Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Hitler's Rise to Power
- Long-term
- Political problems of the Weimar
Republic
- Article 48= president
of the Weimar
republic had the right
to suspend the
parliament in times of
emergency
- Proportional representation
system = weak coaltion
government
- hard time agreeing on anything
- undermined credibilty of Weimar
republic
- Legacy of the ToV and defeat in
WW1
- new Weimar republic had to take on
the blame of the defeat in WW1
- Right-wing + nationalistic
- resented fact that Weimar republic accepted TOV +
forced German forces to quit the war in 1918
- "stabbed in the back"
- Economic weakness of the Weimar Republic
- 1st eco. crisis in start of 1920's
- G. exhuasted by WW1 and ToV deprived G. of
many of their vital natural resources
- lost 75% of iron ore resoucres when Belgian and
France troops occupied Rhineland
- War reparations
- eco pressure = weimar gov.t start printing
more money = hyperinflation
- loans from US 1924 (Dawes Plan)
- weak eco = votes support more radical political parties
- Impact of the Great Depression (1929)
- G. banks forced to close
- 1932 - 6 mil. people unemployed
- Coalition gov.t deeply
divided and failed to
agree on measures to
aid G
- HOWEVER - agreed to cut gov.t
expenditure on welfare
to cope with the falling
tax revenue
- actions too late
- Bruning (President) - set
up public workschemes
to counter high
unemployment
- handling of eco. depression = public look to radical parties
- Hitler's use of Propaganda
- used to increase support
- success
- 1932 = 37% of all votes
- used the radio and cinema to attract support
- Nazi Party put a lot of effort into educating key
members
- ensure quality of party campiagns = more support
- Immediate
- 'backstairs' - political intrigue
- 1932 - General von Schleicher replaced von Papen as Chancellor
- von Papen fallen out of favour with people and Weimar Republic
- land reform policy worried President Hindenburg = rid of von Schleicher in Jan
- try and bring in Nazi gov.t to try and stabilise G. politics
- 1933 - Hitler appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg
- thought could control Hitler
- WRONG!
- once appointed called for
fresh elections for March
- SA began to
attack political
enemies-
especially
communists and
social dem.
- papers closed
- offices raided
- members beaten up
- meetings attacked
- ensuring military
support and
non-intervention
- promised to tear up miliatry
clause in ToV
- Reichstag Fire (1933)
- Feb 1933 - young Dutch
Communist set fire to
Reichstag building
- H. took advantage
- announced it signal of
communist revolt
- emergency law passed
- chancellor could suspend parliament
- law formed basis of
police power in G
- helped to create totaltarian state
- now had control over weimar rep.
- The Enabling Act (emergency law passed by H.)
- March elections
- Nazis & allies = 52% of
vote and majoprity in
Reichstag
- to gain support for
law SA mobs
surrounded
parliament and
threatened any
politicians that voted
against law
- succeeded to pass law
- meant could pass
laws without approval
of President or
parliament
- formed legal basis of Nazi
dictatorship
- =Nazis could close down
on other opposing political
parties etc
- 1934 - H. sole leader of Nazis
- could start Nazi dictatorship
- Nazi Ideology
- Lebensraum
- living space for G. in east
- fight Russian communism
- political ideology he resented
- Volksgemeinschaft
- belief in loyalty to state more important
- socailly reconstruct G. into folk community based on traditional G. beliefs
- Anti-Seminitism
- belief Jews are the lowest race in social hierarchy and should be prosecuted
- aim to create pure Aryan race
- Social Darwinism
- indirectly derived from Darwin's theory on survival of the fittest
- H. main aims
- Revise ToV
- Unify all G. speakers in Europe into 'Greater G. Reich'
- Lebensraum
- Volksgemeinschaft
- Anti-Semitism
- Socail Darwinism