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What caused the Nazi rise to power?
Nazi failure before 1929:
The Nazis did not have much success before 1929 because:
The economy The Weimar economy recovered well after hyperinflation. Stresemann's policies
were a success and life improved for many Germans. This made Germans less attracted to the
Tactics In the early 1920s, the Nazis were trying to seize power by force. This was difficult
because they were a small party and did not have the support of the army.
Ban on the Nazis After the Munich Putsch, the Nazi Party was banned. While Hitler was in
prison, the party split and lost many members.
Between 1929-1933 this all changed. The Nazi Party succeeded and the Weimar Republic failed because
of SIX factors:
Factor 1 Hitler
Hitler was the Nazi Party's biggest strength, because:
Speaking Hitler was an excellent speaker, who could capture the support of his audiences
Campaigning Hitler flew all over Germany during election campaigns in order to give as many
speeches as possible
Tactics Hitler changed Nazi tactics from seizing power by force to winning power in elections. He
reorganised the Nazi Party in 1925 and set up branches all over Germany, with different sections
(for students, teachers, farmers and young people) to attract members.
Strong leadership Germans liked Hitler's image as a strong leader, because this is what they
had been used to under the Kaiser.
Factor 2 The Depression 1929-1933
The Depression was an economic crisis which hit Germany hard, mainly because it already big debts
(reparations payments) and big loans (the Dawes Plan)
What was life like in the Depression?
Businesses closed down
Unemployment went up as workers lost their jobs
Wages went down for those workers who still had jobs
Poverty increased as people struggled to feed their families
Farmers fell into even greater debt
What impact did the Depression have on the Weimar government?
To solve the Depression, the Weimar government raised taxes, cut wages and reduced benefits.
These policies made the Weimar government very unpopular with the German people.
The German people began to support extreme parties who promised to solve the Depression.
These included the Nazis and the Communists.
Factor 3 Propaganda
The Nazis used propaganda skilfully during the election campaigns:
They used it to stir hatred against the Communists
They beat up Communists to show how tough they were at dealing with the Communist threat
They emphasised how the way that Hitler and other Nazis had almost died for Germany during the
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Factor 4 Nazi ideas and promises
The Nazis offered many different promises to groups in Germany:
Higher prices for farm goods this appealed to farmers, who were in debt
Anti-Communism The Nazis promised to deal with the Communists. This appealed to middle
and upper-class Germans, who worried the Communists would take their businesses and wealth if
they won power
Anti-Semitism The Nazis blamed Jews for Germany's problems.…read more