believed Hitler their savior (“Hitler Comes to Power. Ushmm.org”).

When introduced to Hitler, the citizens of Germany were intrigued by him, as he promised to stabilize and secure the country. The rise of Hitler’s power can be seen as the result of dreadful events in history. To a large extent, the most important factor that led to Hitler’s rise to power was the Great Depression due to the fact that Germany was facing severe economic difficulties and most of the citizens were suffering as a result of the economy. However, it can be argued that the Treaty of Versailles also played an important role in Hitler’s rise to power.

The Great Depression in the United States of America caused a rise in Nazi votes (“Hitler Comes to Power”). Although the Great Depression occurred in the United States, it impacted Germany because of the Dawes Plan in 1924. The Dawes Plan allowed the United States of America to fund the rebuilding of Germany after the war. The United States funded the German rebuilding so Germany could repay France and Britain. Once France and Britain were repaid, they could then repay the United States. When the United States economy plummeted during the Great Depression so did Germany’s because they weren’t receiving money from the United States anymore (Palmoski). As business began failing the Nazis gained power (“Hitler Comes to Power in Germany”). The conditions in which Germany was left after World War I allowed Hitler to seize power. Germany’s economy and infrastructure were damaged and Hitler showed promise to fix it. The Weimar Republic was weak, which gave Hitler a chance to change it (“Hitler Comes to Power”). The Weimar was weakened because of the stock market crash in 1929 (Darby). The Beer Hall Putsch gave Hitler the necessary push to use against the current government. Hitler blamed the government for the economic crisis. He used this to his advantage and introduced dictatorship with this

Before Adolf Hitler came into power, Germany was a suffering country. Going through the Great Depression in 1929, Germany was struggling with one in three Germans unemployed and needed another option to turn to for help, this became Hitler’s chance. Another factor that contributed to Hitler’s rise to power was the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was unhappy with the Treaty of Versailles at the time because it included loss of land and humiliated the Germans, and Hitler promised to rid of this and change Germany for the better.

Germany's economic problems were a crucial factor in the Nazi rise to power. During the late 1920's the Nazi party had very little appeal to the normal German people and the ideologies and dogma that the Nazi party was based upon did not attract support from any specific group within the masses. This was shown by the poor results of the 1927 when the Nazi party won only 1 seat in the Reichstag. But this all changed once the world-wide depression struck in late 1929 when Wall Street collapsed thus causing worldwide economies to shatter .The depression of 1929 created poverty and unemployment, which made people angry with the Weimar government. People lost confidence in the democratic system and turned towards the extremist political parties

The depression caused a fear of communist uprising, but the Nazis very quickly swooped in and diffused the ‘communist bomb’. The parties popularity prior to the depression was not great, but once the depression became more apparent, so did there power. Hitler was able to take advantage of a country that was emotionally, politically and socially unstable. Besides the depression the Nazi use of fear tactics was another reason as to why they gained so many supporters. The people were afraid of the SA and their enforcement of violence upon anybody who dared oppose the German ideology. The depression, combined with fear assisted Hitler in his appointment to chancellor in 1933.

With this Hitler turned Germany into a totalitarian state known as Nazi Germany controlling the minds of the people and what they believed. Hitler, with the Enabling Act took control of the education system which was the foundation of his Nazi Germany. “Hitler emphasised the great importance of children.” (alpha history, n.d). With Hitler taking control of the education system the children were far more likely to believe in Nazi rule, and therefore he controlled the next generation of soldiers and mothers. Economic policies that were put in place included having a military corps known as the SS or Gestapo. Although the majority of the population never came into direct contact with the Gestapo there was enough publicity of them to scare people out of speaking there mind against Hitler or disobeying Nazi rule. The Gestapo were also in control of controlling the “pure Germans”

He had extreme views and the Germans were extremely hopeless from the conditions mentioned. Therefore, the Germans supported Hitler assisting his rise to power. Furthermore, Hitler was influenced by his own opinions and interpretations. Leading him to build a strong nation full of hatred for Jews, leading to more unspeakable actions. Economically speaking, German's suffrage started from Germany's loss in World War 1 allowing Hitler to point the finger at Jews and accuse them of being the reason for the loss. Socially speaking, communism was on uproar and extreme approaches to these problematic situations only felt right for the Germans. Hitler proposed to Germans a better nation in their time of vulnerability and they were passionate to bring their nation back to normal. Politically speaking Germany's economy needed a leader and saw Hitler as a man who promised a better future for the Germans. Therefore, the Germans followed his leadership and became a nation of Communism. Aiding Hitlers and the Nazi Party the rise to