The Nazi Rise to Power

The Nazi Party started out as a small party in Bavaria called, The German Worker's Party. They were opposed to the Treaty of Versailles and Communism. A group of people who were angry about their defeat in the First World War and the severity of the restrictions imposed upon Germany by the Allies created the party. Initially Hitler joined this party as a spy, but soon he became one of the leading lights of the party, with his enthusiasm and inspiring speeches.

Soon afterwards, the party renamed itself to The National and Socialist German Workers Party, and adopted a 25-point program that formed the basis of their political manifesto. The Nazis became known by the strength of their belief in these 25 points. In ... they chose to take force in a coup d'etat in Munich, but the coup was unsuccessful, despite their initial success in reaching their objectives of seizing power. After this, Hitler was thrown into prison and the party was almost destroyed.

During his time in prison, Hitler wrote a book called Mein Kampf, or My Struggle. This book later became a best seller. When Hitler was released from prison, the party completely restructured itself, yet it still could not manage to gain enough support, as most of it was localized and insignificant in terms of national politics. Throughout the "Golden Years" of the Weimar Republic, Hitler had very little to offer the majority of the German people. The Treaty of Versailles was gradually being modified and Germany's economy was slowly picking up once again. The extreme views held by the Nazi party, were not popular during this period.

When Wall Street crashed and caused The Great Depression in 1929, it provided a spark that helped the Nazis in gaining the support of the German people. This was because the support by the Americans was suddenly withdrawn, and once again, Germany was isolated and the economy fell back into a huge crisis. The rise of unemployment and fear of a Communist uprising gave Hitler's messages a completely new importance. Once again, people were interested in the extremist views of the Nazi party. Because Germany's government was struggling to control the economy, the Germans were looking for any alternative other than the Communists who would be willing, and able, to combat the country's problems, through whatever means possible.

After seeing the results of the 1932 election, it was clear that the Nazi party was revived. From having literally no say during the "Golden years" of the Weimar Republic, the Nazi party rose to become the dominant force in the elections. By 1933, Hitler was viewed by many Germans, as the only man who could possibly halt Germany's rapid slide towards economic and political ruin. Through desperation, many of Germany's senior politicians turned to Hitler and his party, despite their worries about his methods and political views. In a period of 5 years the Nazi party had changed from being an insignificant group to causing the end of the Weimar Republic in Germany.

There were a number of reasons why the Nazis rose to power during such a short period of time. One reason is that Hitler's speeches were quite inspiring, and he was a great public speaker who could excite masses of people and make everyone believe him. Another reason was that his policies made sense, and they were aimed at the areas of politics that the German people hated, such as the restrictions imposed by The Treaty of Versailles. Hitler's party was highly organized, flexible in their views (in the eyes of the voters), he and made promises that would benefit all classes of the population. The last reason that caused their rise to power was that the Nazis were opposed to communism. All three of these characteristics were valued highly in Germany, as law and order were continuously being threatened.

Because the Weimar Republic itself was quite weak, the Nazis were able to become a dominant force without having a much public support. The government was always considered at fault for signing The Treaty of Versailles, and so they lost a large amount of support and were blamed for being unable to manage the economic crisis Germany had been facing. Because Hitler offered a practical solution to each of The Weimar Republic's faults, he gained a great amount of support and power.

Bibliography:
Botwinick, Rita Steinhardt. A History of the Holocaust, Third Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2003.