The Rise of the Nazis 1929-1933

The Great Depression

Aims:

• Identify the effects of the Great Depression on Germany.

• Explain how this helped the Nazis come to power.

The Great DepressionStock ExchangeA place where stocks and shares in companies arebought and sold.

SharesTo raise money businesses offer people the

opportunity to buy shares in their company. If the company

makes a profit the shareholder will receive a share of that profit and the price of the shares will go up.

Wall Street CrashWhen share prices in the USA collapsed in October 1929.

American Following the Great War

The Economy Collapses

Effects on Germany and Worldwide

Political Parties Reaction to the Depression

The Great Depression• As US banks struggled to cope with the effects of

the Wall Street Crash they demanded the repayment of loans that they had made to other countries including Germany.

• Many German companies could not afford to pay back these loans at short notice, so factories and companies closed down and unemployment in Germany rose rapidly.

• Other countries across the world experienced similar problems.

• The early 1930s became known as the ‘Great Depression’ when countries all over the world experienced high unemployment.

Task

• Copy Source A from page 28 of your textbook into your jotter. This is a graph showing unemployment in Germany between 1928-1932.

• Copy the diagram showing the Nazi Party Election results from page 13 of your workguide.

• What is the connection between unemployment and support for the Nazis?

Enter the Nazis

Aims:

• Identify the different reasons why the Nazis came to power in 1933.

Factor No.1 The Depression• The Depression had a huge effect on Germany.• Unemployment rose to over 6 million.• Ordinary people who had lived through the 1923

hyperinflation had had enough.

‘What did he promise? Work and bread for the masses, for the millions of workers that were unemployed and hungry at that time….it sounded like a promise of paradise’ (Eyewitness Account)

‘The Nazis were helped by circumstance…….Their message hadn’t changed, it was just that now more Germans were ready to hear it’ (BBC Documentary)

Factor No.2 Germans Were Unhappy With the Government• Different politicians couldn’t agree on how to

tackle Germany’s problems.• Germany went through two Chancellors within a

couple of years.• President Hindenburg used his special

‘emergency powers’ to pass laws.

‘People said, It can’t go on like this’.…And the call for a strong man became louder and louder because democracy was achieving nothing’

Nazi Party Member

Factor No.3 Fear of Communism

• It wasn’t just the Nazis who became more popular – the Communists started to pick up votes to.

• Ordinary Germans were worried that a Communist Revolution would take place in Germany and they would lose their land, businesses and wealth.

• Hitler promised to deal with Communism and many middle class voters turned to him.

Factor No.4 The Personality of Hitler

• Hitler was a powerful and inspiring speaker.

• He made people believe that he understood the problems they faced and knew how to tackle them.

• People wanted someone they could have faith in and Hitler seemed to offer that.

Factor No.5 Organisation of the Nazi Party

• During the early 1930s the Nazis ran successful election campaigns

• There were Nazi offices all over Germany to recruit followers.

• Joseph Goebbels was in charge of propaganda and millions of posters and leaflets were printed to get the Nazi message across.

• The Nazis held huge rallies where Hitler made passionate speeches.

• In the 1932 election Hitler used an aeroplane to take him to 20 cities in seven days to make speeches.

The Rise of the Nazis

• In groups of two or three discuss the main factors which helped the Nazis rise to power.

• As a group, discuss and decide what you think is the most important factor.

• Be prepared to give a reason for your answer!!

The Final Steps• Hitler ran for President in April 1932 – he came second

with 13.4 million votes and his popularity continued to grow.

• In the July 1932 election the Nazis became Germany’s most popular political party 230 seats

• President Hindenburg didn’t trust Hitler and didn’t want to give him the job of Chancellor.

• He appointed an old friend Franz von Papen as Chancellor but he had no support in the Reichstag and didn’t last long.

• Another election was called in November 1932 and the Nazis were still the largest party – 196 seats. Again another old friend of Hindenburg’s – von Schleicher was appointed Chancellor but he soon resigned.

• On 30th January 1933 Hindenburg finally offered Hitler the role of Chancellor.

Hitler Takes Control

Aim:

• Examine the steps that Hitler took to establish a dictatorship in Germany

Hitler Takes Control

When Hitler became Chancellor on 30th January 1933

his grip on Germany was not yet secure.

• His party did not have an overall majority in the Reichstag.

• He was one of only three Nazis in the Cabinet.• President Hindenburg had the power to dismiss

the Chancellor at any time.

However within a matter of months, Hitler destroyed

democracy in Germany and set up a brutal dictatorship.

The Nazi DictatorshipKey Term: Dictatorship

When a country is ruled by one leader who has unrestricted power.

The main features of any dictatorship are:

• One leader with absolute control.• The leader uses the armed forces to maintain power by

force.• Law are made without a parliament.• Organisations who could oppose the government are

banned e.g. trade unions.• Terror and intimidation are used to silence opposition.• A single political party exists – all other parties are

banned.• People are denied basic rights e.g. freedom of speech.

Hitler Takes Control

27th February 1933

• Hitler called another election for March 1933.

• He hoped to win a huge victory and get a majority in the Reichstag.

• This would allow him to pass any laws he liked.

• A week before election day, the Reichstag was burned down.

• A young communist - Marinus Van der Lubbe was arrested and blamed for the fire.

• Hitler said the fire was part of a Communist plot to take over the country. But who was really to blame?

‘I must insist that my action was inspired by political motives….As to the question whether I acted alone, I declare emphatically that his was the case. No one at all helped me’

Van der Lubbe, 3rd March 1933

‘The burning has long been credited to Goering……There was an underground tunnel from his office to the Reichstag. A Dutchman, Lube claimed to have set fire to the Reichstag but since he was three-quarters blind, quite mad and incapable of co-ordinated movements, the claim could not be taken seriously.’Robert Payne, ‘The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler’.

Hermann Goering was a leading Nazi and member of the Cabinet. He was in charge of the majority of the police force in Germany.

1st March 1933• Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to pass the ‘Decree

for the Protection of the People and State’.• This gave Hitler the power to deal with the

‘Communist’ plot.• This law took away basic rights from the German

people such as freedom of speech and assembly. It authorised phone taps and house searches. This made it impossible for political parties to campaign freely.

• Over 4000 Communists were arrested and their newspapers where shut down.

23rd March 1933

• The Nazis won the election with 288 seats – they still didn’t have a majority.

• The Nationalist party agreed to support Hitler and the Enabling Act was

• passed.• This gave Hitler the power

to make laws without the approval of the Reichstag for four years.

• Democracy in Germany was now over.

7th April 1933• The Nazis took control of all areas of the

government and police.• The Gestapo (secret police) were formed.

2nd May 1933• Trade unions were banned.• Ordinary workers now had no way of

complaining about pay and conditions.

14th July 1933• The Law Against the Formation of Parties banned

all political parties in Germany except the Nazis.• Anyone attempting to set up and run a rival party

would be imprisoned.

The Night of the Long Knives

• The SA had been Hitler’s private army since 1921.

• They had protected Nazi meetings, drummed up support and attacked opponents like the Communists.

• By 1934, there were 4 million Stormtroopers led by Ernst Rohm.

• Rohm wanted Hitler to merged the army with the SA and place them under his command.

• The army opposed this and saw the SA as an undisciplined bunch of thugs.

• Joseph Goebbels convince Hitler that Rohm was plotting against him and planning to remove him from power.

• On the 30th June 1934, Rohm and other SA leaders were dragged from their beds by squads of SS men.

• Rohm refused to commit suicide in his prison cell and was shot in the head.

• The power of SA was brutally destroyed.

2nd August 1934

• President Hindenburg died, age 87.

• Hitler combined the offices of President and Chancellor and called himself the ‘Fuhrer’ (leader).

• The army had to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler. They were grateful to Hitler for saving them from Rohm and the SA.

‘I swear to God that by this sacred oath I will give complete obedience to the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler….and will be ready as a brave soldier to risk my life at any time for him’.