HOW THE NAZIS RISE TO POWER

• The Great Depression


  The Wall St Crash in America had a big impact on the economy in Germany
• The loans from America as part of the Dawes Plan were withdrawn
• Unemployment in Germany reached 6 million people, this meant 40% of the workforce were without a job
• The Nazis promised Work and Bread


  They were going to provide jobs for people so they could look after their families
• The Nazis offered a simple promise that appealed to the people
• The Nazis tried to appeal to workers who would otherwise vote for the Communist Party
• Josef Goebbels


  The Nazis put him in charge of propaganda
• Nazi propaganda


  • Their message was clear, simple and easy to understand
  • The Nazis owned 120 daily or weekly newspapers which were read by hundreds of thousands of people and constantly had a positive message about the Nazis
  • Hitler also made speeches on the radio and at mass rallies
• The Weimar Government appeared to be disorganised and were unable to solve the problems in Germany
• President Hindenburg started running Germany using Article 48 (emergency powers) which was unpopular
• The Nazis


  • They appeared as very organised, particularly the SA as they marched in their smart uniforms through the cities
  • The organisation of the SA and the Nazis encouraged more people to vote for the Nazis
  • The SA also had another role they were a violent group that would beat up opposition to the Nazis such as Communists
• There were countless battles between the SA and the Red Front Fighters (the Communist private army)
• Hitler's promises


  He promised to get rid of the Treaty of Versailles (which made Germany look weak), solve Germany's problems and provide jobs
• Election results


  • 1928: 12 seats
  • 1930: 107 seats
  • July 1932: 230 seats (the Nazis were the largest political party with 37% but they did not have a majority in the Reichstag)
  • Nov 1932: 196 seats (The SA's campaign of violence began to have a negative impact and the vote reduced to 33%)
• Hitler asked to be Chancellor but Hindenburg (the President) refused as he didn't trust Hitler
• Hindenburg chose von Papen to be the Chancellor. However as he was not the leader of the largest party he found it very difficult to run the country, as he couldn't pass laws without a majority. He decided to hold another election in November 1932
• Von Papen could still not get a majority in the Reichstag
• Hindenburg then chose von Schleicher as the next Chancellor, after he convinced Hindenburg that the country was moving towards Civil War. However he couldn't get a majority in the Reichstag either. Hindenburg had to keep ruling with Article 48
• Von Papen was determined to regain power and so he met with Hitler in early January 1933. They decided that von Papen would help Hitler become Chancellor if Hitler made von Papen vice Chancellor. This is called political scheming
• Von Papen convinced Hindenburg that he could control Hitler
• Eventually, Hindenburg had no options left and made Hitler Chancellor on 30th January 1933