History of Nazi Germany
Uploaded by Jeff Fulson on Apr 02, 2002
National Socialism between 1920 and 1945 can best be described as an era of constant change. Hitler's enrollment in the German Worker's Party provided him the foundation needed to propel his idealistic views of anti-Semitism and Aryan superiority. Soon after Hitler's enrollment the party's name was changed to the National Socialist German Worker's Party and in the summer of 1921 his talents as an orator and propagandist enabled him to take over the leadership of the Nazi Party. Hitler's initial following - stemmed from German hyper-inflation and devaluation of the mark - included unemployed workers and the lower class, his keen ability to organize rallies to hear his speeches were instrumental in raising monies for the Nazi Party. Although the majority of his followers shared his dislike of the Weimar Republic's liberal democracy and anti-Semitic agenda, his party support, due to it's small size, was limited to the Bavarian region of German, this would prove to be a limiting factor when Hitler attempted to seize control of the provincial Bavarian government during his Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. Hitler's ill-fated attempt of treason proved to work to his advantage; thus, giving him national status as a patriot and a hero in the eyes of many. As a result, Hitler served 9 months in prison for the Beer Hall Putsch and wrote a book titled Mein Kampf (My Struggle) outlining his vision for the future Germany.
By late 1924 Hitler was release on parole, after serving a portion his five year sentence, and quickly regained control of the Nazi Party, noting that any future seizure must come by legal measures through Parliamentary elections.
Faced with a temporary improvement of the German economy by the Weimar Republic's ability to secure loans and investments (mostly from America), Hitler was forced to wait until economic conditions worsened to propel his Nazi agenda. In 1929 Hitler finally got his chance, the American stock market crash of 1929 affected nearly every nation in the world and German prosperity soon came to an end as a result of the Great Depression, vast unemployment and hunger that followed. President Hindenburg’s Weimar Republic soon found itself obligated to repay debts owed to countries that once provided assistance during times of prosperity. Discontented German people wanted change and Bruening (Chancellor) believed that a stable parliament majority for his party could deliver the change required, so new elections were held....