The Rise of the Nazi Party

The entire world doubtlessly felt the after effects of World War I, victors and losers alike; among the losers, perhaps no nation felt effects as acutely as did Germany . Facing a huge loss of the young men who were sorely needed to rebuild a crumbling infrastructure and contribute to what amounted to a needed resurrection of the economy, the stage was set for the rise of the national socialist party, which in time would be come to be knows as the Nazi party. In retrospect, looking at the years 1919-1923, pivotal years in the formation of the Nazi party, these years also saw the emergence of a young radical from Austria named Adolf Hitler . Because the rise and development of the Nazi party and the rise and development of Hitler are so interrelated , this paper will discuss both, in unison, as an effort to better understand how Nazism came to fruition in the midst of the rubble of a post World War I international landscape.

Fascism- the Ideology of the Nazi Party

Indeed, in exploring the rise of the Nazis in the Germany of the early-twentieth century, fascism emerges as a key ingredient, rising from the deprivation and devastation of a world war and a nation full of people who personified poverty, hunger, and restlessness . For the sake of a brief definition, in this instance, fascism is a form of counter-revolutionary politics; a philosophy or a system of government the advocates or exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with an ideology of aggressive nationalism . Fascism approaches politics in two central areas, populist and elitist. Populist in that it seeks to activate "the people" as a whole against perceived oppressors or enemies and to create a nation of unity. The elitist approach treats as putting the people's will on one select group, or most often one supreme leader from whom all power radiates and is distributed to underlings . Fascism was rampant in the Germany of the early 1920s and raised to an art form by men like Hitler, but its origins are in fact more philosophical in nature, going back to one of Germany's most famous philosophers.

The philosophy of fascism can be traced to the philosopher Nietzsche , who theorized, quite ironically decades before the rise of German fascism, that there were two moral codes: the ruling class (master morality) and the oppressed class (slave morality). Nietzsche believed the ancient empires were developed from the master majority and the religious ideas and views grew out the slave majority. The idea of the "uberman" or superman, symbolized man at his most creative and highest intellectual state of being. This philosophical background was eventually compiled and mixed with what would in time become known as the Nazi ideology, and shared with the masses as Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Hitler's Mein Kampf

Hitler, in writing Mein Kampf, actually lays out what is now a chillingly prophetic blueprint for the horrors that he would in time perpetrate on those whom he oppressed, and ultimately, plotted to inflict upon the entire world . The true origins of theses writings take on more significance once one understands that Mein Kampf was not something that Hitler sat down to write as a novel or something of that nature; rather, it was dictated to others over a period of time, much of that time being Hitler's period of imprisonment for his radical political leanings. Mein Kampf is basically an outline for the rise and development of the Nazi party, and as such, serves as an interesting point of reference for this research. In this book, Hitler starts by discussing his leanings toward the pursuit of racial purity, and continues through discussions of the rebirth of Germany under Nazism and the like.

With a discussion of what the future population of the "new" Germany would look like, Hitler goes into detail about the rise of the state into ultimate power, which, in retrospect, is fascism personified. In fairness, however, at the time, this was hard to see by people who were quite literally in a fight for their very lives and the future of their faltering nation.

Why the Nazi Party Blossomed Having taken an in-depth look at how the Nazi party was born in Germany, the reasons why the party enjoyed such progress and growth in what seems to be a remarkably short period of time is worthy of consideration. There does not appear to be any single logical answer as to why the Nazi Party in Germany gathered such massive support, power, and control through out the 1920's, however many plausible theories exist. There was no single event or action that allowed for such an aggressive and hostile political party to gain popularity so rapidly, rather a great number of factors which allowed the Nazi's to gain popularity and power so quickly . To the benefit of the Nazis, they, as a group were well organized and extremely well disciplined; indeed, it would have been impossible for such a large political party to gain support and new members without any organization . The masses of the German people, possibly seeking some semblance of security and order, embraced the Nazis as a way of protecting the nation at one of its darkest hours . Another good reason behind the Nazi's success was the fear of Communism. Political leaders in Germany at that time came to the realization that they didn't want Germany turn into a Communist nation . Ironically, to their partial credit, the Nazis were pro-masses, which is to say they wanted the people to go back to work for themselves so they could put bread on the table. Another good reason behind the Nazi's success was the fear of Communism. Most political leaders in Germany at that time were aware of Communism and knew what it was all about, and with this knowledge came the realization that they didn't want to see Germany turn into a Communist nation . Ironically, to their partial credit, the Nazis were pro-masses, which is to say they wanted the people to go back to work for themselves so they could put bread on the table. Behind the scenes, however, this desire to keep the German worker in the practice of working not for the benefit of the masses but for their own benefit was actually a tactic on the part of the pro-socialist factions within Germany who wanted the masses to have the illusion of security and freedom, which would motivate them to rebuild the economy and infrastructure of Germany, thereby providing a shining new nation for the Nazis to rule. Undoubtedly, whatever the motivation, the need to rebuild Germany's shattered economy was acute; the mass unemployment of German citizens was overwhelming . Quite literally, millions of idle workers roamed the streets, searching for any opportunity to earn any money at all in order to feed their families . Of course, hungry, impoverished people make an excellent audience for new ideas, and the Nazis were ready to deliver. Promising to provide the standard of living that Germans enjoyed prior to the deprivations of the recently ended war, with the prospect of a better standard of living was warmly embraced by a deprived population.

How the Nazi Party Prospered in its Infancy

Driven by economic factors and inspired by the fervent writings of men like Hitler, the German people were ready to give Nazism its due attention. Beyond this attention, the consideration of how the Nazi party flourished from that point, seemingly from the beginning, is important to understand.

Though the Nazi party did not come to power until 1933, they were an active coalition of people throughout the early decades of the twentieth century. The German Workers' Union was conceived by Anton Drexler in March of 1918 . Drexler's union was banded together by their shared sentiments of fierce nationalism and support for the war effort . Their opinions were quite clear, for they adhered to a straightforward program of Strikers, Bolsheviks, Jews, malingerers, and war profiteers were the enemy , and it was the duty of the German Workers' Union to unite behind the war effort. However, after the disastrous conclusion of the war, the union was on the brink of collapse when Adolf Hitler inadvertently stepped into the picture.

Immediately the party ceased to be Drexler's party, it became Hitler's. Renamed the German Workers Party, it became the foundation for the National Socialist party . Hitler amazingly transformed a forty member union into a dominant political force, proving at an early stage that he was indeed a master of propaganda. In all actuality, Hitler was assigned to attend the very first meeting in September of 1919 in order to investigate the party and its activities for the military . At the meeting, Hitler became immersed in all of the activity, and even involved himself in one of the arguments. Hitler's only purpose for attending that meeting was to attend, and then write a report . For this reason, he took one of Drexler's pamphlets which detailed much of the group's political philosophies. In this pamphlet, Hitler found Drexler to be a prophet to his own heart. Drexler was equally impressed with Hitler, and immediately saw his potential. Drexler invited him to attend one of the executive committee meetings. From this point, Hitler joined the party; thus came the birth of Nazism and the ideologies which encompassed it .

Hitler's first step in developing the party was to control its propaganda . He had a strong understanding of going directly to the people. He sought to increase the party's small gatherings into much larger ones. Presently, the meetings were being held in small taverns, but within four meetings in a much larger tavern, the attendance reached over four hundred . Hitler also put himself in control of making the posters and fliers advertising the meetings. He showed his mastery in propaganda, which was a fundamental element in the Nazi movement's rise to power31. He realized what colors called attention to the movement and caught a person's eye. He wrote information using various styles and sizes of lettering. His goal was to create a name for the party, and draw the curious and perspective members into his movement32.

Through these meetings, Hitler established himself as a political figure, and a powerful voice of the people. Thus he took it upon himself not only to move the masses, but create a mass movement. At the meetings, Hitler would speak and make all those present feel as if they were a part of a vast and powerful movement.

In this process the National Socialist movement had been successful in creating a place for itself within German society. What had started as a grouping of laborers in a tavern had now become a fairly well known and recognized assembly of ambitious people. Hitler and his use of propaganda had been successful in recruiting many members, who spread the word of the movement, as well as himself, throughout Germany. Hitler, now a strong member of the executive committee, was in the political position he had dreamed of, and continued to acquire new responsibilities within party. As the party had grown, National Socialism realized the lack of a program, for the party had expanded out of its original, limited, ideologies .

Together, Drexler and Hitler formulated a twenty-five point plan which detailed the party's new program . These points included. The demand for the union of all German people; equal rights to all citizens (hence, Jews could not become citizens,); profit sharing of large industries; waging war against those who worked against the common welfare of the movement, and the creation of a strong central authority within the state .

The party had now been laid out and its program was clear in what it stood for. It was obvious that many racist roots embodied in their plans , and they encouraged a strong will to hate. It was at this time that the party decided to change its name to the National Socialist Peoples' Party, later to be known as the Nazi Party . To symbolize this change, Hitler himself designed a new flag as an insignia of the movement. In a period of little over a year since Hitler first came to the German Workers' Union meeting, an entire political force had been created. With the creation of the twenty five points plan came the answers to many people's questions, and a desire to learn more . The focus of the party gave the people of Germany a target in asserting their anger, and a sense of direction as to where the country was to go. The party now published its own newspaper, and meetings had to be held in the open air to accommodate the crowds of six thousand plus people.

Hitler had become the party's dictator. He had taken power away from the founder, and created his own image of how he felt this wave should be directed . After a mishap with a few of the party's older members over his use of power, Hitler left the movement for awhile. Shortly after he had left, the party realized how helpless it was without him. So, they signed an instrument of surrender giving Hitler full and complete dictatorial powers . With this action, Nazism, and the man who would lead it to its full fruition, was well in place. Eventually, Nazism, under Hitler, would become a perversion of its original form, spreading death and chaos across Europe.

Conclusion

Nazism came to Germany at a time when the nation was on the brink of demise and starvation; eventually, under Hitler, it would attempt to overtake the world, In the period of 1919-1923, however, it appeared as a harmless and effective method to begin post-ware reconstruction and a salvation of national pride. Having its roots in philosophies of men who were long gone by this time, Nazism would be born of Fascist ideals and interpreted within the context of the pursuit of individual power. In closing, let it be understood that these early years of Nazism should stand as a supreme lesson in history of the best-and worst- ways to rule a nation.

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