The Rise Of The Nazi Party
World War II erupted in September 1939 after German forces invaded Poland. But the real causes of
the war lay buried in the past. After the unjust punishment they felt they had received at Versailles in
1919, many Germans, including Hitler, believed that German pride had to be restored. The Great
Depression of the 1930s created the perfect climate for dictators like Hitler to take advantage of the
situation and to push for power. To the cast, an increasingly militaristic Japan had also been on the
march, invading Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937.
After the slaughter of the Great War - the “war to end all wars” - no country in Europe was keen on war.
The destruction and loss of life were still too fresh in people's minds. Even in Germany, all the ordinary
people really wanted was to see better economic conditions for themselves and their country. Hitler
was accepted in the 1930s, both in Germany and in other countries, because he was able to get
people back to work and unify his country. The strong anti-communist approach he took was also well
received, especially in democratic countries like Australia where there was an almost irrational fear of
communism. So to better understand the outbreak of the second world war, we need to examine the
rise of the Nazi Party.
With the spectre of the Treaty of Versailles hanging over the heads of Germans, many people felt that
the government had betrayed the people by surrendering to the Allies.
In Munich 1923, a group led by Adolf Hitler attempted to overthrow the government and seize power.
The action failed and Hitler spent nine months in prison. However he had learnt a valuable lesson on
how to gain power, and would not make the same mistake again.
The year 1923 was a crucial turning point. Germany failed to meet its war reparation payments and
French troops marched into the Ruhr region. The German economy collapsed and a period of high
inflation resulted. People’s lives were ruined as money became almost worthless.
From late 1923, Germany began to work more closely with its former enemies. Gustav Stresemann
was briefly made Chancellor, and war repayments with the Allies were renegotiated. With the position
of Foreign Minister from 1923 - 1929 Stresemen improved the German economy. The devalued
currency was replaced with the Rentenmark and foreign investment, much of it from the United
States, financed a growth in industry and a reduction in unemployment.
In 1926, Germany joined the League Of Nations and it seemed that lasting peace was becoming
possible.
The death of Stresemann and the collapse of the New York stock exchange were to undo all the
good work of the 1920’s.
While times remained good for most
Germans, the Nazi Party held little sway,
remaining as just one of the many political
parties vying for people's votes. It was the
collapse of the New York Stock Exchange in
1929 and the subsequent plunge of the
world into an economic depression that
gave the Nazis the crisis they needed.
The depression made millions of Germans
unemployed as foreign investment money
was withdrawn from Germany and export
markets dried up. By 1932, the number of
unemployed had risen from 2.8 million (in
1929) to over 6 million. Signs of social
distress were everywhere. The streets were
full of people wandering aimlessly looking
for work that was not there. Shanty towns
Above: Adolf Hitler
sprang up. Charities could not cope with
the multitude who were seeking assistance. In their despair, people looked not only for solutions but
also for something or someone to blame for their misery.
The dark years of economic chaos provided the perfect climate for the spread of Hitler's ideas which
he had set out in the book Mein Kampf (My Struggle). He had written this book while in prison. In it, he
argued that:
!
to be a strong nation Germany had to be united under a strong leader struggle was the basis of
history.
!
struggle occurred between different races, and the main struggle for Germany was with the
Jewish race.
!
Germany had to have more land to safeguard itself if needed.
One of Hitler's skills was his ability to persuade others to accept his point of view. He was an
exceptional public speaker, and carefully stage-managed his speeches to create maximum effect.
They were as much about theatre as they were about public issues. He spoke of Germany's betrayal
at Versailles and how a new 'reich' (or empire) would be created in Germany. Germany's enemies
would be chased down and wiped out.
The economic crisis caused by the Great Depression put a severe strain on the government in 1930.
Unable to get the parties to agree on how to solve the crisis, Chancellor Muller resigned in March of
that year and was replaced by Chancellor Bruning. The chaos in the Reich- stag continued and
Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution was invoked, allowing the Chancellor to rule by decree, that is,
without the parliament.
By May 1932 President Hindenburg had been persuaded to dismiss Bruning, and von Papen became
the new Chancellor. A month earlier Hitler had run for the office of President against Hindenburg, but
had failed.
The change of Chancellor made little difference. At fresh elections in July 1932 the Nazis gained the
largest number of seats, with 37 per cent of the vote. Hitler demanded that he become Chancellor,
but Hindenburg refused. The Nazis then brought a no-confidence motion against von Papen which
succeeded. More elections were held in November 1932 and although the Nazis lost some ground,
they remained the largest party in the Reichstag. After further maneuvering, Hitler became
Chancellor in January 1933.
Despite its success, the Nazi Party still did not have full control of Germany. A new election was called
for March 1933. The Nazis used propaganda to great effect, whipping up the German people's fear
of communism. On the night of 27 February, the Reichstag building burnt to the ground and the
communists were accused. A young Dutchman, Marinus Van der Lubbe was tried and executed.
Hitler used the fire as an excuse to round up thousands of communists, convincing Hindenburg that
the situation was serious enough to declare a state of emergency.
In the 1933 elections the Nazis gained 44 per cent of the vote. To gain the absolute control he
wanted, Hitler first secured the support of the Nationalist Party (which won 8 per cent of the vote) and
then did a deal with the Centre Party to give himself a two-thirds majority in the parliament. He took
the opportunity to ban communist parliamentarians from taking up their seats under the emergency
laws.
With his two-thirds majority Hitler was able to introduce an Enabling Act which let him make laws for
four years without the consent of the Reichstag. By July 1933 Hitler had banned all political parties
except the Nazi Party. To cement his position he arranged for the leaders of his own 'stormtroopers'
and other opponents to be killed so that he could win the support of the army. This massacre
became known as the 'Night of the Long Knives'.
Hitler And The German Expansion
Even if other people could not see what Hitler was intending, his own plans were clearly set. The
League of Nations, a body set up at the end of World War I, proved to be powerless in stopping the
expansion of countries like Germany and Japan during the 1930’s. Hitler ignored the restrictions
placed on his country by the Treaty Of Versailles and embarked on a vigorous campaign of
rearmament. Almost systematically, he set about claiming territory he believed belonged to
Germany. In March 1936 he sent troops to occupy the Rhineland - something forbidden by the treaty
of Versailles. Neither France nor Britain did anything. Encouraged by this, German troops invaded and
claimed Austria in March 1938. Hitler now believed that the Allied countries would not risk military
involvement.
Six months later Hitler moved on the Sudeten- land, a part of Czechoslovakia where three million
Germans lived. The Czechs themselves wanted to resist this invasion but after Britain and France
refused to help them they had little option but to defer to the militarily superior Germans. During March
1939, the Germans also seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. By now the British and French were finally
beginning to see Hitler's real motives - German domination of Europe. In April 1939 Britain promised
that if Poland too were invaded, Britain would declare war on Germany. France already had such an
agreement in place. However, Hitler was not to be swayed. To clear the way for an invasion of Poland,
he signed a non-aggression pact with Russia in August that year.
Germany attacked Poland on 1
September 1939, the stated reason
being the 'liberation' of Germans living
in the 'Polish Corridor', which was
German territory before World War 1.
Russia also invaded Poland soon after.
Perhaps Hitler believed France and
Britain would continue to let him have
his way; or that Germany was so strong
militarily that a declaration of war would
make little difference.
Two days after Hitler's invasion of Poland,
World War 11 had begun. However, for
the next seven months there was only
limited military action, which led to this
period sometimes being referred to as
the ‘phoney war'.
Above: German troops arrive in Czechoslovakia. 1939
Questions
1. Create a timeline of the key events leading up to the outbreak of World War II in
September 1939.
2. Why do you think Adolf Hitler was able to gains such position of great power in
Germany?
3. What role did the Treaty Of Versailles play in the rise of the nazi party.
4. What “crisis” did the Nazi Party need, and why?
5. What is Mein Kampf? What does it mean and what does it contain?
6. List the steps taken by Adolf Hitler in order to ensure that he had absolute power with
little resistance.
7. What was the ‘Night Of The Long Knives”?