Rise of The Nazi Party
...languages they know. They therefore fail to exploit all the literature to their benefit and many times miss out on many important works in foreign languages, sometimes even repeating them. But as always, we are only human and try to use our resources to the best of our abilities. It is with this in mind that I want to turn our discussion and focus on the events after World War I. As Theodore Abel points out there are two main events after World War I that would cause chaos in Germany and lead to the rise of the Nazis ; the revolution of November 1918 and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. These would cause greater hardships for the Germans then they could imagine. These two events that occurred during the Weimar republic angered the masses and led to much strife within the nation. The Treaty being signed by the democratic government made the Germans feel as though their war efforts were pointless. By signing the Treaty, Germany became a lower class country in the minds of the people. Many relate how after fighting in the war and seeing the revolution they never wanted to be part of those people again. As one soldier relates “Young as I was, I determined I should never have anything to do with these people” . These two significant events had great implication on society. These sentiments alone though would not have brought about the rise of the Nazi party, because at this time in the early 20’s the Nazi were still a small movement. These events though, started the beginning of tumultuous years that would cause hatred toward the Weimar republic and lead eventually to their downfall. The economic crisis in the early 20’s in Germany caused many to lose their jobs, and many more to go hungry. In order to pay what Germany owed in reparations from World War I, the government decided to print a greater amount of currency. This led to super-inflation where one-dollar American went from being relatively equal to being worth 4 million marks in 1923 . This hyperinflation mixed with the depression caused great unemployment and stress on the German public. Between the years of 1928 – 1932 the number of unemployed tripled to just over 6 million people . This would paint the picture of Germany in the 1920’s that would allow the rise of the Nazi’s. Let’s now change our focus and take a closer look at the Nazi party. The Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler rose to power mainly by their strategies, and political activity, coupled with external factors in which Germany found herself, both economically and socially. In a period when a nation was looking for leadership and stability, the Nazi’s seem to offer that and more. The Nazis rise to power however, did not happen overnight and would not achieve success its first time around. One of the main reasons Hitler joined the National Socialist party was because it was so poor in ideology, and leadership. Hitler felt that he could mold the party into his own personal party, achieving his goals without starting completely from scratch . In the beginning the Nazis failed to gain appeal of the public. They were just another party in the political arena vowing for spots in parliament. It was only after Hitler spent minimal time in jail after the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 that his fame grew. In his short prison term he wrote his monumental work Mein Kampf. This book would later become the ideological framework for the Nazi party. In a time when life was difficult, and nothing seemed to be going right, people were looking for some type of savior. Ironically, most people saw this in Hitler and his ideas. Although many disregarded his views of the jews, and many even strongly opposed them, many Germans felt that for the time it was their best solution. As one Germans relates “Hitler for many of us was the savior from economic and social disaster, the unifier of the German people, the man who was restoring its honor abroad….” As another German tells of his astonishment at Hitler’s popularity “… [A]nd is firmly convinced that no harm whatsoever will come to educated Jews in Germany” . This conviction, along with the feeling of great accomplishments that Hitler was bringing and restoring to the German Nation, downplayed most people’s belief that anything bad would come about. What though was the appeal to the Nazi’s? Sure they were offering a nationalistic view, but so were many other political parties at the time. Besides having the right ideas at the right time, it was the Nazi’s party led by Hitler’s personal touch that gained the parties approval that they sought. Theodore Abel writes about the appeal that Hitler tried to achieve from each social class. There is an argument among historians as to which social class were the nazi’s biggest followers. Historians such as Richard F. Hamilton claim it was the lower-middle class while others like Clifford Levin claims it was more the rural farmers and lower class . It seems though that Hitler tried to appeal to all classes, as can be seen from the Nazi Propaganda. As one German relates how the Nazi party promised to be “all things to all men” .Jesse G Delia argues how historians give little credit to the advanced methodology of propaganda used in the in Third Reich. In his article he formulates a precise method used by the Nazi’s in order to win favor of the public. It was a complex system using propaganda, showing the importance of the swastika, the uniforms, getting the participation of the public and finally by speech. Hitler in this fashion so cleverly won appeal . This system seemed to have worked based on the several testimonies of Germans who joined the Nazi Party after going to a Nazi meeting. Hitler himself wrote on countless occasions in Mein Kampf how to indoctrinate the public and how to win them over. The type of propaganda used and the methods involved to implement them were definitely a big reason that a party like the Nazi could rise up in uniquely in Germany. Albert Speer for example puts forth the theory that the advancement of technology, with the use of the loudspeaker allowed the Nazi Party to control the minds of the masses and gain there acceptance. As opposed to earlier days when people thought independently, or at least a struggle was made to get peoples attention, with the loud speaker, all these problems were solved. As Speer writes “people were deprived of independent thought” . The uniqueness of the party’s ideology and propaganda coupled with a heroic type leader that Hitler was made the Nazi’s a favorite in Germany. Hitler over time with the help of his party would eventually take control of Germany. It was mainly Adolf Hitler though that allowed for the Nazi’s success. In a country where people were used to a monarchy, one person ruling the country, after the failure of the Weimar republic they saw Hitler as the natural successor and even their savior. Many people write how they were attracted to the Nazi party because of Hitler alone, and didn’t care for much of the other policies or protocols. Many were even against certain policies but chose the party anyways because of what it offered. In the time that Hitler was in power he re-acclaimed full freedom for Germany, absolved the Treaty of Versailles, stabilizing the economy and gaining political ground with foreign countries ....