Rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party Part 1 (July 3rd) W2 Hitler & the Nazis: Origins in Post-WWI Germany

Germany’s Initial Mood in WWI (1914)

  • Outbreak of war produced what contemporaries called a “holy moment” of national unity.

    • Patriotic rallies, singing in the streets.

    • Kaiser Wilhelm II: “I know no parties, I know only Germans.”

  • Reasons for unity

    • Recently–founded empire (1871) still riddled with regional, confessional, and class divisions; war seemed to fuse Germans into one purpose.

    • Security concerns: felt encircled by France & Russia; chance to expand continental influence.

  • Importance for later history

    • Nostalgia for 1914 unity became a political commodity; Nazis would promise to restore it.

Fracture of Unity During the War (1915-1918)

  • Social Democratic Party (SPD) originally backed war credits (1914) → by 19151915 some members vote against them.

  • 1917 split: creation of Independent Social Democrats (USPD).

  • Growing war fatigue

    • Strikes escalate; rationing & hardship deepen class conflicts.

    • July 19171917 Reichstag Peace Resolution (SPD + Catholic Center + Liberals) calls for “peace without annexations or indemnities.”

  • Conservative backlash: Fatherland Party founded 1917

    • National-conservative, annexationist goals.

    • Membership > 1,000,0001{,}000{,}000 by war’s end.

Military Roller-Coaster & Collapse (1917-1918)

  • Eastern Front: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 19181918) removes Russia; huge territorial & economic gains.

  • Western Front: Spring Offensives (19181918)

    • Initial breakthroughs—the greatest movement since 1914.

    • Over-extension + arrival of U.S. troops → advance stalls; by Sept 19181918 German command admits defeat.

  • Political cover-up: generals seek reforms so civilian politicians must sue for peace (avoid blame).

  • Nov 19181918: Sailor mutinies & worker uprisings force Kaiser’s abdication (9 Nov); Armistice signed (11 Nov).

Personal & National Losses

  • Battlefield dead > 2,000,0002{,}000{,}000; wounded 4.14.1 million (≈ 0.50.5 million permanently disabled).

  • Home-front deaths from disease/starvation 500,000500{,}000 – 750,000750{,}000.

  • Total war-related German deaths >2.5 million; 1313 million served.

Hitler’s War-End Trauma (Memoir 1925)

  • Claims he wept for first time since his mother’s funeral.

  • Narratives introduced:

    • Sacrifice “in vain.”

    • “Gang of wretched criminals” (November criminals) betrayed frontline heroes.

    • Conflates Marxists with Jews: “There is no making pacts with Jews… either-or.”

  • Decides to “go into politics” to avenge betrayal.

Treaty of Versailles (June 19191919)

  • Germans excluded from negotiations; “sign or resume war.”

  • Territorial losses

    • Alsace-Lorraine → France; Polish Corridor splits East Prussia; all overseas colonies lost.

    • Rhineland occupied; union with Austria forbidden.

  • Military restrictions

    • Army capped at 100,000100{,}000; no conscription, submarines, heavy ships, or air force.

  • Reparations

    • Set April 19211921 at 132132 billion gold marks.

  • Article 231 (“war-guilt clause”)—legal basis for reparations, moral humiliation.

  • Contemporary protest: “What hand would not wither that binds itself and us in these chains?”

Birth of the Weimar Republic (1918-1919)

  • Double proclamation (SPD vs. Spartacists) 9 Nov 1918 → immediate left-wing splits.

  • Constitution written in Weimar (Berlin too chaotic).

    • Universal suffrage; proportional representation → chronic coalition instability.

  • Early violence

    • Spartacist uprising (Jan 19191919); far-left revolts elsewhere (e.g., Bavaria).

    • Far-right Freikorps units help crush uprisings—plant seeds for future paramilitaries.

Right-Wing Coups & Myth-Making

  • Kapp Putsch (March 19201920)

    • Freikorps march on Berlin; army refuses to fire; government flees; general strike defeats coup.

  • “Stab-in-the-back” (Dolchstoßlegende)

    • Promoted by generals Hindenburg & Ludendorff.

    • Civilian politicians—especially socialists, liberals, and Jews—blamed for defeat.

    • Core plank of Nazi propaganda.

Reparations, Ruhr Crisis & Hyperinflation (1921-1924)

  • Reparations opposition splits elites.

    • FM Walter Rathenau (Jewish industrialist) favors compliance to gain later reduction—assassinated 19221922.

  • Jan 19231923: French & Belgian troops occupy Ruhr after defaults.

    • German gov’t urges “passive resistance,” funds strikes by printing money.

  • Inflation trajectory (USD ↔ Mark)

    • 1914:1$=4.21914: 1 \$ = 4.2 ℳ

    • 1918:1$=141918: 1 \$ = 14 ℳ

    • Jul1922:1$=500Jul 1922: 1 \$ = 500 ℳ

    • Aug1923:1$=4.6×106Aug 1923: 1 \$ = 4.6\times10^{6} ℳ

    • Nov1923:1$=4.2×1012Nov 1923: 1 \$ = 4.2\times10^{12} ℳ

  • Social effects

    • Savings wiped; wages paid twice daily; wheelbarrows of cash; banknotes used as wallpaper.

  • Stabilization

    • Nov 19231923: Rentenmark introduced; U.S.–backed Dawes Plan (1924) reschedules reparations, floods Germany with loans.

    • Short-term recovery, long-term dependence on U.S. capital.

Relative Stabilization & Remaining Fault-Lines (1924-1928)

  • Locarno Treaties (Oct 19251925)

    • Germany, France, Britain, Belgium, Italy guarantee Western borders; hailed as “Locarno Spirit.”

    • No parallel settlement in East—future flashpoint.

  • League of Nations admission (1926).

  • Domestic politics

    • Paul von Hindenburg elected President (1925) by conservatives—monarchist, anti-republican.

    • Cabinets come and go (proportional system).

Pressure From the Extreme Right

  • Freikorps culture produces numerous nationalist paramilitary groups.

  • Fatherland-party legacy + stab-in-the-back myth create receptive audience for radical nationalism.

  • Many military & business elites resent republic but prefer it to socialism, setting stage for future “legal” authoritarian solution.

Early Hitler & Nazi Party Genesis (to 1923)

  • Postwar Bavaria: fertile ground for right-wing conspiracies; Hitler joins German Workers’ Party (DAP) → renames to National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP).

  • Beer Hall Putsch (Nov 19231923)

    • Failed coup in Munich; Hitler imprisoned (writes Mein Kampf).

    • Demonstrates need for “legal” path to power.

Key Themes & Significance

  • War experience produced longing for unity + resentment of defeat → Nazis promise revival.

  • Versailles & Ruhr crises feed humiliation narratives; hyperinflation sears memory of economic chaos.

  • Myth-making (stab-in-the-back, November criminals, Jewish-Marxist conspiracy) supplies ideological glue.

  • Structural weaknesses of Weimar (proportional politics, reliance on emergency decrees, elite hostility) create openings for anti-system parties.

  • International détente masks unresolved Eastern ambitions—a vacuum Nazis will exploit.

  • By 19331933 these social memories, myths, and institutional fragilities allow Hitler—once a fringe agitator—to be appointed Chancellor with conservative backing.

(Next lecture will trace the Nazi re-organization after 1923, electoral breakthrough after the Great Depression, and final seizure of power.)