Support Of Many Germans example essay topic

Reasons for the increasing support given to NSDAP by the German people in the period 1923-1936. The NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), who were in the early 1920's, "a small and not particularly distinctive element in the multifarious and fragmented German movement" had become by 1936 the ruling organisation of German society. There were many factors influencing the German mass support to swing towards the party during 1923-36. In the face of economic turmoil, the overbearing influence of foreign countries on their Fatherland and the inability of presiding governments in dealing with crisis, the German people lived in national outrage and desperation.

These feelings were further heightened by events such as the French invasion of the Ruhr, hyperinflation, and the depression. The period's lack of continuity and lack of progressive change under the Weimar Republic had caused Germany's people to lose confidence in their country's future and they began to believe that under the Republic, Germany will never be able emerge from the chaos to it's rightful position in the world stage. In the background of such social turmoil, the ruthlessly opportunistic Nazi leadership began accumulating support as a result of desperate people searching for desperate solutions. Willing to use any situation to their own advantage they portrayed themselves as the only solution to Germany's problems. No where else to turn, the people began giving their support to the NSDAP.

In addition to the social conditions of post-war Germany, the party's well-organised and closely controlled nature, enabling strong and enthusiastic following behind the leadership was also an important factor in drawing public support, and so was Hitler's extraordinary gift for speech making, which the Nazis used to the highest possible advantage. Later after 1933 with the Nazis in power, support was maintained through aggressive propaganda, which made much of Hitler's domestic, and foreign policy successes. Although the achievements of the Nazi administration were quite extraordinary it was this constant propaganda that persuaded the people that all was well in the Third Reich. There are three key events that broke the continuity of post-war Germany and led to great social unrest. This loss of continuity corresponds to changes in the relationship between NSDAP and the German people. The period progressed through three different phases as a consequence of these events.

Firstly there was the French takeover of the Ruhr in 1923, sparking off an era of hyperinflation, renewed nationalist outrage, and social turmoil. Then in 1929, just as the economy was stabilizing the Great Depression hit Germany and "stopped it dead in it's tracks". This triggered a mass social turn towards extremism as the people started searching for radical solutions. And finally the appointment of Hitler as chancellor sealed the fate of democratic Germany and the Weimar Republic and began the Nazi rule in Germany. The overall changes in the Nazi party's progress and success in electoral terms correspond to "the events of discontinuity" quite clearly as outlined by Sebastian Heffner in The Meaning of Hitler; .".. In the 1920's through his oratory and demagogy Hitler hardly ever gained more than 5% of all Germans as his followers; in the Reichstag elections of 1928 it was 2.5%.

The next 40% were driven into his arms by the economic plight of 1930-33 and by the total helpless failure of all other governments and parties in the face of that plight. The remaining decisive, 50% he gained after 1933 mainly through his achievements". The renewed sense of national outrage and desperation caused by the French takeover of the Ruhr and hyperinflation in 1923 provided Hitler with an opportunity to lift the NSDAP's public profile. Although the attempted putsch in Munich failed (after which he realised that power must be taken by "legal" means) he used the trial to his great advantage. Using the bitter anti-French and anti-anything-foreign sentiment that prevailed, he reminded the public of the Treaty of Versailles, the "November Criminals", the "stab in the back" legend and the pathetically weak and divided governments from the past and present that were unable to look after the peoples interests as they were spending their time quarrelling amongst themselves. Then he called for unity under a strong leader, defiance of the Treaty of Versailles and the foreign powers, the of Germany and everything else the public wished for.

The trial lasted 24 days and reached the front pages on a daily basis. With the eyes of Germany on him "he pleaded guilty. Not for treason - but for patriotism". Most Germans living in the economic chaos of hyperinflation sympathise d to a great extent with his voiced opinions and this layed down the beginnings of the Nazi party's support.

However the NSDAP failed to extend on this good fortune as the leadership had become fragmented during Hitler's term in jail. Therefore Hitler spent the next five years re organising, restructuring and reunifying the party under his control. Although they did not make much of an impact on the electorate, the party had now become a highly efficient, enthusiastic and tightly knit political force, much unlike the government coalitions. This attracted many patriots, militarists and anyone else who felt the need for a strong government under a decisive leader. This was specially evident during the depression era. Hitler's own oratory skills and personality was an effective and vital instrument in the hands of the Nazis.

Preferring to draw on the audience's emotions he would keep the content pitched at the lowest level. Making them listen to what they wanted to hear would give the responders a sense of security which they would compare with the instability of the country. As Gregor Strasser observed, Hitler had an ability to read the collective mind of the congregation; "Hitler responds to the vibration of the human heart with the delicacy of a seismograph... enabling him, with a certainty with which no conscious gift could endow him, to act as a loudspeaker proclaiming the most secret desires, the least permissible instincts, the sufferings and personal revolts of a whole nation. ' Frequently arriving late to create a tense atmosphere he would begin almost all his speeches in a hesitant manner as if waiting to receive some sort of response from his audience. He would then build up tempo and manage to take everyone else with him to the climax. The reactions of the audience was reported by an American journalist Stanley High; "When, at the climax, he sways from one side to the other, his listeners sway with him; when he leans forward they also lean forward and when he concludes they either are awed and silent or on their feet in a frenzy.

' Hitler's personality was also used by Nazi propaganda experts to attract and gain the support of many Germans who had no one else to place their patriotic pride in. Later when in power the "Fuhrer myth" was to play an important part in maintaining the enthusiastic support of the public. The NSDAP was able to target a broad range of social groups with their energetic and tireless campaigning. The strategy used was to adjust the content of their propaganda to suit the audience. Hitler himself used this method quite masterfully in his speeches. When he spoke to the workers he would complain about foreign exploiters, Jewish capitalists and promise the end of unemployment.

If the audience were members of an exclusive industrial club, he would rage against communism and promise to keep the unions under control. If he was campaigning in rural Germany his speeches would ido lise farmers and passionately endorse the superiority of pure rural Germany over the cosmopolitan urban Germany. The theme of "stab in the back", and the "November criminals" was repeatedly used to rekindle the anger and bitterness. The propaganda experts of the NSDAP used the prevailing weather of political turmoil and economic crisis to draw support.

Support although stretched across a large social base, was not randomly distributed across all German society. The urban lower-middle class and rural landlords made up the majority of supporters. Then came the rural peasantry, the militarists, the monarchists and the Junkers. The party however could not gain the support of the majority of urban workers, the unemployed and the industrialists until much later. From 1926-1932 and especially after 1929 the NSDAP began gaining a large part of its support from rural Germany.

The agricultural sector felt the effects of the depression earlier than rest of Germany and the NSDAP had by 1926 shifted their campaign focus from the unresponsive urban to rural Germany. Part of the NSDAP "Blut und Boden" (Blood and Soil) ideal included the preservation of the sanctity of German soil and protection of the farmer who was to be the backbone of the German people. Reminding them of their economic predicament the NSDAP promised agrarian reform (ie redistribution of land), end of reparations, end of depression and protection against foreign competition. Through such promises, the Nazi achieved their first electoral breakthroughs in rural Germany. Much of the rural working-class also gave their support to the National Socialists.

Majority of the rural landlords who provided the hardcore support for the NSDAP managed to influence the land-less pheasants to give their support to the party. Their urban counterparts on the other hand preferred to vote for the KPD. However during the depression many from the working-class became dissatisfied with SPD (with whom they had previously held their allegiance) and a large minority preferred national socialism to communism. The social and cultural innovation during the Stresemann era had seen a rise in nudity and open homosexuality in the club scenes. This along with a renaissance of experimentalist and avant-garde art and architecture alienated many conservatives who linked modernization with decadence. Many of them also felt that the D NVP were not protecting their interests in parliament and therefore gave their support to the NSDAP instead.

Conservatives believed the traditional values they desperately wanted to maintain would be strongly embraced by the Nazis. The real hardcore members of the Nazi supporters came from the patriotic (and influential) Junkers and landed gentry with militarist sympathies and traditions. They felt that their positions would be secure from communism under a Nazi government. In addition to the nationalistic ideals on which the party was based on, these people were attracted to the strong unity and discipline showed by the members of the paramilitary.

The SA and SS parades attracted many patriots who admired the courage shown by the young men in times of desperation. As Albert Speer recalled; 'my mother saw a Storm Trooper parade... the sight of discipline in a time of chaos, the impression of energy in an atmosphere of universal hopelessness, seems to have won her over also. ' However the majority of Nazi supporters were from the Mittelstand (lower middle class). The German Mittelstand was comprised of small businessmen, independent artisans, small shopkeepers and the self-employed. During the depression support from the Mittelstand dramatically increased. The constant fear of sinking down to working class and unemployment as well as the hatred towards the communists, the big businesses and the trade unions was manipulated by the Nazis into more votes.

The NSDAP propaganda excited their fears by predicting communist revolutions and reminding them of the helplessness of the government to counter the depression which threatened to drag them down into unemployment or even worse - the working class. As Dick Geary suggests, the NSDAP "in it's combination of anti-socialist and anti-big business rhetoric" was the ideal party for the lower middle class to give their support to when there was no one else around. NSDAP attracted the youth by portraying the movement as "a dynamic inspirer of youth" and when contrasted with the "sclerosis of the traditional right" it proved to be an appealing option. The propaganda messages pitched at the lowest level was designed to provide an easy alternative for any patriotic and insecure youth living during a time of national disgrace and economic turmoil.

The Hitler Youth set up in 1926 provided means of attracting the younger non-voting Germany and indoctrinate them with Nazi ideology. The industrialists who were sceptical of the NSDAP's pro-socialist wing became somewhat convinced of the party's anti-communists stand after 1929 when NSDAP joined the anti-young coalition. However support from industrialists was rare as with the unemployed who tended to vote for the KPD. The widely unpopular Young Plan of 1928 gave Hitler another opportunity to increase the NSDAP public profile. An anti-Young coalition formed by the right wing parties brought the rich press baron and respectable National Party leader, Alfred von Hugenburg into contact with Hitler. Hitler soon had Hugenburg's resources at his disposal.

Using his expertise in propaganda techniques he was able to put forward an image as the front man and leading force of the anti-Young coalition. No German could now ignore the NSDAP's presence. The alliance with Hugenburg also brought to the Nazis a respectability that was desperately needed. The violence of the SA although useful when dealing with politicians, tended to scare off many middle-of-the-road voters. With this raise in social status they were regarded much more seriously by the wealthy conservatives and monarchists etc.

This is another one of many instances where Hitler was able to use circumstances to his own advantage. The republic looked incredibly weak in the face of depression. As Geoff Spence ly observed: "As world markets and investments collapsed, economic activity declined everywhere while unemployment increased dramatically. Few countries were affected as badly as Germany, however, and the Weimar Republic visibly wilted under the strain". The German people were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the divided and squabbling politicians who governed them. In all it's history there was never a single-party government and the coalition governments were ineffective in passing decisive legislation that was needed in such circumstances.

Many, who looked at the NSDAP's internal strength and unity and Hitler's wonderful promises of a str on.