As well as the Depression, the collapse of the Republic can be linked to a large number of factors, including the influence of the army, political instability and constitutional weaknesses. One of the most consequential outcomes of the Depression was the opportunity that it provided Hitler. A majority of the citizens lost faith and belief in the current Social Democratic government, turning instead to the confident and dynamic leader of Hitler. As Evans asserts, ‘citizens began to see in the youthful dynamism of the Nazi Party as a way out of the situation’. What Evans means by this is that the desperation of the people led them to polarising their votes and seeing radical leaders like Hitler as a solution to the mess that Germany had become.
10th grade Social Studies assignment The failings of the democracy in Germany between 1918 and 1923 Why was the new democratic system in Germany unpopular by 1923, and how was Hitler able to take advantage of that unpopularity? After their defeat in the First World War, Germany and its government faced many harsh consequences which had a great impact on the entire country and its political system. Each consequence created a substantial change in German history which made a chain of events that led to the rein of Adolf Hitler. Because the new democratic system proved to be unsuccessful, the people of Germany blamed their government and after that, things began to get chaotic and everyone suffered. The problems began after the 1st World War, and after the German government signed the papers at the Treaty of Versailles, agreeing to its conditions and punishments, the government was very much resented by the people.
Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP [Name of the Writer] [Name of Instructor] [Subject] [Date] Abstract This paper discusses the various events and circumstances that allowed Hitler and his Nazi Party NSDAP to come to power. Germany was plagued by many problems at the end of war and most of them were attributed to the then German government. Taking advantage of the problems Hitler offered solutions that he would implement once he came into power. The masses were very captivated by the style of Hitler’s leadership and so they chose him as their leader. Table of Contents Abstract ii Introduction 1 Discussion 1 Problems that Germany faced during 1919 to 1932 1 The Solution Offered By Hitler and NSDAP 2 The role and significance
Even though Hindenburg was in Hitler’s way of gaining the Chancellorship, there were many other factors that lead to Hitler becoming Chancellor in January 1933 and not just because he was leader of the most popular Party in Germany. For example, the Weimar Republic was suffering from the political polarisation between nationalist and communist’s parties and the economic crisis caused by the Great Depression. These two issues put pressure on the governing coalition and it was beginning to break up. Furthermore political intrigue and the self interest of political parties, along with the inherent flaws of the Weimar constitution and the weakness of government by coalition, all played into Hitler’s hands. These factors caused the loss of public support for the grand coalition of the Weimar Republic and the German people subsequently looked for a new style of leadership.
Several attempts from both the left and right sides of government tried to imbue the nationalistic beliefs that were embodied in Germany before they were destroyed by their humiliating defeat in WW1. These include the Spartacist uprising, the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. The disillusionment felt by the people and their need to restore pride in their nation influenced many factors that led to the failure of the democracy, and to the rise of the Nazi political party and its leader Adolf Hitler. In hindsight, a mixture of political, social and economic issues, combined with nationalistic goals give grounds to the reason that nationalism mainly brought about the fall of the democracy of the Weimar Republic in Germany. By the outbreak of WW1 in August 1914, Germany was well established as a major and prominent world power.
Not only did the people of Germany feel betrayed by a man of their own country but consequently, had no faith in the new democratic system. The ‘November Criminals’ including Matthias Erzberger, Phillipp Scheidemann and Friedrich Ebert were regarded as unnationalistic. The reaction of the German people was further intensified by the signing of the Versailles Treaty in June 1919. Historian Richard Hunt argues that ‘it was the shame of weakness that seized Germany’s national psychology and served as a solvent of the Weimar democracy’. Whether compliant with this view or not, the fact was that the German population was not backing the leaders of this new constitution, which was damaging to its effectiveness.
“Assess the view that the collapse of the Weimar Republic was primarily due to the appeal of Hitler and his Nazi party” The Weimar Republic government was riddled with weakness and incompetence in a variety of crucial social, economic and political areas. This caused the influence of the Nazi Party, which through its charismatic and nationalistic leader, Adolf Hitler, it gained a large amount of support. However it was due to the Weimar Republic’s own failings that the Nazi Party became appealing and as a result the Weimar Republic was brought to its inevitable demise in 1933 with Hitler ready to take the reigns. When the Treaty of the Versailles was signed in 1919, the government was making a very unpopular decision amongst the citizens, as it a result lead to the downfall of the Weimar Republic. The Treaty caused humiliation and shock amongst the citizens of the country, much of the political backlash was due to the fact that the Allies were dictating to Germany the harsh terms of the war reparations, which was seen as absurd by many citizens as they did not feel as if they were responsible for starting the war nor did they feel as though they had lost.
The next factor that seemed to emphasize the cause of the war was German's dictator, Adolph Hitler, who led the Germans with the ideas of fascists. Since the Germans were going through the Great Depression, Hitler's idea seemed more efficient and they reluctantly joined him and his quest to conquer. He also began to sufficiently gaining popularity throughout Germany and increased their nation’s power. This situation began to worry all the neighboring countries and began fearing Germany. Nationalism was an extreme form of patriotism that swept across Europe during the 1800's.
Cruel Times. The Holocaust was a terrible and horrific time for all people under the rule of Adolf Hitler. Hitler played a lead role in the Holocaust and the laws, which he passed, were extremely cruel and harsh towards the Jews and minorities. If that was not enough later laws were enacted dictating instructions for the complete extermination of the Jewish race. The Nazis were so unforgiving and cruel in their ways that Jews and Minorities had to find new ways of living without becoming known to the Nazis and the German public.
Also, the weakness and exploitation of the Weimar Constitution played a similarly important role as proportional representation and article 48 both created a path for the Nazi Party to gain influence in the Reichstag. Overall, however, the rise of the Nazi Party must be considered as the main reason for the failure of the Weimar Republic, as the Nazi’s electoral success eventually led to the political intrigues which oversaw Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in 1933 which ultimately led to their success in the March 1933 election and the passing of the enabling act in 1933, which ultimately confirmed that the Weimar Republic had failed. During the period of 1924 – 27 the Nazi party was banned as result of the Beer Hall Putsch. The dramatic increase in votes from 0.8 million in 1928, to 17.3 million in 1933, highlights just how rapid the rise of the Nazi Party was after their emergence from the ‘quiet years’ in 1927. It can be argued that this was down to the popularity of Adolf Hitler and thus led to the failure of the Weimar Republic, as his popularity paved the way for his invitation into the chancellorship, from which he was able to manipulate his way to the presidency.