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Friday, March 16, 2012
The Rise of National Socialism
Towards the end of the 1920's, just when it seemed the German economy had begun to recover from mass hyper-inflation earlier in the decade, financial disaster struck once more as the American Stock Market Crashed. Germany felt the repercussions of Stock Market Crash especially hard because its economy well-being depended on short-term loans from the United States. Once these loans were recalled, Germany was devastated. Unemployment went from 8.5 percent in 1929 to 14 percent in 1930, to 21.9 percent in 1931, and, at its peak, to 29.9 percent in 1932. It was these conditions in which the Nazis were able to exploit for their own advantage. Skilled Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels launched an intensive media campaign that ceaselessly expounded a few simple notions until even the dullest voter knew Hitler's basic program. The party's program was broad and general enough to appeal to many unemployed people, farmers, white-collar workers, members of the middle class who had been hurt by the Depression or had lost status since the end of World War I, and young people eager to dedicate themselves to nationalist ideals. The party blamed the Treaty of Versailles and reparations for the developing crisis. Nazi propaganda attacked the Weimar political system, the "November criminals," Marxists, internationalists, and Jews. Besides promising a solution to the economic crisis, the Nazi offered the German people a sense of national pride and the promise of restored order.
Such tactics by the Nazis yield great results in the elections that were to come in the first part of the 1930's. Three elections (in September 1930, in July 1932, and in November 1932) were held between the onset of the Depression and Hitler's appointment as chancellor in January 1933.In each the Nazis were able to gain a greater share of Reichstag seats, reaching a point where they outnumber any other party. However it must be noted that the ideas the Nazis put out the German public such as restoring German Prestige in the World Stage, and their hatred of communists, Jews, and other Untermenschen was not by any means new to German Society, as these ideas began to surface before the turn of the 20th century and earlier. It was the masterful job of the Nazis to exploit and magnify these issues to an eager and desperate German population which arguably had gone through more hardships than a couple of previous generations combined that led to votes for the Nazis. Of course it did not hurt the Nazis that they had as Hitler as Führer, the most charismatic and strongest leader since von Bismarck.
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There were many conditions in Germany that allowed the Nazi party to grab power; conditions were perfect, there was animosity toward the Weimar government for its ineffective leadership, its humiliating birth, and its seemingly weak foreign policy as it pertained to the Versailles treaty and occupation of the Ruhr. Likewise, the nazis did indeed appeal to many people as a means to restore the economy (although the long term fiscal decisions of the weimar government may have been the key factors in turning around the German economy, and the timing in Hitlers rise just extremely fortunate, it is heavily debated) and prestige of the German nation by restoring the military to its former glory while knowingly defying the hated Versailles conditions. They certainly stamped out the Communist representation as they achieved power, the means may have been brutal but definitely got results. Hitlers government was legally obtained and supported by many, although maybe not the majority.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an excellent analysis of the conditions that allowed the Nazi Party and Hitler to take power in Germany during the 1930's. The economic situation was so dire, that it was almost impossible for the German people not to turn to extreme measures to assure results, and the Nazis were nothing if not adept at proapaganda and exploitation. Their electoral strategies allowed them to appeal to all segments of the German population at a time when that population was becoming ever more fragmented and polarized. While the other parties appealed to certain voters, the Nazis made their appeal to everyone who thought Germany needed to improve, which was almost everyone. And, as you said, it certainly helped that Hitler was possessed such a magnetic force of personality that could captivate the German public.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful summation of the Nazi rise to power in the 1920s and 30s. If all students were required to read such a piece, we might be able to have more rational and informed discussions about Germany (I once mentioned I was studying German to a guy in my geography class and he replied in all sincerity, “Why are you studying the language of the Nazis?”). The nation certainly had much to atone for after the war, but understanding the pre-war conditions and the skill of such people as Goebbels and Hitler in targeting weaknesses in the German political system and tapping into the general feeling of malaise and discontent is crucial. The Nazis were not elected on the platform of death camps, Einzengruppen, and total war, but on the platform of positive change and renewed national identity and unification — and they demonstrated their ability to actually live up to their platform. After the impotence of Weimar, this was a major selling point.
ReplyDeleteA nice assessment of the appeal of Nazism, especially in light of the weaknesses of Weimar. I especially liked how you pointed out the broad appeal of the Nazis to many segments of Germany's population. As much as we talk about the defeat in WWI and the harshness of the Versailles Treaty, I think it is important to also point out that, as Fritzsche notes, the Nazis won elections largely on the basis of their domestic policies and their seeming difference from traditional, divisive, special interest politics.
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