The lead up to Hitler’s appointment and the role of the government 1933-39

What were the three main themes of the failure of Weimar Germany

The hostility of the German elites, the economy and lack of popular support

The hostility of the German elites, the economy and lack of popular support

Hostility was present from the creation of Weimar as many of Germany’s key figures in society and business rejected the idea of a democratic republic as they wanted to reinstate the kaiser, this was a successful handicap to the successful development of the republic in the 1920s and in the 30s it was to become a decisive factor in its final collapse

How did the economy lead to the failure of Weimar Germany

There were a series of economic crises that the Weimar government saw, the first being its massive reparations costs from ww1, followed by the burden of post war reconstruction, this all lead to the hyperinflation crisis of 1923 which was overcome by Strasser however the economy plummeted once more due to the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression of 1929

What impact did the Great Depression have on germany

5 major banks closed down, 50,000 businesses closed and 6 million were left unemployed

How did a limited base of popular support lead to the failure of Weimar Germany

There was never Widespread political support for Weimar which meant there was never a total acceptance of its system and values, as well as this it’s supporters fell in between the far left and the far right , but over time people began to question weimar’s legitimacy as it became associated with defeat due to the T.O.V, reparations, and hyperinflation. As well as this their liberal backbone began to lose popularity as parties like the Democratic Party and the people’s party began to lose votes, other parties began to move more far right like the centre party and many social democrats failed to join coalitions to work with the communists

what were the phases of weimar

It’s formation in 1918 which left it handicapped from the beginning, the years of stability 1924-29 which despite being stable achieved very little and the depression 1929-33 which saw it’s demise

How did the Nazi party begin their rise to popularity in 1929

The Weimar government was blamed for the depression so the population began voting for extreme parties who were not involved in Weimar but also could potentially propose a solution, Hitler caught on to this idea and began to build their policies around them to gain more votes and exploit the situation

How were the Nazis able to become so popular so quickly

In 1924 they had began to create a solid party structure with strasser creating the gaue to nationalise the party and goebbles creating new propaganda techniques to advertise the party, over the years they garnered support all over the country due to the organisation of the party and by 1928 they won 12 seats in the Reichstag, their exploitation of the economy however boosted their support massively and by 1930 they had won 107 seats

How did the Nazis continue their appeal to the German people and how did it support them

They milked the economic situation by making popular promises an out employment and such, but Hitler’s own speeches had a large factor in convincing people to vote for them and there was also of course SA intimidation

What group was holding Hitler back from coming into power and who were they

The elites which consisted of von’s Papen, Schleicher and Hindenburg

How did the nazi’s realise they needed the support of the elites

Their seats dropped to 196 and they realised they could t rely on the exploitation of the weak economy any longer

Why didn’t the elite like the NSDAP

They had already turned Germany into a dictatorship with article 48 so they didn’t need Hitler

What did the Nazis and the elites have in common

Aside from nationalism they were both right wing

How did the nazi’s and the elite need each other

The elite’s needed the Nazis as they were extremely popular with the public, working them would promote the dictatorship if they could control a Nazi chancellor, the Nazis needed the elite as their votes were declining by November 1932 and they weren’t going to go up so they needed to get into power immediately

When was Hitler made chancellor and why

January 1933 as von papen convinced von Hindenburg that they could control him if he made him vice-chancellor

Why was Hitler’s power still not absolute even once elected

Hindenburg was not prepared to support hitler’s appointment until he had been satisfied that the chancellor’s power would remain limited, as well as this there were only 2 other Nazi ministers in a cabinet of 12 (frick and göring) which again restricted their power over the army, industry and land ownership and his coalition didn’t