How did Hitler create support?

Question 1

Were there economic problems?

Answer 1

• The economic problems led to political discontent and meant extreme parties were able to secure support in the elections.
• In the period 1929-33, the Nazis became the largest political party in Germany.
• Hitler was able to appeal to all classes of society; his simple messages and slogans could be understood by all.

Question 2

What was the role of Josef Goebbels?

Answer 2

• During the years 1929-33, the Nazis increased their support through propaganda.
• They did this in a variety of ways such as having mass rallies, putting up posters in prominent places and displaying banners wherever possible so that the Nazis appeared to be everywhere.
• The Nazis were most fortunate in having a person who understood how to use the mass media and also to manipulate huge audiences.
• Josef Goebbels ensured that the Nazi messages was simple and frequently repeated.
• By the early 1930s, the Nazis owned 120 daily or weekly newspapers regularly read by hundreds of thousands of people across the country.
• As Germany descended into political chaos in 1930-32, Goebbels was able to present the Nazi Party in local, regional, national and presidential elections.
• The Nazi message was heard everywhere, especially on the radio.

Question 3

When did the Nazis have electoral success?

Answer 3

• When Chancellor Heinrich Bruning called a general election in 1930, he was hoping to secure a clear majority for his Centre Party.
• However, the impact of the Wall Street Crash and the developing Depression disrupted the political situation.
• Unemployment had hit all classes and thus Hitler and the Nazis tried to appeal to all sections of society.
• The Nazi message was that the Weimar had caused the economic crisis in Germnay and the weak coalition governments had no real solutions to offer.
• The Nazis alone could unite Germany in a time of economic crisis.
• The Nazis then played on the resentment of the Treaty of Versailles.
• The old wounds were reopened and Germany’s problems were blamed on the November Criminals and the Weimar Republic.
• Only the Nazis could restore Germany to its former glory.

Question 4

How did Hitler convince people who didn’t believe the Nazi message?

Answer 4

If there were any who doubted the simple Nazi messages, Hitler ensured that another scapegoat could be offered.

• He blamed the Jews for Germany’s problems. He said that they:
• were involved not only with Communism but also the evils of CAPITALISM
• had helped to cause unemployment
• had conspired in Germany’s defeat in the First World War
• had been involved in the Bolshevik Revolution
• were preparing to cause a revolution in Germany which would mean that all private property and wealth would be seized by the state.
• The 1930 election proved to be the breakthrough for Hitler and the Nazi Party.
• For Bruning, the election meant that he still had to rely on Hindenburg and Article 48.

Question 5

How were the SA and the Communists involved?

Answer 5

• In his speeches, Hitler claimed that parliamentary democracy did not work and said that only he and the NSDAP could provide the strong government that Germany needed.
• The Nazis used the Sturmabteilung (SA) not only to provide protection for their meetings but also to disrupt the meetings of their opponents, especially the Communist Party.
• Hitler reappointed Ernst Rohm as the leader of the SA in January 1931 and within a year its membership had increased by 100,000 to 170,000.
• The Communists had their own private militia, the Red Front Fighters, and there were countless fights between them and the SA.
• On many occasions there were fatalities.
• Hitler sought to show the German people that he could stamp out the Bolshevik violence and threat of revolution.
• The SA also attacked and intimidated any overt opponents of the Nazis.

Question 6

How did Hitler then increase the support for the Nazis?

Answer 6

• Hitler had developed the art of public speaking in the early days of the NSDAP and his speeches always attracted many people and helped increase the membership of the Nazi Party.
• He helped to draw up the Twenty-Five Point Programme and he was fully aware that after the Putsch he had to prevent himself and his party as law-abiding and democratic.
• He also knew that if he had to be able to offer something to all groups in German society if he was to be successful in any elections.
• He never lost sight of these points during the two years before he became leader of Germany.

Question 7

How did Hitler’s charisma help?

Answer 7

• Hitler could be all things to all people.
• He was the war hero, the saviour and the ordinary man in the street.
• The image created was that his whole existence was given over to Germany and there was no distractions to prevent him achieving his goals.
• He had created a philosophy which all could comprehend and furthermore his vision of the future resolved around making Germany the strongest nation in the world.
• Hitler had one characteristic which most other politicians lacked - charisma.