Hitler's Position In The Nazi Party example essay topic

Discuss the reasons, which led to the failure of parliamentary democracy in Germany and Hitler's rise to power (1920-1934) German history is seen as a 'painful issue for thousands of Germans and other Europeans'. However it has interested many historians over the years into inquiring how and why Hitler came to power and how much of this was to do with the failure of parliamentary democracy in Germany. To fully ascertain to what extent these events have in common and what reasons led to the fall of democracy and rise of the Nazis, each have to be looked at individually. Also it seems beneficial, to be able evaluate these in the relevant context, to look at the situation in Germany was in prior to 1920. In 1919, the treaty of Versailles was signed marking the end of World War One.

Soon after, the Weimar republic was established. It was hoped that this democratic constitution would mark a turning point for Germany. Turning the people of Germany away from the authoritarian style of government they were used to, towards a more stable democracy. Since the German nation was used to being ruled, rather than ruling itself, it was a hard transition to accomplish. Democracy was a new concept within Germany and many people were willing to look to the left and right wings for political leadership. Also World War One had created an unsettling influence on the people of Germany and the establishment of Weimar, with its wish for freedom and democracy hoped to settle this.

In essence Weimar faced many problems from the outset; it had to cope with not only political challenges, but economic problems, structural weaknesses and the legacy of World War One. Weimar had also inherited the ruins of a conquered autocracy, a ruined economy and two ruthlessly anti-democratic political extremes The Weimar Republic did not start on a good footing, since the first president was not democratically elected; instead Friedrich Ebert took the first oath of constitution on Prince Max's command. Some believe that the structure of Weimar was the main reason for its failure. There were many flaws in the constitution, which prohibited it from becoming a western style of democracy. The first thing to look at is how the constitution was established. After World War One, the German people were divided, those to the left believed that they had been lied to and deceived into fighting a war for the upper class.

The Right believed that the revolution of the German people, was the reason why Germany had surrendered. Either way the Weimar republic satisfied neither parties since it didn't completely uproot the conservative elite's, instead the republic was seen to have merely compromised between the supposed two classes; 'run by business men for business men'. Nor did Weimar satisfy the questions of why Germany had surrender even though allied troops had never entered Germany. Since the Weimar Republic was established in the aftermath of World War One, it was almost inevitable that it would be blamed for Germanys surrender and the Treaty of Versailles. The supposed surrender was even harder to accept since in 1918 Germany had signed an armistice with Russia. Weimar was in essence 'brought about by defeat'.

The 'November Criminals' who signed the armistice were always associated with Weimar, thus making it difficult for Weimar to be associated with anything but defeat and humiliation. The war guilt clause was also difficult to accept because it lay all the blame on Germany for starting the First World War. This along with reparations were crippling not only the economy but German society itself The Weimar Republic had a system of proportional representation in elections. This is a method of voting by which political parties are given legislative representation in proportion to their popular vote.

This would allow all parties to be represented, including extremist parties such as the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or Nazis) and the KPD (communists). It would also produce weak coalition government. Since all parties had to support the constitution and democracy in order for Weimar to succeed a huge problem was established since in many parties' eyes, the Republic was an 'unfortunate compromise between representative and plebiscitary ideas'. Proportional representation also produced a degree of political instability and since strength, and image, were considered more important by some than policy and pragmatism, Weimar didn't appeal to some. Weimar had three main parties NSDAP, KPD and the Z Party (otherwise known as the Centre party mainly supported by the catholic population of Germany).

The Centre party was crucial for Weimar to resist extremist parties. This was because neither the Communists or the Nazis had a majority in the Reichstag, however if either party gained the support of the Z party then a majority would be formed. This was especially dangerous due to Article 48. Article 48 was in fact the proof that Germany was unable to accept a full democracy.

Article 48, was intended to be used only in times when security and public order were seriously disrupted or imperilled gave the President far reaching powers verging on 'dictatorial powers'. This undermined the basic principle of democracy and moved more towards an authoritarian regime. This also helped Hitler come to power. The politicians also exploited this clause in the constitution in the Republic. This was because they didn't want to be held responsible for any mistakes that would occur. In 1924 this decree was used 42 times and in 1932 it had been used to create 60 laws.

Germanys lack of democratic tradition meant the production of inexperienced politicians. This was one of the main factors in why people lacked faith in the constitution. The public, for their policies, denounced many politicians. These included people like Matthias Erz berger, who had placed huge taxes on the people of Germany. Also towards the end of the Weimar Republic there were many presidents in quick succession. This created an overwhelming sense of insecurity and instability.

The political intrigues, which surrounded the politicians, were not fully their fault, mainly it was to do with the inability to create a majority in the Reichstag. Henrich Bruning (or the hunger chancellor as he was known by the German people) was a perfect example of this. He used article 48 a vast majority of the time when he was chancellor; this was because he believed it would be almost impossible to gain a majority in government. The successor to Bruning, Franz Von Papen, also found it difficult to gain support in the republic and quickly followed Bruning and resigned in 1932. Kurt Von Schleicher only lasted two months as chancellor before Hitler took the role. However not all politicians lasted for such a short time or did so little.

Gustav Stresseman managed to accomplish many things in his role as chancellor, from the Dawes Plan (1924) and the Locarno Pact (1925) to the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926. Weimar also faced strong opposition from the Left and the Right. Only three direct challenges were made towards the state but the opposition was still there with mass support. The KPD made attack on the state in 1919 in the form of the Separatists revolution.

In 1920 Wolfgang Kapp attacked the state in what was called a putsch, in English a coup or revolution. This failed quite miserably since it had only the support of the Freikorps in Berlin, but little else. The army remained neutral and the banks and civil service out-right refused to co-operate, all three feared the repercussions of being associated with a failed putsch, in the end a general strike put an end to it before it had chance to do anything. Again in 1923 another Putsch occurred, this time headed by Hitler in Munich. Hitler along with 600-armed storm troopers (SA) tried to storm a Bavarian government meeting and take control of Germany that way. After a brief skirmish with the Munich police many fled.

The Munich putsch was too far away from the centre of power in Germany, it was also badly organised and it was only seen as a minority party on the political margins to make much of an impact. However at Hitler's trial it did highlight how the German people sympathise d with his party. It was also gave Hitler an opportunity to gain publicity for the party. Weimar's opposition didn't just come from political parties but also from the only stable institution in Germany, the army. The army didn't trust the republic, this was because many had served in World War One and believed they had never been defeated. The Treaty of Versailles was shown to have done more to destroy Weimar than the economic problems it suffered by its hands.

Germany's economic situation was also a major problem between 1920 and 1934. The treaty of Versailles outlined that Germany had to pay reparations to the Allied but the exact amount was not determined until 1921 when it was set at 132 thousand million gold marks. This put a great strain on the German economy and eventually Germany could not pay the reparations and eased payment. The French and Belgium's did not tolerate this, so they invaded the main industrial area, the Ruhr. This contributed to the hyperinflation of 1923 and the collapse of the Mark, because the German people, against the troops, implemented a policy of non co-operation. Hyperinflation caused massive problems for many of the German people, especially those on fixed incomes such as those on pensions.

However the middle class seemed to be hit hardest because all savings became worthless, because of this the middle class never really forgave Weimar. This caused many to turn to extremist parties for a solution to their economic problems. The prices of items also increased dramatically since the exchange rate became ridiculous. In 1921 the exchange rate for the Mark was 64 to the dollar in 1923 this had increased to 4,200,000,000,000 to the dollar. This was not to be the only economic problem Weimar would face, even though between 1924 to 1929 Gustav Stresseman managed to find a superficial problem to Germany's economic problems through such things as the Dawes plan (a solution to the reparation problem) and the implementation on the new Reichsmark. In 1929 Germany was again plunged into a period of economic instability and depression because of the Wall Street crash.

America economy fell, so they recalled all loans and because Germany was heavily supported by American money, unemployment soared. In 1929 only 1.3 million people were unemployed but by 1932 this had risen to 6 million people. Also the only stable political figure, Stresseman died. This was in fact the beginning of the end for the Weimar Republic because there seemed to be no solution for the present economic collapse of the instability in government.

There are many factors behind Hitler's rise to power, the weaknesses of Weimar playing quite an important role but not the only one. Hitler was a charismatic, strong and decisive leader. Hitler's persona alone was a huge factor in why the Nazis became so popular in Germany. This was because many of the policies of the NSDAP were not much different from other right wing parties, for the NSDAP to stand out they had to be told with tremendous conviction.

Hitler joined the Nazi party in 1919, after only two years in the party he was made leader. The reason for this was that Hitler was a brilliant orator with the ability to speak with such conviction that people believed what he said. He was said to be 'a mass psychologist of really diabolical genius'. (Schacht). This was most evident when he spoke about economic, political or social problems that he believed to have the solution for.

This political astuteness was wasted in the years leading up to his imprisonment. This was because the violent methods, which he championed, scared most German people. Hitler was portrayed as saviour to the German people which produced strong emotional appeal since many wanted a moral renewal of Germany and a return to the stable authoritarian style of government which they were more used to. Nazi ideology managed to appeal to all areas of society 'the young... national fervour or racial prejudice, anti-Communists, small businessmen and farmer. ' All of these different element in society were somewhat ignored by Weimar and the nazi seemed to cater for each section in the 25 point plan of the Nazi party.

Nazi ideology was based mainly on the idea of an Aryan race, but other aims were also included such as German expansion and the creating of a new German community in which all Germans would live under the same jurisdiction. This appealed to many German people because after the Treaty of Versailles they believed that many Germans had been cut off from their 'fatherland'. The Nazis also gave people someone to blame for all the problems the Germans had faced of were facing, the Jewish community. This along with Hitler denunciation of the Treaty of Versailles and the 'November criminal' and his quest to overturn this armistice appealed to many, especially Germans who had served in World War One. In 1932 Hitler's potent message of 'bread and work' also made a huge impact on the people of Germany since the depression had hit Germany very hard and the unemployment figure was huge.

Hitler's public presence and nazi ideology wasn't enough for the German people to fully accept him at the start, especially before 1923. Hitler's violent and anti-democratic views were easily ignored by some. When Hitler was imprisoned for a short time after the failure of the Munich Putsch, the nazi party remained stagnant, with election votes declining in 1924. Hitler was released a far more menacing figure, since his aim now was to destroy Weimar from within and 'work through the constitution he detested'.

Hitler not only had a loyal nazi party behind him and his own private army, the SA, but also the backing of Alfred Hugenberg, a millionaire with 53 papers, all of which were backing the nazi party. This meant that Hitler could get his messages across to a far more reaching audience than before. The depression was the starting point for Hitler's success, with the number of votes the party received increasing dramatically. In 1928 the NSDAP only received 810 votes but in 1930 they received 6,383. One of the reasons for this increase was that Weimar was crumbling and the middle class realised they had to make a choice. A return to what seemed to be a stable authoritarian regime or a communist or socialist government (the KPD and SPD were now securing a vast majority of the votes).

Political intrigues of the time (as outlined above) meant there were more calls for elections. In 1930 the nazi party gained 107 seats and in 1932,230 seats. Hitler's aim to use the weaknesses of Weimar to his advantage had paid off. The Nazi party did not have enough votes for a majority in the Reichstag, however Hindenburg realised the threat that Hitler posed and decided that if he was to be appointed chancellor then there was a chance that he could be contained and controlled. The elderly, ailing Hindenburg also believed that this might be the last chance to make Weimar work, since Hitler had the ability to gain a majority in the Reichstag unlike his predecessors. On the 30th January 1933 Hitler was handed the second highest political office in Germany.

In February 1933, Hitler was able to pass article 48 through the Reichstag, on August 2nd after Hindenburg's death Hitler became F"uh rer. The economic problems, which surrounded Germany since the First World War, contributed a lot towards the downfall of Weimar and the rise of Hitler. This was because whereas Weimar had to produce a viable solution to the economic problems it faced, Hitler only had to propose a solution and make it believable. Hitler also exploited the structural weaknesses Weimar had in his 'desire to achieve and exercise power over others. ' The fact that Weimar was associated with the Treaty of Versailles made it easy for the First World War veteran, Hitler, to point out the 'stab in the back' theory. Hitler also made valuable use of the fact that proportional representation had produced a weak government, which wasn't what the German people wanted.

Article 48 was a major downfall in the constitution because it handed dictatorial powers easily to Hitler. The political intrigues surrounding Hitler also made it easier for Hitler to gain power democratically. The nazi parties popularity appeared to have peaked in 1932. Between the July and November elections the Nazi party lost 34 seats. However the implementation of Schleicher, to attract trade unionists and members of the NSDAP, only succeeded in making Hitler's position in the Nazi party stronger. This was because Schleicher's 'policy of diagonal' only attracted Strasser, for which he was ousted from the Nazi party.

This was Hitler's main opponent in the quest for leadership of the nazi party. The Weimar Republic's demise and Hitler's rise to power are very inter-linked. This can be shown by the static enrollment for the Nazi party when Stresseman brought Germany into the era of the 'golden years'. It could be said that opposition to democracy rose and fell in harmony with movements in prosperity. ' Hitler exploited this with his political astuteness of knowing what and when to promise things in the 'new' Germany. Many reasons for the fall of democracy also link to Hitler's rise of power.

It could be argued that if Weimar had been a stronger constitution then Hitler would not have come to power. However Hitler was an opportunist and I believe that if Weimar had survived Hitler would have found another way to rise to Germany's dictator..