Rise of Hitler Outline

Analyze the methods used and the conditions which helped in the rise to power of one ruler of a single-party state.

What methods and conditions helped Hitler rise to power in Germany?

Many factors contributed to Hitler's rise to power in Germany, but the most important of these were the unpleasant conditions facing Germany and the ways in which Hitler was able to use them to his advantage

Conditions facing Germany and how Hitler took advantage of them (methods):

• Economic disaster in Germany
• Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to lose important industrial areas, such as Alsace-Lorraine, while at the same time forcing the country to pay a huge sum of money in reparations. Lots of debt, no way to pay it all back
• Germany relied on American banks for loans to pay its reparations. When Americas economy/banks failed, Germany suffered as much as or more than any other country.
• Hitler was able to use the Treaty of Versailles, which many credited as being the common cause of these economic problems, in order to blame certain groups of people who he believed "stabbed Germany in the back." (Jews, communists, democrats) He was able to use the people's hatred of these groups to create a sense of nationalism and loyalty to the Nazi party.

• Political instability
• Germany had no experience with running any kind of democratic government, so the Weimar Republic was not very successful (too many political parties with proportional representation made it difficult to get anything done).
• Because Germany could not have an army of its own after the Treaty of Versailles, political parties began to build up private armies, causing conflicts that occaisonally led to violence.
• Hitler was able to use the weaknesses of the government set up after WWI to his advantage. His proposed Nazi Germany was a strong contrast to the Weimar Republic, being powerful and promising to act on its ideology. In addition to this, he was able to play on people's fears of other parties (communist revolution like in Russia). Also, the Nazis were particularly militaristic, having a strong private army that appealed to people looking for work.

Different interpretation:

• One might say that either propaganda or Germany's unstable condition alone was sufficient to allow Hitler to rise to power. However, it was how Hitler intertwined these two factors that established his role as Germany's leader.