Chitika

Monday 3 December 2012

Account for Hitler’s Rise to power and analyse the methods used to maintain this power



Adolf Hitler, who was the leader of Germany between 1933 and 1945, used various means to rise to power and maintain his power. He provided simple solutions to Germany’s many problems. His main aims were to achieve autarky (self-sufficiency), increase Germany’s land and create the Third Reich, and by doing so undo the Treaty of Versailles. By carrying out these actions, he would restore Germany to its former glory and create a huge power base for himself.
In the early 1930s, when Hitler rose to power, Germany was in a bad state. Economically, she was very weak. According to historians Martin Collier and Philip Pedley, by February 1929 17.7% of the German population was unemployed. By late 1929, the Reich Institution had to borrow 342 million Reichsmarks to pay out unemployment benefits. In addition to this, the German people were still upset about the disservice given to them by the Treaty of Versailles. At Versailles, Germany lost territory in Europe as well as Africa. Her armaments were restricted to 100,000 and Germany was made to pay £6,600 million in reparations. Most embarrassingly, Germany was made to sign a War Guilt clause, admitting her fault and full responsibility for the Second World War. The Treaty of Versailles, as well as other outside forces contributed to Germany’s economic problems. Despite outside efforts to aid the German economy such as the Dawes plan of 1924 by which substantially lowered German reparations payments. America also loaned money to Germany which she used to pay off reparations. In 1929 another economic aid proposal called the Young Plan was negotiated to further reduce reparations, however the following Wall Street Crash of 1929 meant that the plan was not put into action. With the economic depression that followed, the popularity of the Nazi party increased. The depression also caused an increased anxiety among the wealthy; they had almost lost their money once, and did not want it to happen again under socialism. According to historian Norman Lowe, “It was the widespread unemployment and social misery, together with the fear of communism and socialism, which gained the Nazis mass support.”  Hitler built up much of his support, both monetary and physical, through the wealthy business and land owners. According to Lowe, “although there were signs of economic improvement by the end of 1932, it was perhaps inevitable, at that point, that the Weimar Republic would collapse.”

In order to achieve and maintain his power, Hitler carried out a set of policies which first demerited his opposition, then legally made him the absolute leader. Firstly, “Hitler possessed tremendous energy and will-power and a remarkable gift for public speaking, which enabled him to put forward his ideas with great emotional force. He used the latest modern communication techniques – mass rallies, parades, radio and film” (Lowe). Hitler discredited his opposition through the use of violence (“show[ing] no mercy to communists and other ‘enemies of state’”). Then, in February 1933 the Reichstag (German parliament) was set on fire. Although it is assumed that the fire was lit by the Dutch anarchist Marinus van der Lubbe, according to Lowe “Hitler used the fire to stir up fear of communism and as a pretext for the banning of the party”. However, in the election in early March 1933, “in spite of all their efforts, the Nazis still failed to win an overall majority” (Lowe). In response to this, later in March 1933, Hitler passed the Enabling Act, the legal basis for his absolute power. He assured that the parliament would vote for the bill by surrounding the voting hall with his private armies; “MPs had to push their way through solid ranks of SS troops to get into the building. The 81 communist MPs were not allowed to pass” (Lowe). This Enabling Act allowed the government to make laws without the approval of the Reichstag, effectively eliminating its power. This meant that Hitler no longer needed the support of Franz von Papen (Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and Vice-Chancellor under Hitler in 1933–1934), Alfred Hugenberg (one of Hitler’s main advisors who helped him rise to power and hoped to control him) or any other political figure.  Next, through a policy of Gleichshaltung (forcible co-ordination) Hitler turned Germany into a totalitarian state. According to Lowe, “All parties except the National Socialists were banned”, and separate state governments lost all power. After a decree released in March 1933, “it became dangerous to oppose or criticize the government in any way” (Lowe). Religion was brought under state control in 1933 when Hitler signed an agreement (known as the Concordat) in which he promised not to interfere with German Catholics on the condition that they dissolved the Catholic Centre Party.

After achieving this absolute power, Hitler maintained it using both propaganda and violence.  In 1934 Joseph Goebbels (Minister of Propaganda under Hitler) stated that, “Propaganda was our sharpest weapon in conquering the state, and remains out sharpest weapon in maintaining and building up the state”. It was used to, according to historians John Hite and Chris Hinton, “indoctrinate the people with their Welandschauung (literally ‘view of the world’ or philosophy), seeking to turn them into committed members of their Volksgemeinschaft (peoples’ community)”. In April 1924, the associations which controlled radio content was taken over by the Nazis, and according to Hite and Hinton, “the Nazis established a unified radio system and purged it of hostile elements. Radio became one of the most powerful tools for indoctrination.” Hitler subsidised the production of radios, in 1935 there were 7 million sets, and by 1943 there were 16 million. In 1933 alone, 50 of Hitler’s broadcasts were transmitted, and the estimated audience of his speeches was 56 million (at a time when the total German population was just under 70 million) (Hite and Hinton). Propaganda in film was used with similar effect. According to Hite and Hinton, “Some films glorified the Kampfzeit (struggle for power); others tried to develop racist attitudes”. Probable the most famous of these films, called Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) displayed Jews as a parasitic race; rats were juxtaposed with Jews. However, this film was a failure at the box office.  According to Lowe, “education was also closely controlled so that children could be indoctrinated with Nazi opinions”. In the subjects of biology and history, school textbooks were rewritten to confirm Nazi theory. “Teachers, lecturers, and professors were closely watched to make sure they did not express opinions which strayed from the party line”. This system was supplemented by Hitler’s two youth organisations; the Hitler Youth (for all boys aged 14 and over) and the League of German Maidens for the girls. Through these organisations children were taught to discard traditional values of family, and instead be faithful to Hitler. In this way, Hitler created a loyal support base.

While propaganda was used to create unity among Germans, Hitler’s use of violence created much fear among the population. Hitler was in command of two armies, the SS (Hitler’s personal bodyguards) and the SA (“storm troopers” paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party). Hitler was also in charge of the Gestapo, the country’s secret police which, according to Collier and Pedley, “played a key role in eliminating opposition through creating an elaborate terror machine”. According to Lowe “’enemies of state’ rarely received a fair trial and the concentration camps introduced by Hitler in 1933 were full… They contained ‘political’ prisoners - communists, Social Democrats, Catholic priests, Protestant pastors.” This violence continued, and in June 1934 there was a night in which Hitler ordered his private guards (the SS) to kill many members of the Nazi army (SA) and prominent anti-Nazi people. “After the Night of Long Knives in June 1934, the SS became the main police arm of the Nazi Party with the aim of eliminating all opposition within the state” (Collier and Pedley).  

Finally, Hitler built and maintained his popularity through his various economic and military successes. He built up the German military from 100,000 in 1933 to 600,000 in 1936, defying the Treaty of Versailles and gaining much popular support. This army was then used to remilitarise the Rhineland (an area of land along the German border with France) in March 1936, which was a defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. He also had foreign policy successes such as the Anschluss (joining) with Austria, which was voted in 1938, the invasion of the Sudetenland (German speaking region) in Czechoslovakia later in 1938, and the following invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia. Hitler was also behind a successful intervention in Spanish Civil War on the side of Francisco Franco, the eventual victor. He was also able to carry out his new military tactic; the blitzkrieg (lightning war – the use of overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines). In addition to this, Hitler was also successful economically, increasing employment and economic output. According to Lowe, “Hitler was successful in eliminating unemployment… when he came to power the unemployment figure stood at over 6 million, but as early as July 1935 it had dropped to under 2 million”.  He achieved this through the creation of grand public works schemes, as well as office and administrative posts for the rapidly expanding party bureaucracy. Re-armament also caused many of the unemployed to become soldiers. Hitler was also successful in his policy towards family. Wanting a larger population, he banned contraceptives and closed down family planning centres. He set up reward schemes for women according to the number of babies they had. Meanwhile, he discouraged more undesirable people from having children; “over 300,000 people who were designated as ‘unfit’ (Jews, Roma, and people deemed physically unfit) were forcibly sterilised”. The combination of all of these policies ensured that Hitler remained a popular leader.

The economic and political situation of Germany during the early 1930s, including the high unemployment and political dissatisfaction, helped Hitler to gain his power. He used clever politics, such as his Enabling Act and the elimination of opposition to turn Germany in to a totalitarian state. He then used propaganda, and violence along with various military and economic successes to ensure the maintenance of his popularity, and therefore power. According to historian Ian Kershaw “without the unique conditions in which he came to power, Hitler would have been nothing … He exploited the conditions brilliantly.”


4 comments:

  1. I think treaty of Versailles was first world war, not the second one, as stated above

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  2. Do you have any of the citations for the quotes you used? I am writing a paper and you have very good information here but i need official citations.

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  3. I agreeeeeeeees

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