How did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany by January

1933?The formation of the Weimar Republic

Up until the end of World War One Germany had been run by a Kaiser (pretty much the same as a King or Emperor). The Kaiser had complete control, he had a government but they only made recommendations to him, Germany was not a democracy. The Kaiser also took personal charge of the army and did not allow freedom of the press so even when Germany began to lose the war, they were still convinced that they were winning! When it came time for Germany to surrender the Kaiser abdicated and fled to Holland leaving Germany without a leader in 1918.

What was life like in Germany in 1918?

Due to his refusal to accept his defeat the Kaiser abdicated and ran away to Holland.

Due to the blockade there was a fuel shortage which led to a very unpleasant winter.

Germany was all but defeated in WWI, no one in Germany knew this though.

As Germany had been blockaded by her enemies and food was needed for the soldiers many in Germany were starving.

Due to malnutrition many in Germany died from the Spanish flu epidemic which swept across Europe in 1918.

The Weimar Republic

After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and a new democratic government of Germany was declared in February 1919 at the small town of Weimar, hense the name. It was too dangerous to make a declaration in Berlin where there had just been a revolt by a Communist group called the Spartacists. The Weimar Republic was a genuine attempt to create a perfect democratic country. It is a republic as there is no king or queen as head of state.

The structure of the Weimar Republic

A small selection of political parties in the Weimar Republic

Left wing parties

Centre/ democratic

parties

Right wing parties

Communist PartySpartacists

Social Democrats (SPD)Centre Party (ZP)Democratic Party (DDP)

People’s Party (DVP)Nationalists (DNVP)Nazi Party (NSDAP)

The Weimar Republic was seen by many as a perfect democracy. The constitution (set of rules by which the country is run) ensured that the country was very democratic however, it came at a cost.

Strengths of Weimar Constitution Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution

A Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law.

All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote. This was even better than Britain where only women over 30 could vote.

Proportional representation - instead of voting for an MP, like we do in Britain, Weimar Germans voted for a party. Each party was then allocated seats in the Reichstag exactly reflecting (proportional' to) the number of people who had voted for it. This sounds fair, but in practice it was a disaster it resulted in dozens of tiny parties, with no party strong enough to get a majority, and, therefore, no government to get its laws passed in the Reichstag. This was a major weakness of the

There was an elected president and an elected Reichstag (parliament).

The Reichstag made the laws and appointed the government, which had to do what the Reichstag wanted.

Republic. Article 48 - this said that, in an emergency, the

president did not need the agreement of the Reichstag, but could issue decrees. The problem with this was that it did not say what an emergency was, and in the end, it turned out to be a back door that Hitler used to take power legally.

Early problems facing the Weimar Republic

Rebellions against the new government

Several groups believed that they should be running the country rather than those who had been democratically elected.

In March 1920, there was a rebellion - the Kapp Putsch - that aimed to set up a new government as the rebels were angry at them for signing the Treaty of Versailles.

Nationalist terror groups assassinated 356 government politicians. Many of the people in Germany were communists, who wanted to bring in a

Russian-style communist government. There were a number of communist uprisings. For instance, in 1919 the Spartacists rebelled in Berlin.

Germany between 1918 and 1919 was in chaos. People were starving, the Kaiser had fled and people hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals. Bands of soldiers called Freikorps refused to disband and formed private armies. It was not a good start for the Republic.

The Treaty of Versailles

When the Germans heard about the Treaty of Versailles, they felt ‘pain and anger’. They felt it was unfair. It was a 'Diktat' – an IMPOSED settlement. They had not been allowed to take part in the talks – they had just been told to sign.

The Germans hated Clause 231; they said they were not to blame for the war. The soldier sent to sign the Treaty refused to sign it – ‘To say such a thing would be a lie,’ he said. Clause 231 did not physically harm Germany, but it hurt Germany's pride - and it was this, as much as anything else, that made them want to overturn the treaty. The Germans hated reparations of 6.6 billion; they said France and Britain were trying to starve their children to death. At first they refused to pay, and only started paying after France and Britain invaded Germany (January 1921). The Germans hated their tiny army. They said they were helpless against other countries. At first they refused to reduce the army, and the sailors sank the fleet, rather than hand it over. The Germans also hated the loss of territory. Germany lost a tenth of its land - they claimed that the treaty was simply an attempt to destroy their economy. Other nations were given self-determination – but the Treaty forced Germans to live in other countries. Germans were also angry that they could not unite with the Austrian Germans.

Early Nazi Party

In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined a small right-wing group called the German Workers' Party. He took over as its leader, and changed its name to the National Socialists (Nazis). Hitler spoke at many rallies, introduced the Swastika and organised gangs of Freikorps into the SA (Brown shirts) to protect the Nazi Party. The party developed a 25-Point Programme, which included a variety of points including:

The union of Germany and Austria to form a ‘Greater Germany. Scrapping the Treaty of Versailles. Limiting citizenship and voting rights to those of pure blood. (No Jews

allowed)

A strong, centralised government to ensure that these conditions and others were met.

Hyperinflation crisis

The Weimar government's main crisis occurred in 1923, when the Germans failed to make a reparations payment on time, which set off a train of events that included:

a French invasion of the Ruhr a general strike runaway inflation – hyperinflation (money became worthless) Mass unemployment People lost faith in the main parties of the Weimar Government as they failed

to resolve the situation.

Munich Putsch

In the aftermath of the hyperinflation crisis the Nazi Party received an increase in support (largely due to the perceived failings of the government). Hitler believed that he could take power by organising a rebellion in Munich which would then set in motion a chain reaction of rebellions across Germany. On the night of 8 November 1923, Hitler and 600 storm troopers burst into a meeting that Kahr and Lossow were holding at the local Beer Hall. Waving a gun at them, Hitler forced them to agree to rebel - and then let them go home. The SA took over the army headquarters and the offices of the local newspaper. However, the Putsch failed and Hitler was arrested. However, his arrest had huge benefits for Hitler. Especially how he used his trial.

Hitler used his trial as a platform to share his goals and grievances with a wider audience.

There was lots of media coverage of the trial which brought Hitler to a wider audience outside Bavaria.

Hitler realised that to destroy democracy, he would have to be elected into power.

Hitler spent his time in prison writing Mein Kampf which set out his vision for Germany and his role within that.

Hitler realise that to have political success the Nazi Party would have to grow, so deals were made to merge with other right wing parties.

Mein Kampf

While in prison Hitler wrote his book, Mein Kampf in which he developed his Nazi programme. His ideas included:

Lebensraum: To expand the territorial boarders of Germany in eastern Europe to create a ‘Greater Germany’ in which all German speaking peoples could be united.

Anti-Communism: Hitler blamed left wing politicians for the failure in World War one and Germany’s current problems. Linked in to the existing ‘stabbed in the back’ and ‘November Criminals’ labels which had been thrown at the government since it’s creation.

Anti-Semitism: Jews were anti-German and responsible in some way for all problems in society. To make Germany great again all Jews had to be eliminated from Germany.

The Aryan race: That those of the ‘pure’ German race (Aryans) were racially superior to other inferior races such as the Jews and Slavs (people of eastern Europe)

Need to be democratically elected: the realisation that Hitler could only gain power in Germany by being elected into the government he so hated. Only then could he destroy democracy.

How did Germany recover?

Stressemann and the Dawes and Young plans

In 1923, the Weimar Republic was on the verge of collapse, but, surprisingly, the crisis was the start of a period of stability and success. The period 1923-1929 was a time when the economy boomed and cultural life flourished in Germany. This dramatic turnabout happened because Germany was saved by two people - Gustav Stresemann and Charles Dawes.

Gustav Stresemann had been a nationalist, but he realised that something needed to be done to save Germany. Stresemann organised a huge coalition government which could make laws. Under Stresemann's guidance, the government called off the strike, persuaded the French to leave the Ruhr and

even got the rest of the world to allow Germany to join the League of Nations ( the predecessor to the United Nations we have today) in 1926. Stresemann also introduced reforms to help ordinary people such as job centres,

Charles Dawes was the US budget director. In 1923, he was sent to Europe to sort out Germany's economy. Under his advice, the German Reichsbank was reformed and the old money was called in and burned. This ended the hyperinflation. Dawes also arranged the Dawes Plan with Stresemann, which gave Germany longer to pay reparations. Most importantly, Dawes agreed to America lending Germany 800 million gold marks, which kick-started the German economy. In 1929 the Young Plan reduced the amount Germany had to pay off in total and the amount they had to pay each year.

Consequences of economic growth under Stressemann

People had jobs, culture flourished and people regained faith in the government. Consequently there was less support for extreme political parties like the Nazis, who lost a lot of support during this period of prosperity.

The impact of the Wall Street Crash

On 24th October 1929 the Wall Street Crash occurred, or in other words the New York Stock Exchange or Money Market on Wall Street collapsed. The U.S.A. demanded back all the money it had lent to Germany. German industrial production slumped and workers were made redundant. Many lost their homes and lived on the streets.

The Weimar Republic was devastated by Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and the Great Depression that followed. The Crash had a devastating impact on the American economy but because America had propped up the Weimar Republic with huge loans in 1924 (the Dawes Plan) and in 1929 (the Young Plan), what happened to the American economy had to impact the Weimar Republic's economy. Both plans had loaned Weimar money to prop up the country’s economy - especially after the experiences of hyperinflation in 1923. Now America needed those loans back to assist her faltering economy. Stresemann had died in 1929, but shortly before he died even he admitted that the German economy was a lot more fragile than some would have liked to accept.

After the Wall Street Crash, America gave Germany 90 days to start to re-pay money loaned to her. No other world power had the money to give Germany cash injections. Britain and France were still recovering from the First World War and the Wall Street Crash was to have an impact on industrial Britain. Stalin’s Russia was still in a desperate state and embarking on the 5 year plans. Therefore, an impoverished Weimar Germany could only call on America for help and she was effectively bankrupt by the end of 1929 and quite incapable of lending money.

Companies throughout Germany - though primarily in the industrial zones such as the Ruhr - went bankrupt and workers were laid off in their millions. Unemployment affected nearly every German family just 6 years after the last major economic disaster - hyperinflation - had hit Weimar. Most, though not all, of the unemployed were male. These men were almost certainly family men who could see no way ahead with regards to providing for their families. Money was required for food, heating a home, clothes etc. With no obvious end to their plight under the Weimar regime, it is not surprising that those who saw no end to their troubles turned to the more extreme political parties in Germany - the Nazi and Communist Parties.

How did Hitler become Chancellor in January 1933?

Hitler’s rise to Chancellor happened due to a plethora of reasons. The Acronym L.I.M.P. P.A.P.E.R is a good way to remember these reasons. REMEMBER if you get a 12 mark question asking you whether one reason was the most important for Hitler becoming Chancellor it wants you to discuss that one and several others before reaching a judgement!

Long term Bitterness

Deep anger about the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles created an underlying bitterness to which Hitler’s viciousness and expansionism appealed, so they gave Hitler support.

When the Germans heard about the Treaty of Versailles, they felt ‘pain and anger’. They felt it was unfair. It was a 'Diktat' – an IMPOSED settlement. They had not been allowed to take part in the talks – they had just been told to

sign. Many Germans wanted to refuse to sign the treaty; some even suggested that they start the war again. So it was with great difficulty that the President got the Reichstag to agree to sign the treaty, and the imperious way the two German representatives were treated when they were forced to sign made things worse. The Germans hated Clause 231; they said they were not to blame for the war. The soldier sent to sign the Treaty refused to sign it – ‘To say such a thing would be a lie,’ he said. Clause 231 did not physically harm Germany, but it hurt Germany's pride - and it was this, as much as anything else, that made them want to overturn the treaty.

The Germans hated reparations; they said France and Britain were trying to starve their children to death. At first they refused to pay, and only started paying after France and Britain invaded Germany (January 1921). The Germans hated their tiny army. They said they were helpless against other countries. At first they refused to reduce the army, and the sailors sank the fleet, rather than hand it over. The Germans also hated the loss of territory. Germany lost a tenth of its land - they claimed that the treaty was simply an attempt to destroy their economy. Other nations were given self-determination – but the Treaty forced Germans to live in other countries. Germans were also angry that they could not unite with the Austrian Germans.

Ineffective Constitution

The Weimar Constitution did not create a strong government: Article 48 of the constitution gave the President sole power in ‘times of emergency’ – something he took often. The system of proportional voting led to 28 parties. This made it virtually impossible to establish a majority in the Reichstag, and led to frequent changes in the government. During 1919-33, there were twenty separate coalition governments and the longest government lasted only two years. This political chaos caused many to lose faith in the new democratic system. The German states had too much power and often ignored the government.

The Army, led by the right-wing General Hans von Seeckt, was not fully under the government’s control. It failed to support government during the Kapp

Putsch or the crisis of 1923. Many government officials – especially judges – were right-wing and wanted to destroy the government. After the Kapp Putsch, 700 rebels were tried for treason; only 1 went to prison. After the Munich Putsch, Hitler went to prison for only 9 months where he wrote his manifesto

Money

The financial support of wealthy businessmen gave Hitler the money to run his propaganda and election campaigns.

Many industrials bankrolled the Nazis, including allegedly:· Hjalmar Schacht, Head of the Reichsbank, organised fund-raising parties for Hitler. · Fritz von Thyssen, the German steel businessman · Alfred Krupp, the owner of Krupp steel firm · Emil Kirdorf, the coal businessman · IG Faben, the German chemicals firm, gave half the funds for the 1933 elections · The German car firm Opel (a subsidiary of General Motors)· Schroeder Bank – on Jan. 3, 1933, Reinhard Schroeder met Hitler and asked him to form a government. And many foreign firms including: · Henry Ford of Ford Motors. Hitler borrowed passages from Ford's book The International Jew to use in Mein Kampf and had a picture of Ford on the wall of his office.

Propaganda

During the years 1929-33 the Nazis increased their support through propaganda. Held many rallies, displayed banners and posters in prominent places so that the Nazis appeared to be everywhere. Goebbels ensured that

the Nazi message was simple and regularly repeated, on the radio and in the 120 weekly and daily newspapers that the Nazis owned and were read by hundreds of thousands of Germans. ‘Arbeit und Brot’

Propaganda on this scale was only possible due to the massive financial backing that the Nazis received from rich industrialists scared of communism, and National Party leader Alfred Hugenberg who allowed from pro-Nazi/anti Weimar articles to be ran in his newspapers. The success of the propaganda was evident from the results of the 1932 presidential election. Hitler stood against Hindenburg, Hitler flew around the country campaigning, Hindenburg did not. Hindenburg won after two rounds of voting (19.36 million to Hitler’s 13.42 million)

Programme

The Nazis grew out of a small right-wing party, which Hitler took over after 1919. He developed a Twenty-Five Point Programme based on hatred, and built up a paramilitary group (the SA) to defend his meetings and attack other parties.

The Nazis appealed to a wide range of people, but especially the 'middling' sort of people, and the party grew rapidly in the years of crisis 1919-1923.

After the disaster of the Munich Putsch, and during the prosperity of the Stresemann years, however, support for the Nazis fell. During this time Hitler believed that he could be elected to power. He used these years to develop and strengthen the party's organisation. After the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923, Hitler was sent to Landsberg jail. There he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) advocating:

• National Socialism – loyalty to Germany, racial purity, equality and state control of the economy.

• Racism – the triumph of the Aryan race by armed force, because all races, especially the Jews, were inferior to the Aryan (pure German) ‘Master Race’.

• Lebensraum – to expand into Poland and Russia to get ‘Living Space’.

• Strong Government – complete obedience to the Führer.

Attacks on other parties.

The name Sturmabteilung (storm troopers/SA) was first used in late 1921 when it was led by Captain Pfeiffer von Salomon. Because speaking in public was potentially a dangerous matter when politics was concerned, the original task of the SA was to protect Hitler as such events usually attracted the Communists and frequently ended in violence and disorder. This played into Hitler’s hands as many members of the SA were from the old German Army and knew how to cope during such incidents. When fights broke out the Weimar police appeared powerless and law and order was usually restored by the SA. This gave Hitler the lever he needed to claim that the Weimar regime lacked leadership and power while he was the one person who could restore Germany to law and order.

Ironically, it was members of the SA who frequently were at the front of breakages of the law. However, their seeming power on the streets and their charismatic leader attracted more to the SA and its numbers grew and grew. Their original uniform came from old custom officials uniforms that were no longer needed and they were not brown. The uniform most associated with the SA was designed later and the cost of providing the rapidly expanding SA with such a uniform pushed the financial capability of the party to the limit.

The Storm troopers attacked Jews and people who opposed Hitler. Many opponents kept quiet simply because they were scared of being murdered – and, if they were, the judges simply let the Storm troopers go free.

Personal Qualities

Hitler represented the strong singular leadership that many Germans wanted, rather than the democracy they had been offered since the abdication of the Kaiser.

At times of desperation and high unemployment, Nazis offered clear solutions to the problems of the German people. Also Nazi message was clear, simple, and often repeated.

Hitler was a brilliant speaker, and his eyes had a peculiar power over people. He was a good organiser and politician. He was a driven, unstable man, who believed that he had been called by God to become dictator of Germany and rule the world. This kept him going when other people might have given up. His self-belief persuaded people to believe in him.

Use of uniforms and military styling appealed to many as it showed a structure and organisation that many felt that Germany lacked.

Economic Problems (Wall Street Crash/Great Depression)

Wall Street Crash in America led to high unemployment in Germany. By 1932 6 million unemployed and the government had failed to resolve situation making many people lose faith in the Weimar Government and turn to more desperate solutions.

Working class begin to look to Nazis and Communists as they offer clear and simple solutions to their problem. Rich industrialists and the middle classes are scared of communism so many put their support behind Nazis, including financial support which could be used to finance the propaganda campaigns that persuaded the working class to vote Nazi.

Massive propaganda campaign delivering simple message, and all the chaos seemed to prove Hitler’s point that strong, singular leadership was what Germany needed. In 1928 election Nazis won 2.6% of seats. By 1932 the Nazis won37.3% of seats.

Recruited by Hindenburg.

In November 1932 elections the Nazis again failed to get a majority of seats in the Reichstag. Their share of the vote fell – from 230 seats to only 196. Hitler contemplated suicide. But then he was rescued by Hindenburg. Franz von Papen (a friend of Hindenburg) was Chancellor, but he could not get enough support in the Reichstag. Hindenburg and von Papen were having to govern by emergency decree under Article 48 of the Constitution. They offered Hitler the post of vice-Chancellor if he promised to support them. Hitler refused – he demanded to be made Chancellor. So Von Papen and Hindenburg took a risk. On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor. He thought he could control Hitler – how wrong he was. In the end, Hitler did not TAKE power at all – he was given it.

How did Hitler move from Chancellor of a democracy, to Fuhrer

of a dictatorship?

(aka how did Hitler consolidate power?)

How did the Reichstag Fire help Hitler to consolidate power?!?!?

Hitler became Chancellor on 30th January 1933 and called for a new election on 5th March 1933 as he did not want to work with other parties. Reichstag was burned down one week before these elections, and blamed on a communist found at the scene. (Marinus van der Lubbe) Hitler used this as an excuse for a massive propaganda campaign against the Communists, suggesting they wanted to destroy democracy.

In the run up to the election Hitler managed to convince Hindenburg to pass the ‘Decree for the Protection of People and State’ which gave Hitler the power to round up political opposition (particularly Communists) under the guise of them being a threat to democracy. Non Nazis were unable to hold meetings in run up to election, other constitutional freedoms such as freedom of speech were taken also. Consequently, the Nazis won 43.9% of vote in March 1933 election.

How did the Enabling Act help Hitler to consolidate power?!?!?

Despite having combining with National Party to gain a majority in Reichstag, Hitler needed two thirds of the seats to make the changes to the Constitution that he wanted. Enabling Bill would give Hitler full governmental powers for next four years. In the vote` for the bill communist members were not allowed to vote, the SA was used to intimidate politicians as they entered the building. Also, Hitler gains support of Catholic centre party by promising not to interfere with Catholic schools. Law was passed, 444 votes to 94.

Effectively the end of democracy and regarded as the foundation stone of the Third Reich. Leads to suspension of civil liberties, control of media, censorship, and the implementation of Gleichschaltung.

How did banning political parties and trade unions help Hitler to consolidate power?

2nd May 1933 trade unions were banned and replaced by the DAF. Trade Unions could have organised workers resistance against the Nazis through strike actions, this was now not possible as strikes were banned.

After the Social Democrat Party had its assets seized all other parties disbanded voluntarily. Law Against the Formation of Political Parties passed on 14th July 1933 made Nazi party the only legal political party in Germany. In an election later in 1933 the Nazis won 95.2% of the votes.

How did the Night of Long Knives help Hitler to consolidate power?!?!?

The SA had grown in number to nearly two million, compared to the 100,000 of the German army. Army felt threatened by Rohm, who wanted the army incorporated into his SA. Many in the SA were working class and held socialist views. (Wealth should be redistributed to the poor). Rohm had TOO MUCH POWER. Rohm and others were homosexuals. Hitler wanted the support of the German army to make his rule legitimate.

At 3am on 30th June 1934, hundreds of regional SA leaders – and Rohm – were arrested on Hitler’s orders, taken to prison, and shot dead. The murders were committed by Hitler’s own black-shirted SS guards, who were fiercely loyal to him. Removed a major source of opposition, sealed the support of the German Army, Hitler showed how he would deal with threats to his power.

How did the death of Hindenburg help Hitler to consolidate power?!?!?

Last threat to Hitler’s power was President Hindenburg who was old and frail. In August 1934 Hindenburg died (of natural causes). Hitler held a referendum on 19th August to get public backing and 90% of the voters supported his becoming the ‘Fuhrer’. Hitler now combined his role with that of President and became Commander-in-Chief of the army.