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Hitler's Rise to Power (Early development 1920-22 (1919-20 (Setting up…
Hitler's Rise to Power
Early development 1920-22
1919-20
Setting up the NSDAP had 5 parts:
Party policy- the 25 point programme
Hitler's personal appeal- he was a very talented public speaker and knew how to intrigue listeners through slogans and gestures
Party organisation- meetings were more organised, membership and funds began to grow and they were therefore able to buy a newspaper 'The People's Observer'.
Party leadership- Hitler forced an election and he defeated Drexler and became party leader
The SA or 'Brownshirts- made of ex-soldies, unemployed and students mostly. They were an outward display of strength and organisation
Early Growth and features of the Party
When Hitler joined the DAP in September 1919, only 23 people attended the first meeting. The Treasurer announced their funds as 7 marks and 50 pfennigs which was only enough to buy some groceries.
By June 1920 the DAP had 1,000 members and grew by 2,000 more by the end of 1920.
The party's main policies tended to focus on socialism and nationalism hence why Hitler changed the name to NSDAP.
By November 1923 they had 50,000 members
Role of the SA and The 25 point programme
The 25 point program included policies like: 'we demand land and colonies to feed our people and settle our surplus population'
'Only those of German blood...are members of the nation. No Jew may be a member of the nation'
It explained the policies of DAP like opposition to Weimar politicians and opposition to democracy
The role of the SA was to impress the public with a sense of power and organisation. They were used to control crowds, subdue any opposition to Hitler and also to disrupt opposition meetings.
The Munich Putsch and the Lean years 1923-29
Munich Putsch
Hitler used the SA to take over (at gunpoint) a political meeting run by Gustav Kahr (Prime minister of Bavaria) and made him agree to support the putsch
Once things got going, Kahr was allowed to go home and he very quickly changed sides.
The Nazis carried on but were stopped when they marched into Munich by policemen. A brief gunfight began despite General Ludendorff being there. Hitler and other Nazi leaders were arrested
Hitler was only sentenced to 5 years which was a very small sentence for treason. Treason normally came with the deal sentence so the bias to Hitler was evident from the start.
The trial was a triumph for the Nazis as Hitler used it to push his message and his martyrdom to the public.
He was sent for Landsberg prison and was given a spacious room with frequent visitors and full access to writing materials. It was then that he wrote his book-
Mein Kampf
Limited support for the party
There was limited support for the party because Weimar was in their 'Golden Years' (1924-29). While a government is stable, people are less interested in extremism
This wasn't good for the Nazis but it wasn't as bad as it could have been as they marketed themselves mainly on nationalist and socialist policies so they weren't as extremist as communist groups.
Party reorganization and Mein Kampf
The failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923 would have been the death to any other political party, despite their large growth. But Hitler used the trial and publicity to their use, he gave public speeches during his trial which won national publicity.
Although they remained a minor party till the Depression struck, they were now a nationally known one
Upon his return to the party in 1925, Hitler began reorganizing the party starting with a clear hierarchy of leadership within the party.
there were regional leaders down to people who were in charge of a neighborhood or city block. each were obedient to Hitler but were allowed to apply initiative to the situation which allowed a dynamism which other party couldn't replicate.
Mein Kampf didn't sell very well in its early years and only really took off in 1933 during Hitler's first year as Chancellor.
It highlighted some ideas that would become the Nazi's main policies eg. lebensraum and anti-semitism
Growth of support for the Nazi Party 1929-32
Growth of unemployment and Weimar's response
Unemployment was a huge issue, by 1932 6.5 million people didn't have jobs
7 million (1/3 of the population) were supported by benefits
15% of the unemployed got no help from the government, 30% got benefits and 25% got emergency relief. 30% were supported by their local councils.
Growth of support for the party
Ordinary Germans were frightened by the Depression and the rising unemployment rate. Hitler promised to supply them with jobs, a good economy and get Germany back on track
He promised political stability which they didn't have
He also promised to conquer and destroy the threat of communism
Foreign companies and organisations donated money to the Nazis because Communism was a threat all across Europe and if they had more money, they could afford more extravagant and eye catching campaigns to capture the public.
The frailty of Weimar contributed to their growth in support massively as Weimar could no longer promise them everything the Nazis could and still be believed, the public had lost their faith in SDP
The NSDAP gained 218 seats over 4 years and the SDP lost 19 seats in those same years.However during these years, the KPD also gained seats which signified that people were favoring extremism and this wasn't good for Brunings government
Propaganda and the SA
Strasser and Goebbels used the latest techniques in technology usually to impress and indoctrinate the public with propaganda.
They used loud speaker, slide shows, combined music and lighting and memorable symbols like the swastika, uniforms and salutes to create an impression of order, purpose and power
All of these techniques came together in the Nuremberg Rallies, the first of which took place in 1927
The SA were brought under closer control and mainly used as a propaganda tool. Also to keep control in meetings and rallies.They were also used in the prevention of opposition eg, disruption of meetings.
How Hitler became Chancellor 1932-33
Political developments in 1932
In 1930 article 48 was only used 5 times. In 1931 it was used 44 time and 66 times in 1932. The public viewed them as weak because of it because the political climate was so unstable.
There was a rise in seats for the KPD aswell as NSDAP but in a way called negative cohesion. More people voted for the Nazis because seats for the communists were rising and they feared Communism
SDP's seats were falling and extremist seats were rising. KPD had the highest number of seats after SDP and the Nazis. The Nazis had a total of 288 seats in the march 1933 elections were they finally won a majority.
Role of Hindenburg, Von Papen and Von Schleicher
Von Papen wasn't very popular either but Hindenburg supported so he was chancellor between Bruning and Von Schleicher. He resigned on the 4th December as he had barely any support in the Reichstag and couldn't win Hitler's support
Von Schleicher was only chancellor for 2 months and Hindenburg had no choice but to appoint Hitler.
1930-32 was Brunings government and he was not popular because he didn't succeed in solving their problems. Von Schleicher persuaded Hindenburg to get rid of Bruning in 1932
In March 1932 Hitler stood against Hindenburg as President of Germany. He gained 13.4 million votes but Hindenburg won with 19.3 million.