Hitler's rise to power and Weimar weakness
Uploaded by abrown on Oct 13, 2001
Assess the extent to which Hitler’s rise to power was a result of Weimar weakness."One seldom recognises the devil when he is putting his hand on your shoulder." -Albert Speer
The weak Weimar government was a major factor in Hitler rise to power, however it was not the only reason. Hitler’s use of aggressive propaganda and his use of fear in terror in the people was also a tactic that strongly helped his cause. Weaknesses in the Weimar that particularly helped Hitler’s rise were the weak foundations that the republic was built on. The roles of the conservative elite’s in German society were a strong influence on the downfall of the Weimar and the rise of the Nazis. The final and most influential factor was the great depression, this further added to the republic’s problems and the Nazis blamed all of Germany’s economic and social problems on the Weimar governments.
The Weimar was a rushed and often referred to as a ‘mistaken democracy’. Its been said “The dysfunctional nature of Weimar democracy ... aided in the rise of Nazism. The Weimar republic started in chaos, spent much of its short life in chaos, and dissolved without putting up much resistance.” The treat of communism that had taken over large parts of Europe of the people were scared that it would happen in their hometown, so their solution was to sign the agreement of democracy. The fact that Germany had never experienced a democracy was major reasons in its downfall, histories have often said, “ Germany is used to ruling itself, rather that being ruled by a democracy”. During the late 20’s and early 30’s the hostility of the German people were growing at an exponential rate. Living in a constant state of depression and poverty made these people search for an answer to these problems. People linked all these problems with the Weimar government “They were tired of misery, tired of suffering, tired of weakness. These were desperate times and they were willing to listen to anyone, even Adolf Hitler." One historian said. Hitler promised these people the solutions they wanted. Once he gained he exploited all the flaws of the constitution such as Article 48 and proportional representation which helped him strive towards his ultimate goal, chancellor of Germany.
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