The Changing Political fortunes of the Nazi Party
... because it allowed the Nazi party to use the Jewish people as a scapegoat towards the problems faced by the rural Germans. In 1928 the Nazi Party was blessed with external situations which so happened to move in their favour. President Hindenburg made it no secret that he greatly disliked the most popular party, the Social Democrats. He mainly disliked them because they were opposed to the expansion of the German military. Hindenburg with the help of General Kurt von Schleicher came to a decision that the Social Democrats would have to be excluded and that Germany needed governments that had greater authoritarian tendencies. In November 1928 the iron and steel industries located in the Ruhr were paralysed by union and employer disputes. The workers wanted a higher wage, which they were eventually granted however the employers argued that the wages were too high. It was after this incident that the employers sought to circumvent institutions such as the arbitration system, and they therefore backed the idea of an authoritarian government which did not rely on the backing of the Reichstag majority. This is where Hitler was able to attract the all important support from the industrialists who were able to inject funds into the party. This was very important because approximately 70% of the Nazi party support was to come from wealthier socioeconomic groups. Much of the rise in the Nazi Party's success was due to Hitler himself and all his promises. When the Young Plan was proposed and eventually signed the German people were angry because this meant Germany would be paying reparations till the year of 1988. When this was announced, Hitler stated that he would not pay reparations and condemned the Weimar Government's decision to agree to the Plan. On this matter, Hitler found an ally in Alfred Hugenburg, leader of the largest conservative party - the German National People's Party. Hugenburg controlled a sizeable influence on the media, and used this to campaign against the Young Plan and 'The Enslavement of the German People' as they called it. Although this attempt to stop the signing of the controversial document was unsuccessful, Hitler was given national publicity, and was given notoriety as a politician who strongly opposed the constraints set upon Germany after the embarrassing loss in World War One. As resentment over the loss of the war was still rife within Germany, Hitler's stance on the reparations issue gained admiration, and added to his popularity. This situation displayed the Nazi's as a political party with strong leadership, which especially appealed to the German sense of militarism. Although the war was over, the militarism and fondness for military tradition remained strong in Germany. With their processions, military bands, leaflets and sheer energy, the Nazis attracted massive interest and appealed to the soft spot that many Germans had for the Prussian military style, with discipline and pride. The marches, often by the SA (Nazi Storm troopers), had a huge presence and were very impressive. Albert Speer, made the comment: "my mother saw a Storm Trooper parade ... the sight of discipline in a time of chaos, the impression of energy in an atmosphere of universal hopelessness, seems to have won her over also." The sight of these parades was very emotive for some German people, and those who respected the militaristic values that Germany had previously stood for were very supportive of Hitler. The ideal of discipline appealed to many, and although the Nazi Party was quite small, it was a tightly controlled, highly disciplined organisation. This is one reason why the Nazis gained growing support. The opportunity of serving in the SA gave unemployed men the opportunity to at least earn a few pfennigs. In this manner, the Nazis were gaining support from the unemployed who traditionally favoured the socialists and communists. This is also an example of why the Nazis continued to grow in popularity as they were able to attract Germans from the right who appreciated the militarism displayed, whilst also attracting those from the left - unemployed men exciting at the opportunity to do something worthwhile. The rise of the Nazi party is most obvious in the statistical evidence. In May 1924 the Nazi party had 6.5% (1.9Million) votes, however they dropped to a all time low during the period of economic prosperity to about 2.7% (0.87Million). However following the great depression the Nazi parties votes sky-rocketed. In July 1932 they were at 33.1% (11.7Million) and in March 1933 they were at 43.9% (17.3Million). During the initial rise of the Nazi's votes there was also simult...