Economic factors were a crucial component in the collapse of the Weimar republic and therefore, the rise of the Nazi party between 1918 and 1933. According to Hugo Preuss, “Weimar was born with a curse upon it.” This refers to the harsh conditions set by the Treaty of Versailles, and also the huge reparation payments of $6600 million that Germany were forced to pay as a result of their part in WW1. This was particularly difficult for Germany as their economy was weakened from funding their war effort. However John Hiden felt that other factors contributed more to the collapse of Weimar and the expansion of the Nazis. “Versailles certainly did not doom the Republic from birth.” Another important ingredient in the rise of the Nazis was the hyper inflation of 1923. It came as a result of Germany missing one of the reparation payments. This gave the French and the Belgians the excuse to invade the heart of the German economy, the Ruhr. To limit the benefit to the invaders, a general strike was called. However this slowed and nearly stopped their economy. More money was printed to try and solve…
Had the stock markets not crashed and the Great Depression not happened the Nazi party would have stayed as a small party and Hitler would not have taken power. Another reason that Hitler came to power was his political views. A popular view was that he wanted to once again make Germany a great power like it was prior to The Great War. Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's past mistakes. Also one of his main priorities was to destroy the Treaty of Versailles, this was very popular with the German public as they believed the Politian’s WW1 had betrayed them by signing the…
Bibliography: 1.Trueman, Chris. "The Nazis and the German Economy." The Nazis and the German Economy. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. .…
After the implementing the Nuremberg Laws, Hitler targeted economics measures (Friedlander 144). However, as Friedlander points out, “they must not create a situation that would turn the Jews into a public burden; thus carefully calculated steps were needed (Friedlander 144).” This is a clear example of the larger point Friedlander is making—that is, Hitler, although brash and reactionary, was careful in his planning from the beginning. Hitler did not want the foundations of society crack, causing his vision, whatever it may have been, to fall apart. Friedlander highlights the “fundamental criterion” for measuring the success of anti-Jewish segregation was the level of Jewish economic success (Friedlander 232). In early 1938, the anti-Jewish economic campaign was “full throttle (Friedlander 257).” It was the Kristallnacht pogrom that was the final blow to Jewish economic life in Germany (Friedlander 258). This caused a roar of violence, but also damaged Hitler’s international reputation (Friedlander 262). Friedlander explains the violence “was not what Hitler needed as the international crisis over the fate of the Sudetenland was reaching its climax (Friedlander 262).” So Hitler stopped it. This is another example of tactical decisions made by Hitler regarding the persecution of Jews. Economics sanctions continued to hurt the Jews, but Friedlander explains…
-The Nazi party brought stability both in economic matters but also politically, and many Germans especially the middle class were very comforted by these actions since they were afraid of the rise of communism.…
Hitler reversed the deflationary policy of the cabinets that had preceded him. He instituted a massive program of public works and spending. Many of these projects related directly or indirectly to rearmament. The government sponsored canal building, land reclamation, and the construction of a large highway system with clear military uses. The government returned some unemployed workers to farms if they had originally come from there. Other laborers were not permitted to change jobs. The Nazi economic experiment proved that by sacrificing all political and civil liberty, destroying a free trade-union movement, preventing the private exercise of capital, and ignoring consumer satisfaction, full employment to prepare for war and aggression could be…
Unemployment then rose to 6 million in Germany. The government cut expenditures, wages and unemployment pay and they started to print more money, by now Germany was in a really bad state and no one knew how they would get themselves out of this rut. Many workers turned to communism which inevitably frightened wealthy businessmen who ‘fueled the fire’ by giving Hitler the money to run his propaganda election…
It is his intention to get the German state back to a level to which it had been prior to WWI. He envisions a Germany that is finically stable and able to and willing to engage in fair trade with other nations. Much like FDR, Hitler must correct the internal social and political issues. However, unlike FDR, Hitler sees Germany’s problems as being caused by the victors of WWI. Ironically, the path that both leaders elected to take to revitalize their nations economic outlook both foreign and domestic is eerily similar. Through the advancement of the farmers and the gaining of state control and regulations on business and baking institutions, combined with the forecast of reestablishing international trade in order to improve the economic outlook of business and industry it is obvious that both leaders had their nations best interest in mind. It must be pointed out that in order to ensure the success of their programs both leaders sought and secured greater executive…
Hitler realised that he was going to work hard to get support from the Germans to solve the massive problems his country had. The main problems were unemployment, Autarky and hyperinflation. By the time Hitler became chancellor, the unemployment rate was at 6 million people. This meant 1 men out of 3 was without work. He also saw that Germany had to become self sufficient if it wanted to survive a war. Being independent and not needing help from anyone was very important for him. That is why international trading was one of…
Hitler always made a big deal of how bad he thought democracy was. The way a lot of Germans actually saw it was that ‘he dislikes what I dislike, he can’t be that bad’ in terms of democracy causing a lot of Germans to vote for Hitler and his way to take Germany forward in its future. German politicians seemed unable to tackle the problems the depression caused. When the depression came into full flow in 1930, the chancellor, Heinrich Brüning, pursued a tough economic policy. He cut government spending and welfare benefits. He constantly urged the German public to make sacrifices. Some believe he was trying to make the countries situation worse so that they didn’t have to make reparation payments anymore. Some however, think he was afraid of hyperinflation recurring like it did in 1923. In protest, the social democrats (still the biggest party in the Reichstag) pulled out of the government causing distress amongst the German public. Brüning and Hindenburg decided to call new elections in 1930. This turned out disastrous as it gave the Nazis the opportunity to exploit the fear and discontent in Germany and make the gains that got them to above the communists in the political standings. The new elections resulted in another divided…
Certainly, the chaotic nature of the Nazi Government is the most significant factor of Germany’s failed war production. Hitler planned to start the war in 1942, 3 years later than when it officially started, additionally he didn’t plan when and how he was going to attack the USSR. The actual mobilisation of the German economy was marred by inefficiency and poor co-ordination. Additionally, Nazi leadership was shocking, as the pressures resulting from the premature outbreak of war created problems, due to many agencies’ projects encouraged being ready for 1943. As a result, all the agencies continued to function in their own way, and not together which created conflict. Thus, the Nazi economy was characterised by shortages, duplicates and waste; with Britain spending half as much and producing 50% more. Therefore, with all the Nazi agencies working on their own to impress Hitler, and not together,…
He made sure that everyone in the country would benefit from his ideas. In the biography of Hitler in the Gale Database, it states, “In interviews with the foreign press, Hitler continued to insist that he wanted only peaceful changes in Europe, while at the same time calling for a scrapping of the Versailles Treaty… By 1935, Hitler had restored Germany to great-power status by announcing that the country was scrapping the military restrictions of the Versailles Treaty”, (“Adolf Hitler”, paragraphs 16-17). Basically, Hitler completely got rid of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles obligated Germany to hand over the countries it had taken over, reduce the size of their military, and to take the unmitigated blame for commencing World War One. Many Germans believed that the treaty was the main reason why the government was enervated. One of the first things Hitler did when he became Chancellor of Germany on January 30th, 1933, eliminated the treaty. Clearly, Hitler is a good leader because he omitted the Treaty of Versailles which helped Germany regain some of their freedom back. Historian and author Mark Weber claims that, ”... German governments launched innovative and ambitious programs. Within three years unemployment was banished and Germany’s economy was flourishing… the remarkable story of how Hitler tackled the crisis is not widely understood or appreciated”, (“How Hitler Tackled Unemployment And Revived Germany’s Economy”, paragraph 1). Mark Weber is trying to say that Hitler helped Germany recover from the Great Depression. The Great Depression was the economic plummet that affected many industrialised countries between 1929 to 1939. In 1933, the industrial production had bisected compared to the amount it was back in 1929. Hitler took action to get Germany back on its feet as soon as possible by using borrowing and spending techniques.…
As the Great Depression caused unemployment to rise in the early 1930s, many desperate people found hope in the Nazi party. In 1933, Hitler used the threat of a communist uprising to gain power. He then moved against all opposition parties and set up a fascist state in Germany. Hitler used many of the methods of Stalin and Mussolini to build a totalitarian state in Germany. The Nazis preached the need for hard work, sacrifice, and service to the state. The Gestapo, or secret police, arrested anyone suspected of opposing Nazi rule. The Nazis used the press, schools, and even churches to glorify their goals. They also waged a violent campaign against Jews, sending many to concentration, or prison, camps. To end unemployment and improve the economy, Hitler launched vast building programs, banned strikes, and placed strict controls on wages and prices. He also increased the German military, a step that violated the Versailles Treaty. The League of Nations condemned German rearmament, but did little to stop…
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party appealed to the German people during a time of political and economic instability. Hitler worked to ensure that his policies focused on highlighting general and emotional points, as opposed to specific ones that were not special or important to certain groups of people. This brought him closer to his audience, and he gained popularity among the Germans. In the Great Depression, Germany was looking for a leader to stabilize the country and create order and control through all of the disarray. The Nazi Party set their goals to eliminate groups that many Germans didn’t like: “...the Weimar Republic, the Communist Party, and the Social Democrats” (Evans). This gained them support from the German people. Their idea…
Hitler’s political abilities were outstanding. In order to attract and unite the German citizens, he used his personality, propaganda and wisely planned his speeches. Hitler used simple and concise language during his speeches so all citizens will understand him more and hopefully support him. He also had strong propaganda slogans painted promises of an alluring future for Germany. His first and most significant point was the “rebirth” of Germany to after the catastrophic Treaty of Versailles, which would be abolished when he seized power along with the other reparations. He promised to improve economic prosperity by changing the strategy that the current government used. A German whom had given Hitler…