NAZI PARTY'S RISE TO POWER

Historical Background

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The Weimar Republic was a period of great uncertainty in Germany. Germans, in general, emerged with a sense of burning resentment at their loss in WWI and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Moreover, the violence of the war spilled into the homefront. Violence became legitimate -- armed squads and paramilitary troops associated with political parties patrolled and paraded through the streets, intimidating, beating up, and even killing their opposition. 

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While the Social Democrats controlled the weak government, a number of left-wing and right-wing parties emerged during the period. There was a growth of communist and socialist organizations seeking to emulate the example of Russia. Meanwhile, the Nazi Party formed in 1920 along with other right-wing groups. It was a political party known for its energy, as young members stood on the streets handing out pamphlets and propaganda.

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Adolf Hitler became the party leader in 1921 and then in 1923 attempted and failed to take over the Bavarian government in the Beer Hall Putsch.  This led to Hitler's imprisonment and his authorship of Mein Kampf. By 1928, the party had won over only 2.8% of the electorate in the Reichstag elections.

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As historians, we should avoid trying to see the past as inevitable. Historian Richard Evans explains, "the triumph of Nazism was far from a foregone conclusion right up to the early months of 1933. Yet it was no historical accident either" (xxvii).

 

After Germany's Great Depression, the Nazi Party really built its strength especially as the Social Democratic party cut unemployment benefits and over 5 million people were without work. Policemen loyal to Hitler marched through the streets vocalizing their support for change. In the 1930 elections the Nazi Party won 107 seats in the Parliament (18.3%) compared to 30% for the SDP. In the 1932 elections the Nazi Party won 230 representatives and 37.3% of the vote, making it the leading party in the Reichstag, although it did not have the majority of seats.

 

Thus, in many ways the German people elected the Nazis into power through democratic means. In 1933, the Nazi Party cemented its rule when the German president von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor of a coalition government, the most powerful position. This was most likely an attempt to reduce leftist power by using someone he (mistakenly) thought he could control.