Although Hitler used some pretty intense methods which enabled him to rise to power, the social and economic conditions in Germany were the ultimate reason that Hitler became so powerful in 1919. The problems in the existing government caused the Germans to be fearful, therefore they looked for someone to fix all of their problems-someone new. Hitler happened to be around at this time, and he was able to use the downfall of Germany to his advantage as swept the people of Germany off their feet, being their savior.
The first major problem in the existing government was that the Weimar Republic was beginning to fail. One main issue that led to this was that the Weimar Republic accepted the Treaty of Versailles, which was completely biased against Germany. Germany was left out of every single article, and they did not benefit at all. The articles which they were mentioned in involved them having to make reparations to other countries, which isn’t fair when they weren’t getting any reparations paid to them in return. This angered the German people, especially since the Weimar Republic had accepted the Treaty. It led to Germans rebelling, while trying to overthrow the republic. The communists and the SPD refused to work together, which resulted in members organizing their own parties, which also led to more violence, and the downfall of the Weimar Republic. Some of the violence that occurred happened in March 1920 when right-winged political parties tried to seize power. This happened as a result of the government’s attempt to disband the Freikorps, and the German army took no action against the Putsch. As a result, Kapp resigned, and the government regained control. However, former members of the right wing groups remained hostile to the republic, so they decided to join Hitler’s private armies. The economy was also struggling a tremendous amount as a result of the enormous expenses of the war. Although Germany attempted to pay reparations, it only made matters worse. In August 1921, Germans asked to suspend making payments to France but France refused. This lead to a major German crisis, and created inflation. It got so bad that people had to spend their money the day that they got it, or it would be worth nothing the next day. Middle classes and small capitalizes were affected the most by the inflation, as they lost all of their savings. They looked to the Nazis for help. As a result, the more unstable the economy became, the more seats the Nazis won in the Reichstag. They started out in 1924 only having 32 seats, however, in only eight years time, they had 230 seats. This was all a result of the economic crisis in Germany. These events all aided Hitler in his rise to power, despite the fact that Hitler didn’t really do anything to create this. Hitler just appeared to be an outlet and an escape from all of the bad that was happening in Germany, because the people were so weak. He was able to gain power by taking advantage of their weaknesses, while ultimately caused him to be so powerful as time went on.
The Nazis offered many things which were appealing to the German people, especially in their time of crisis. Hitler investigated what made the Germans feel uneasy and weak, and then created tactics so that he could appear as a savior to them. One major ideal of the Nazis was national unity, which enabled the Germans to feel like they weren’t being targeted. This idea attracted the Germans towards Hitler because they were so angry at their own government for accepting the horrid things that were talked about in the Treaty of Versailles. The Nazis theory on national unity was a way to increase the German’s pride. Hitler tried to rid Germany of the “real causes” that led to the German downfall, by making Jews be the scapegoats. The Germans liked this idea because it increased their self esteem, and they were no longer felt that it was their fault that their republic failed. Hitler also promised to overthrow the Versailles Treaty and bring Germany to great power. He promised that all Germans would get to be in the Reich, which made the Germans feel as though they were being treated equally- something that they hoped for. He created a private army, which attracted young people because it gave them wages as well as a uniform. This was especially appealing because of the poor economy in Germany; anyone would do anything for money. Although all of these methods helped in Hitler’s rise to power, the ultimate reason for his rise was still a direct result of the social and economic problems in Germany. If the people of Germany weren’t in such a crisis, they wouldn’t be so weak and need to look towards Hitler for help.
Ultimately, the Germans saw Hitler as a messiah. He flew all around Germany through the air and made claims that he would be able t save them. His outstanding public speaking skills, as well as the way he conveyed his ideas with an emotional force, were the reasons that he was able to save Germany at their lowest point. The real reason he came to power was because he got to everyone just as they had reached their lowest point, which is the best thing that a future leader could do
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