The Role and Importance
of Hitler in the
Development of the Nazi
Party 1919–33
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The Hitler myth
Hitler was regarded as the personification of the nation
and the unity of the ‘national community’, above the
selfish interests and scandalous greed of party officers.
He was also accepted as the single-handed creator
of Germany’s ‘economic miracle’ of the 1930s. The
fact that he purged the SA leadership in the Night of
the Long Knives in 1934 meant that people saw him
as representative of popular justice.
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The Hitler myth secured the loyalty to the regime of
even those who opposed the Nazi movement. Although
most were disappointed with the realities of everyday life
under the Nazis, millions of Germans believed that the
Führer could right all the wrongs, especially those
committed by Hitler’s lieutenants.
In the Hitler myth, ordinary Germans found
compensation for the tensions, anxieties and frustrations
of everyday life in Nazi Germany. Hitler himself became
so wrapped up in the myth, that by the end of the war, he
was so convinced of his own infallibility that he couldn’t
recognize the fact that Germany was defeated.
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Creating a totalitarian state
“Our opponents accuse us National Socialists … of being
intolerant and quarrelsome ... They say the National
Socialists are not German at all, because they refuse to
work with other political parties. So is it typically German to
have thirty parties? I have to admit one thing … We are
intolerant. I have given myself one goal – to sweep these
thirty political parties out of Germany…” a campaign
speech from July 1932.
A totalitarian state has a highly-centralized government
which suppresses all rival political parties.
How does this quote back up the idea that this is
what the Nazis wanted?
What methods did the Nazis use to maintain their
status quo?
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A united Germany
Since the formation of Germany in 1871, Germany had
been dominated by strong leaders striving for national
unity and a desire for world power.
The Weimar Republic, with its lack of strong leadership
and constant power struggles between political parties,
totally undermined all that Germans had been trying to
achieve. By 1932, the whole political system of Germany
was discredited; salvation could only be attained with a
leader who possessed personal power, and was prepared
to take ‘personal responsibility’ for running the country.
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Read Hitler’s speech from April 1939 and explain why the
Germans were so pro-Hitler:
“I have overcome the chaos in Germany, restored order,
massively raised production in all areas of our national
economy … I have … [brought] back into useful
production the seven million unemployed who were so
dear to all our own hearts, in keeping the German
peasant on his soil despite all difficulties … in attaining
the renewed flourishing of German trade. I have
politically … united the German people, [and] militarily
rearmed them…”
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Leadership
“Hitler’s personal magnetism, his unique demagogic talents
… apparent self-confidence and certainty of action” (I
Kershaw, 1994) meant Hitler was indispensable to the
movement. After all, it had collapsed whilst he was in prison
in 1923.
Hitler was fully aware of the importance his popularity
played in binding the populace to him. He pointed out that
the strength of the regime could not depend on “...the laws
of the Gestapo alone…” (H Picker, 1963), and that “...the
broad mass [of the population] needs an idol.” (Krausnick
& von Kotze, 1966).
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Hitler knew that the way to maintain the support of the
masses was by constant propaganda, showing the
successes achieved by the Nazis, particularly with regard
to foreign policy and military prowess.
How important do you think Hitler was to the
development of Nazi Germany? Give reasons.
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Hitler – larger than life!
“A great man, a genius, a person sent to us from heaven”
a 17-year-old girl in the crowd during one of Hitler’s rallies.
“I know there are people who are so fired up by their
enthusiasm for the resurrection of Germany that they look
upon me as a second Messiah. I must point out to all
these good people … that I am not a Messiah. A genius,
but not a Messiah.” Hitler.
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Hitler would frequently compare himself to Napoleon and
Bismarck. In November 1939 he told a gathering of 200
generals: “I am convinced of my powers of intellect and
decision … the fate of the Reich depends only on me.”
In 1944, after an assassination attempt, Hitler told his
secretaries: “If anything happens to me, Germany is lost
since I have no successor”.
What do these sources tell you about Hitler’s role in
developing the Nazi state?
Does it help explain why so many people were
attracted to him?
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Traces of the Hitler myth
As time went on, it was clear that Hitler became inseparable
from the ‘Führer Myth’. The more he succumbed to the
allure of his own myth, the more he believed it, which meant
his judgement became impaired by his faith in his infallibility.
Despite the loss of World War II, an early poll by the USA
in October 1945 showed that 42% of youths believed that
German reconstruction would best be carried out by a
‘strong new Führer’. A large proportion of youths believed
that Hitler was a good man with bad advisers.
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In the late 1950s, a sample of north German youth still
showed respect for the Hitler myth. They believed he had
done well by abolishing unemployment, punishing sexual
criminals, building motorways and reinstating Germany in
the esteem of the world. He was seen as an idealist, who
later became evil and insane.
Why do you think that, even today, Hitler and Nazism
still hold an appeal for young white males?
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