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HITLER AND THE NAZI GERMANY
THE RISE TO POWER
1919 - 1933
GCSE REVISION NOTES
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Make sure you can answer the following questions:
1. Explain how the Nazi party developed in the year 1919 – 1928.
2. Why did the Munich Putsch take place?
3. Describe the key features of the Munich Putsch.
4. What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?
5. Was the use of propaganda the most important reason why Hitler gained so much
popular support between 1929 and 1933?
6. Was the impact of the Wall Street Crash the most important reason why Hitler
became Chancellor in 1933?
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SECTION A: THE FOUNDING AND EARLY GROWTH OF THE NAZI PARTY.
1919
Anton Drexler founded the German Workers’ Party, the DAP, in Munich, Bavaria.
The party was right wing and was very nationalistic. It stressed the volkish idea – the notion
of a pure German people. However it also had some socialist ideas – restricting the profits of
companies and wanting a classless society.
By the summer of 1919 the DAP had about 50 members.
At the end of the war Hitler remained in the army and worked as an informant.
In September 1919 he was sent to attend and report on a meeting of the DAP.
Shortly afterwards he joined the party.
He was made responsible for propaganda and recruitment.
He also discovered that he was good at public speaking.
His speeches centred on:
- his hatred of Weimar and the November Criminals
- his hatred of the Treaty of Versailles
- the attempts by the Communists and Jews to destroy Germany
1920
In February 1920 Hitler and Drexler wrote the 25 Point Programme – the party’s manifesto. It
included:
- the union of all Germans to form a Greater Germany
- the scrapping of the Treaty of Versailles
- Citizenship of the state to be granted only to people of German blood. Therefore Jews
were not to be citizens of the nation
- the creation of a strong central government.
The party changed its name to the NSDAP- the National Socialist German Workers Party.
Hitler’s public speaking attracted hundreds to meetings. Membership grew rapidly. This
increased the wealth of the party and it was able to publish its own newspaper – the
Volkischer Beobachter – the People’s Observer.
1921
Hitler became the leader of the NSDAP
He developed the Fuhrerprinzip – the leadership principle – the idea that he had to have
absolute power and authority in the party and that he was answerable to no one.
He adopted the swastika as the emblem of the Party and the use of the raised cross.
The SA , the Sturmabteilung, or the Brownshirts was formed under the leadership of Ernst
Rohm. It was used to disrupt the meetings of the Social Democrats and Communists.
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1922 – 1923
Membership rose rapidly. From 1100 in June 1920 to 55 000 in November 1923.
Hitler was now placing much more emphasis on the purity of the German or Aryan race and
his hatred of the Jews. For Hitler and his followers the Jews were becoming the scapegoat
for all of Germany’s problems.
By this time Hitler had national political aims. With the crisis caused by the hyperinflation
Hitler believed the time had come to overthrow the regional government in Bavaria and then
the Weimar government in Berlin.
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SECTION B: THE LEAN YEARS: 1923 - 1929
The Munich Putsch
On 8th November 1923 Hitler and the NSDAP attempted to overthrow the regional
government in Munich, Bavaria. This event is known as the Munich Putsch.
Why did the Munich Putsch take place?
Hitler intended to overthrow the government in Bavaria as the first step in a revolution to
remove the Weimar Government and set up his own Nazi government.
He believed the revolution would be a success for several reasons:
He believed the government of Bavaria – headed by Gustav von Kahr, the army chief von
Lossow and the police chief Seisser - did not support the Weimar government and would
therefore willingly co-operate in an attack on the Weimar government.
He had the support of General Ludendorff, the former army Commander-in-chief.
The SA would provide armed support
He believed he would have a lot of support from the German people. The impact of
hyperinflation was making the Weimar government even more unpopular.
A similar move had been successfully attempted by Mussolini in Italy.
What were the key events of the Munich Putsch?
8th November 1923 Hitler and 600 Nazis seized the Burgerbrau Kellar (a huge beer hall in
Munich), where von Kahr, von Seisser and von Lossow were attending a political meeting.
Hitler placed the three men in a room. They promised to support his planned takeover from
them. They were then allowed to leave the building.
The following day von Seisser and von Lossow changed their minds and organised troops
and police to resist Hitler’s march through Munich.
The Nazi’s had only about 2000 rifles and when they were challenged they were no match
for the well armed police force. As the two groups met shots were fired. 16 Nazis and 4
policemen were killed.
What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?
The Nazi Party was banned.
Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested and tried for treason.
The trial gave Hitler very good publicity. He used his trial to put forward his political beliefs.
He said he was only trying to restore Germany’s greatness. He attacked the Weimar
government at every opportunity. The sympathetic judges allowed him to make long
speeches which were then reported in the national newspapers. Hitler became famous.
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Hitler served 9 months in Landsberg prison. He used the time to write Mein Kampf and
develop his political ideas. He now realised that the only way to gain power was through the
legal method of democracy.
During the time he was in prison the fortunes of the party declined. It did survive secretly
under the leadership of Alfred Rosenberg. However he was not a good leader and the party
split into rival groups.
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SECTION C: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NSDAP: 1924 – 1928
When Hitler came out of prison in January 1924 the party was in decline and membership
had drastically fallen.
Hitler immediately persuaded the President of Bavaria to lift the ban.
February 1924 the party was re-launched.
Hitler was determined to have total control of the party.
He did this in three ways:
1. Hitler made changes to the structure of the party.
It was decided to create party branches called Gaue. Each Gaue was led by a Gauleiter who
pushed the idea of the Fuhrerprinzip.
2. He removed all potential rivals.
He did this by either by winning them over, eg Goebbels was made Gauleiter of Berlin, or by
removing them completely from any position of power.
3. He set up his own personal bodyguard, the SS – the Schutzstaffel.
Hitler also introduced new policies to increase support for the party.
1. He set up the Hitler Jugend – Hitler Youth – to rival other youth groups
2. He decided to target the rural voters – the farmers and the peasants.
3. He put Goebbels in charge of propaganda.
What was the impact of these changes?
1. Membership increased. In 1925 it had 27 000 members. By the end of 1928 it had over
100 000. It had become a nationwide party that had begun to attract all classes.
2. It won only 12 seats in the 1928 election – this was only 2.6% of the votes. In 1924 it had
won 32.
You must make the link with the stability that Stresemann was bringing to the economy and
political situation. During this time there was a decline in support for extreme political parties.
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SECTION D: HITLER’S RISE TO POWER 1929 – JANUARY 1933.
The speed at which Hitler rose to power is astounding.
In the May 1928 election the NSDAP gained only 2.6% of the votes – only 12 seats in the
Reichstag. They were only the seventh largest Party in Germany.
In July 1932 they gained 37.2% of the votes - 230 seats in the Reichstag. They had become
the largest party in the Reichstag.
Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany on 30 th of January 1933 by President
Hindenburg.
WHY DID HITLER BECOME CHANCELLOR?
1. HE GAINED AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF POPULAR SUPPORT
WHY?
1. The impact of the Wall Street Crash.
This helped Hitler in three ways:
1. It led to a rise in support for the Communist Party – the KPD. This frightened the
middle classes. Hitler promised to destroy Communism. The middle classes were
therefore willing to support Hitler.
2. It was used by Hitler to prove that democracy was weak. The coalition government
was unable to do anything to solve the problems caused by the Wall Street Crash.
Instead it argued about what to do about unemployment benefit. Hitler’s promise of
strong leadership became increasingly attractive.
3. He promised to create jobs. This was a vote winner.
Historians believe that Hitler would not have come to power without the Wall Street Crash.
The evidence for this are the election results from before and after the Wall Street Crash. In
1928 the NSDAP gained only 2.6% of the votes. In 1932 the NSDAP gained 37.6% of the
votes. The message hadn’t changed. Nor had how it was said. It was the circumstances that
had changed.
2. The impact of propaganda – the role of Josef Goebbels
Goebbels understood how to use the mass media and how to manipulate huge audiences.
He ensured that the Nazi message was simple, frequently repeated and was heard
everywhere.
He did this in a variety of ways:
- mass rallies
- putting up posters in prominent places
- displaying banners everywhere
- pamphlets
- exploiting developments in technology – especially the radio and aeroplane
- presenting the Nazi message in regional, national and presidential elections
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3. The role of the rich industrialists
Hitler was supported by the industrialists such as Thyssen, Krupp and Bosch. This was
because he promised to destroy Communism and the trade unionists.
Their support was vital to Hitler. They provided the party was an enormous amount to
money which Goebbels used to fund the propaganda and election campaigns.
Alfred Hugenberg was a newspaper tycoon. He permitted the Nazis to publish articles
attacking the Weimar government.
4. The impact of Hitler
Hitler was a brilliant public speaker. He was also very charismatic. He carefully rehearsed his
speeches. He made sure that his image backed up his message of strength and power –
folded his arms, wore a uniform, looked stern. He created an image that he was the saviour
of Germany and that his whole existence was given over to Germany and that nothing would
stop him making Germany the strongest nation in the world. He created a vision that was
understood by all people and appealed to all people.
The creation of the Third Reich: ein Reich
He promised to create a powerful German Empire that would last a thousand years. He
talked a lot about the importance of the State, National Revival, National Greatness and the
Power of Germany. He promised to make Germany more powerful through territorial
expansion – warfare. He would get the land back taken from Germany by the Treaty of
Versailles. (13% of German land had been taken in 1919) but he also promised to expand
Germany to the east. This would make Germany bigger and more powerful and gain
lebensraum for the German people.
The creation of a pure race – the Herrenolk or Aryan or master race: in volk.
The Jews were used as scapegoats for all of Germany’s problems. He would destroy the
Untermenschen – the inferior races: the Jews, Blacks, Gypsies and Slavs.
He emphasised the importance of the purity of the German blood.
He would create a racially pure harmonious national community – Volksgemeinschaft.
The Fuhrerprinzip: ein Fuhrer
Hitler argued that democracy and the Weimar Republic were weak. Between November
1918 and March 1930 Germany had 17 different governments. Hitler said that Germany had
never been weak when it had a Kaiser. He blamed the weak Weimar politicians for the
problems in Germany. It was socialist politicians who had signed the armistice and Treaty of
Versailles – they were the November criminals who had stabbed Germany in the back. He
argued that he would provide the strong leadership needed to make Germany strong again
and to solve Germany’s economic problems – especially the high unemployment.
The destruction of Communism and Socialism
The German middle classes were terrified of Communism. The Russian Revolution was
evidence of what the communists could do. Hitler was keen to point out that it was socialist
politicians who had agreed to the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles
5. The impact of the SA
The SA was used to attack and intimidate political opponents. It showed that the NSDAP
was a Party of action not words. It was the SA who made the NSDAP Party from all the other
right wing Parties that existed in Germany at that time. They could actually be seen to be
carrying out their promises. Their uniforms and their night time torch lit marches were very
important in emphasising that the NSDAP was a party of strength.
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2. THE WEAKNESS OF THE OPPOSITION.
The KPD and SPD had several weaknesses which meant they were ineffectual against the
rise of the NSDAP:
- they failed to work together
- they did not have powerful supporters
- they did not have a paramilitary organisation like the SA.
3. THE IMPORTANCE OF POLITICAL INTRIGUE
Von Papen persuaded Hindenburg to replace Schleicher with Hitler. He did this to get
revenge of Schleicher who had replaced him as Chancellor. Hindenburg wanted to get rid of
democracy. He made Hitler Chancellor so he could get rid of democracy for him. Hitler had
popular support so the removal of democracy would be done legitimately. It was the means
to give legitimately to a new authoritarian government. Once democracy had been destroyed
Hindenburg could use his power as President to dismiss Hitler.
This was therefore a legitimate revolution or a revolution from above.
Hindenburg had of course completely underestimated Hitler. Instead of legitimising the
formation of an authoritarian government he legitimised Nazism.