Key Question: Why was the Nazi Party able to gain support

and come to power from 1929 to 1933?

The most important event for the collapse of the Weimar Republic was the collapse of the
US stock market in October 1929. This event had such a major impact on Germany because
their economic recovered had relied on US loans. The Wall Street Crash also helped to
create the conditions that enabled the rise of the Nazi Party’s popularity but on its own it
was not responsible for the Nazis to take power but gave a situation for Hitler to exploit.

Impact of the Great Depression

 Even before the Crash unemployment had been rising in Germany but it rose to above
6 million people by January 1933
 As unemployment went up there was less demand for goods and this then led to more
unemployment as production was cut back even further so less workers were needed to
meet demand
 By 1932 nearly 33% of the workforce were unemployed- poverty was widespread and
families were unable to meet rent or feed themselves
 Malnutrition was common and children suffered badly
 The collapse in the economy also affected government revenue- less money was raised
from taxes
 At this time government spending increased to meet the benefit payments for the
unemployed- the number of unemployed was four times greater than the estimations
made when the benefit system was introduced so the government struggled to meet
demand
 In July 1931 the Austrian bank Kredit Anstalt collapsed and this led to panic amongst
customers that more banks would follow so they withdrew their money and this then
led to the banks actually closing
 France blocked an emergency loan to Germany but there was a one year suspension of
reparation payments
 In 1932 it was agreed by a committee of financial experts to cancel the reparations

Failings of the Weimar Government

 The Great Coalition of 1928 had been a broad coalition of left wing and moderate
parties under the socialist Chancellor Muller- when unemployment rose the different
parties all wanted different approaches to dealing with the problem
 The SPD did not want to cut benefits whereas the DVP wanted cuts
 Attempts to compromise failed and this led to the resignation of the cabinet when
President Hindenburg refused to grant Muller emergency powers in order to pass the
budget
 Hindenburg used this collapse to appoint the right wing conservative Heinrich Bruning
as Chancellor- Bruning’s Centre Party did not have a majority in the Reichstag so he
 said that if he was defeated he would ask for the Reichstag to be dissolved and would
rule through emergency decree using Article 48
 Bruning failed to win support for a programme of rising taxes and cutting welfare
following the elections of September 1930 so relied on rule by decree- this signalled
the end of parliamentary democracy in Germany
 The big winners of the Sept 1930 election were the Nazi Party who rose from 12 seats
to 107.
 The Reichstag was still very divided which made it very difficult for Bruning to govern
and gave many German people the impression that the democratic system could not
cope with the problems meaning that many turned to parties like the Nazis who
offered simple solutions
 This led to a rise in membership for the KPD and the Nazis and many younger members
joined the paramilitary organisations of these parties which provided them with food,
a uniform and a sense of belonging
 However these paramilitary groups would often fight in the streets and this violence
reinforced the idea that the government could not control the country anymore
 Bruning was dismissed in May 1932. Hindenburg disliked that Bruning had banned the
SA (Nazi Paramilitary group) but was able to dismiss him as his policies were losing
support
 In May 1932 elections only 43% voted for democratic parties and the Nazis increased
their seats from 107 to 230. However Franz Von Papen remained as Chancellor. Papen
was unable to get a majority of support and the opposition passed a vote of no
confidence in him leading to elections in November 1932 and Kurt Von Schleicher being
appointed Chancellor in December 1932.

Chancellor Dates in office Type of government

Herman Muller (SPD) May 1928-March 1930 Parliamentary government with
coalition between SPD,Centre,
DDP & DVP
Heinrich Bruning (Centre March 1930- May 1932 Presidential government. Ruled
Party) using emergency decree.
Coalition cabinet of centre &
right.
Franz Von Papen (ex Centre June-December 1932 Presidential government. Ruled
Party, right wing) using emergency decree. Many
non party Cabinet members.
General Kurt Von December 1932-January Presidential government. Ruled
Schleicher (non-party) 1933 using emergency decree. Many
non party Cabinet members.
Adolf Hitler (NSDAP) January 1933-45 Coalition of NSDAP &
Nationalists to begin with but
becomes dictatorship
 The Rise and Appeal of Hitler
 The Depression did provide opportunity for the Nazis but it also gave the KPD
(Communists) the same opportunity but they didn’t capitalise in the same way. In 1928
the KPD had 54 seats in the Reichstag compared to 12 for the Nazis but by July 1932
the Nazis had taken 230 seats compared to just 89 for the KPD.

History of the Nazis before Depression

 The NSDAP had started as the German Workers Party under Drexler. It issued its 25
point programme in 1920 which was a mixture of Nationalist and Socialist ideas.
 Hitler became leader of the Nazis in 1921. His first attempt to seize power was the
Munich Putsch which failed
 Hitler’s trial led to national publicity but also a change in tactics for the party-
instead of taking power by force, Hitler wanted to win power through votes
 Hitler wrote Mein Kampf whilst in prison to set his idead and also when out of prison
established a network of organisations linked to the party like the Hitler Youth & he
put Joseph Goebbels in charge of propaganda for the party
 The Depression provided the party with electoral breakthrough- the Weimar
government looked weak, the Nazis offered public work schemes to deal with
unemployment & many people were fearful of Communism
 In July 1932 the Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag
 Hitler had been portrayed as a strong leader throughout the period; the type of
person Germany needed to get out of crisis- propaganda and rallies showed him as a
superman and compared to other leaders he was charismatic and had great public
speaking skills

Other Reasons for Nazi Success

1. Support of industrialists- many industrialists were frightened by Communism

and they gave backing to the Nazis who were stronger in action against the
communists. This backing included financial support which the Nazis used to
finance election campaigns.
2. Organisation- the Nazis had trained local party leaders to ensure they gave a
clear and consistent message
3. Promises to voters- the Nazis were able to offer something to every group in
society. Unemployed promised jobs, farmers higher prices, shopkeepers
promised protection from larger stores.
4. Weakness of opposition- many groups underestimated the Nazis, they believed
nobody would vote for them as their promises were so unrealistic
Role of Propaganda

 Goebbels was a master of propaganda

 He was excellent at using new techniques to spread Nazi messages
 Goebbels used a plane to fly Hitler all over Germany in 1932 so he could speak at 3-4
rallies per day
 Posters were targeted to show Hitler as a saviour
 They promised to make Germany great again & attacked Communism

Despite all this progress, in November 1932 it seemed the Nazis were in decline- their
vote share and number of seats dropped from July 1932. VERY IMPORTANT POINT

Backstairs Dealings and Hitler’s appointment

 In November 1932 the Nazis had been unable to fund a full scale election campaign as
it was so soon after July 1932’s campaign
 The Nazis were still the largest party and the political elites now recognised they
needed Hitler to be able to govern
 When Schleicher had been made Chancellor he attempted to persuade some Nazis to
join government but Hitler would not allow it so Schleicher attempted to win support
of the SPD and trade unions
 This prompted Franz Von Papen who had been removed as Chancellor to begin talks
with Hitler as he wanted to get revenge and get Schleicher removed
 Schleicher failed to get a majority in the Reichstag which made it clear that Hitler
held the balance of power
 Hindenburg lost confidence in Schleicher and with little other option he told Papen to
talk to Hitler
 Hindenburg hated Hitler but he believed that Nazi support was dropping so they would
be easy to control and they drop once they had served their purpose.
 Hitler refused to be Vice-Chancellor and finally it was agreed that Hitler would lead a
Nazi-Nationalist coalition with Papen as Vice Chancellor
 Papen won support for this ide aby arguing that this was the best way to defeat
Communism and that he would be able to control Hitler. He convince Hindenburg of
this too.
 There were only 2 other Nazis in the cabinet meaning there were 8 non-Nazis in the
cabinet
 The government still did not have a majority so nothing radical would be able to be
passed
 Hindenburg also had the power to sack Hitler so it can be argued that Hitler’s position
was weak at this point
 Things to note- the Nazis were virtually bankrupt, the economy was starting to
recover in some areas, support for the Nazis was dropping. Hitler’s appointment could
have been avoided.