Hitler and Nazi germany
Overview: Origins and rise, 1918-33
The Weimar Republic, which was set up in 1919, proved to be politically weak. It faced both left-wing communist rebellion and right-wing conservative and nationalist opposition, focused on the humiliating peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles.
Economic conditions also proved unfavorable. When the French and Belgians invaded the Ruhr in 1923, hyperinflation resulted, ruining middle-class savings. When US loans were withdrawn, following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Germany fell into depression.
Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party thrived on the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic. Promises to restore German prosperity, provide jobs and ‘smash’ the Treaty of Versailles proved to be what German voters wanted to hear.
In March 1930, the country’s last democratic government – the ‘Grand Coalition’ – collapsed and subsequent chancellors relied on the president’s right to issue decrees (under article 48 of the Weimar Constitution). By July 1932, the Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag (parliament).
President Paul von Hindenburg was persuaded to appoint Hitler as chancellor on 30th January 1933 following ‘backstairs intrigue’, which Hitler had worked to his own advantage.
The Reichstag Fire permitted a further law that allowed the imprisonment of communists and helped to increase support for the Nazis in the March 1933 elections. Hitler forced through an Enabling Act, which gave him dictatorial powers over Germany.
General timeline
November 1918: Germany is defeated in WWI, a republic is declared
June 1919: Weimar Republic is forced to accept the Treaty of Versailles
January 1923: The French and Belgian troops invade the Ruhr (area between Germany, France and Belgium, owned by Germany), this results in massive inflations
November 1923: Hitler attempts the Munich Putsch and ultimately fails
February 1924: Hitler is imprisoned in Landsberg Fortress and was released in early December
October 1929: Wall Street Crash leads to mass unemployment in Germany
March 1930: Müller’s Grand Coalition collapses and Brüning becomes chancellor
September 1930: Nazis win 107 seats in elections (aprox 18.3% of the votes)
February 1932: unemployment rates reaches 6mil
April 1932: Hindenburg beats Hitler in presidential elections
June 1932: von Papen replaces Brüning as chancellor
July 1932: Nazis win 230 Reichstag seats, becoming the largest single party
November 1932: Nazis win 196 Reichstag seats — a sign that their support has passed its peak
December 1932: von Schleicher becomes chancellor
January 1933: Hitler becomes chancellor
February 1933: Reichstag fire is blamed on the communists
March 1933: Nazis win 288 Reichstag seats; the Enabling Act gives Hitler dictatorial powers for 4 years
How did the political circumstances of Germany after 1918 contribute to the rise of Nazism?
After the results of the Treaty of Versailles in 1918, Germany lost 13% of their territory in Europe
They were forced to reduce their size of their military, demilitarize the Rhineland, and divide East Prussia from the rest of Germany
The new constitution also contained some significant weaknesses, which were to cause problems in the later years
this constitution also gave considerable power to the president, who was elected every seven years
the political weaknesses of the Weimar Republic left it exposed to continual political threats in its early years
The Spartacus League (Spartakusbund) was an extreme left-wing socialist movement which attempted to overthrow the Republic in 1919
The Spartacus League was led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (who were founders of the KPD — the German Communist Party)
German nationalists showed their contempt (disregard) for the Republic in the military Kapp Putsch of March 1920 and the “White Terror” of 1920-22, when 400 political murders occurred, many committed by the Freikorps
Freikorps were volunteer groups of demobilized soldiers who continued to fight for right-wing values
How did the Nazi movement develop between 1919 and 1929?
NSDAP — aka Nazi party, stands for Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei was founded in Munich in 1919 by Anton Drexler
The Nazis attracted ex-soldiers and members of the Freikorps, who supported nationalist views of the party and seized on the opportunities it provided
On November 9th, 1923, Hitler led 2,000 armed Nazis through Munich (the Munich Putsch). When things escalated, Hitler managed to escape but was arrested a few days later on November 11th. Hitler was sentenced to a minimum of 5 years, but only served 9 months
In these 9 months, Hitler wrote his semi-autobiographical book titled “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle)
In 1925-26, Hitler created the SS (Schützstaffel) as his personal bodyguard
The party also created new organizations for women, students, young people and teachers, which helped the party directed its appeal to a wide spectrum
How far did the circumstances of 1929-33 open the way for Hitler’s rise to power?
The 1929-30 withdrawal of IS loans and the collapse in the export market had catastrophic repercussions for Germany
Around a third of all Germans found themselves with no regular wages. This was fuel for extremist parties, such as the Nazis who mocked the government’s inaction
Hitler called for immediate elections and mounted another massive propaganda campaign. He was helped by the Reichstag Fire on February 27th, 1933, which gave him an excuse to blame the communists and ask Hindenburg to issue an emergency decree “For the Protection of People and State”
On March 5th 1933, the Nazis gained 43.9% of total votes cast. Hitler was short on votes, thus made him rely on other parties to obtain the 2/3s majority needed to change the constitution. He joined with the conservative DNVP (Deutschnationale Volkspartei/German National People’s Party), which held 8% of the votes, and the Catholic Center Party, which won 11.2% of the votes.
Since the Nazis won, Hitler expelled all communist parties from the Reichstag
Hitler was able to combine his legal powers and the threat of force to remove of ‘Nazify’ those groups or institutions that might limit his power in a process known as Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung: refers to a co-ordination process whereby all German institutions were to conform to Nazi ideals
Overview: Ideology and the nature of the state
Many elements that made up Nazi ideology were already to be found in 19th-20th century thought — for example, the belief in the superiority of the Aryan race, anti-Semitism, and the cult of leader/ Führerprinzip
Hitler brought his own belief in German nationalism to the NSDAP and drew on the dicontent in post-war Germany to establish a new doctrine of Nazism
In 1920, his 25-point program set out the principles of nationalism, racialism, anti-Semitism, and Volksgemeinschaft (community)
Timeline
1908: Hitler begins to develop his ideas in Vienna
1919: Weimar Republic is established; Treaty of Versailles is signed, which influenced Hitler’s thinking
1920: 25-point program is introduced, reconciling nationalism and socialism
1924: Hitler writes his semi-autobiographical Mein Kampf while in Landsberg Fortress
1933: Hitler becomes chancellor and is in a position to put ideology into practice
1942: Final details of the Holocaust are established
Hitler’s main ideas and definitions
Supremacy of the state and Volksgemeinschaft
the belief that loyalty to the state is more important than any other loyalty; people should feel bound together by blood as a single community
Social Darwinism
the acceptance that life is a constant struggle and, without interference, the strongest will always win — this was indirectly derived from Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest
Lebensraum
the right of the superior German race to acquire living space for its people
Pan-Germanism-Herrenvolk
the supremacy of the German Aryans as the master race
Anti-democracy
a conviction that democracy gives undue wight to weaker peoples and mediocrities
Führerprinzip
the principle that the leader’s will is the source of all political authority; from this developed the ‘cult of the leader’
Anti-feminism
the belief that a woman’s role is as the bearer of future Aryans
Anti-marxism
hostility to Marxism as an international creed that weakens nations
Anti-Semitism
a belief that Jews are the lowest race in the social hierarchy and should be persecuted
Blut und Boden (Blood and soil)
the belief that the blood of the community is rooted in the soil
To what extent was Nazi ideology rooted in the past?
The idea of a superior German Volk originated in the writings of a philosopher Johann Gottfried von Herder at the end of the 18th century, at a time wwhen Germany was divided into many separate states.
Hitler’s desire to unite all people of German race, create a sense of national community (Volksgemeinschaft), emphasize the superiority of the Germans and demanded a strong German state can all be traced back to these ideas
In the 1880s, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche put forward the idea that, just as there were superior races, so there were superior individuals. He suggested that a man with the ‘will to power’ was needed to lead to the lower orders and that such a leader would be naturally superior — an übermensch (superhuman). This idea was to be used to justify the Nazi idea of the Führerprinzip or indispensable leader
What did Hitler himself contribute to Nazi ideology?
4 basic elements of Nazi ideology — the superiority of the German race, anti-Semitism, the cult of the leader and the survival of the fittest — were already well established before Hitler emerged as a politician. Nazi ideology was also shaped by Hitler’s own experience. His upbringing and his experiences in Vienna before WWI
Hitler probably possessed a dormant anti-Semitism before his arrival in Vienna, but it was here that he observed and read pamphlets, newspapers and books that reinforced his prejudices
The ideological principles of the Nazi party in its early years were broader than those that subsequently dominated. In early years, the party embraced socialism, with demands for abolition of unearned income
What really set Nazi ideology apart was the way nationalist intolerance was combined with radical intolerance. Nazism embraced nationalist principles but added a belief in a new society to which only the racially pure within the state belonged
How important was the role of ideology in Nazi Germany?
Through Gleichschaltung, Hitler co-ordinated all aspects of the state to serve his ends, and the idea of Volksgemeinschaft was spread through youth, community and workers’ organizations such as Beauty of Labor and Strength through Joy
The belief in the importance of competition and the survival of the fittest was seen in the way policies were carried out
Intolerance permeated the regime in its political consolidation and social policies. Nationalism underpinned Hitler’s defiance of the Treaty of Versailles, while racialism led to actions against minority groups and virulent (hostile) anti-Semitism, through a series of anti-Jewish actions and legislations
However, while policies were shaped in the light of ideology, it was often the case the practical politics prevented ideological principles being carried out immediately, or in the entirety
The growth of Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies displayed no coherent pattern. Persecution remained fairly low-key until 19355, and there was no Holocaust until the years of war
Ideology was crucial to the success of Hitler as a single-party leader. However, Hitler controlled how ideology was used to further his own political ends. he was not driven simply by desire to put ideological principles into practice, but had his own agenda and moulded Nazi ideology to fit it
Overview: Establishment and consolidation of Nazi rule
Without removing the old structures entirely, Hitler nevertheless ensured that the Nazi Party gained control over government at both central and local level
Hitler made extensive use of propaganda to promote his dictatorship, but also relied on the repression of his enemies, including perceived enemies within the party — such as the SA, which was purged in the Night of the Long Knives
There appeared to be little opposition to Nazi rule but, beneath the surface, political, ideological and religious hostility remained an element of dissension continued in some some groups of young people
Despite the consolidation of power, Hitler’s actual style of rule suggests that his position at the top of the party and state hierarchy was not as authoritarian as it might seem in theory
Timeline
March 1933: Enabling Act is passed — the “Law for terminating the suffering of the people and the nation” — giving Hitler dictatorial powers for 4 years
April 1933: Law for Restoration of Professional Civil Service is passed
May 1933: All trade unions are dissolved and workers forced to join the DAF (German Labor Front)
July 1933: Concordat is concluded with the Pope whereby the Catholic Church is banned from political activity in return for a promise that its religious freedom will be upheld
November 1933: elections are held in which the Nazi candidates win 92.2% of the vote