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Roots of the Third Reich
The rise of Nazi Germany was the capstone of the interwar period, leading to the outbreak of World War II and shattering the tenuous peace. Its leader, Adolf Hitler, was immensely disturbed by the German defeat in World War I and blamed the loss on Marxists and Jews, who he said had surrendered the nation. In 1920, he seized control of the National Socialist German Workers Party, called the Nazi Party for short, and on November 9, 1923, and attempted a small revolution known as the Beer Hall Putsch, for which he was promptly arrested. Hitler spent two years in prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which outlined his political beliefs and future policies, all centered on the theory of Aryan superiority and Jewish inferiority.
Hitler’s Rise to Power
Released in 1925, Hitler honed his public speaking and worked for the advancement of the Nazi party. Initially, such advancement was slow, but as the world became mired in depression and unemployment rose, so did support for the Nazi Party, which promised employment and a return to glory for the nation. In 1932, the Nazis won 37.3 percent of the popular vote and, in 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor. Once in office, Hitler dissolved the Reichstag and persuaded Hindenburg to grant Hitler the authority to prohibit public meetings, political uniforms, and the publication of dissenting opinions.
Less than a month later, the Reichstag building burned down. Hitler used the incident to persuade Hindenburg to restrict all individual rights and give him the authority to oust “failing” state governments. Even with Hitler’s private army, the S.A., terrorizing political opponents, the Nazis only won 43.9 percent of the vote in 1933. To gain a two-thirds majority, Hitler formed an alliance with the Nationalist party and declared the communist party illegal. On March 23, 1933, the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, ending elections and essentially giving Hitler dictatorial powers without limits. When Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler fused the positions of chancellor and president into one office: “Der Fuhrer.” Under his dictatorship, Hitler constructed the Third Reich and used the Gestapo, his secret police, to stifle all dissent.
Hitler’s Government
Hitler’s vague policy had the government oversee all functions of the economy, including plans for government projects for the unemployed to work on, shortened working hours to increase employment, and a ban on labor unions. Education and speech were entirely controlled, with textbooks rewritten to reflect Nazi ideology, and all movies, newspapers, radio, and art regulated by Joseph Goebbel’s Ministry of Propaganda. One of the Ministry's main tasks was to mobilize German anti-Semitism in support of Nazi persecution of German Jews. This persecution, which would culminate in the Holocaust, was a major step in Hitler’s plan to conquer all of Europe for the Aryan race, a plan that resulted in the outbreak of World War II.
Postwar Susceptibility to Totalitarianism
There are many explanations for why Hitler was able to come to power in Germany. While Hitler’s charisma and mastery of propaganda certainly helped, the political atmosphere in Germany following World War I was what truly made totalitarianism possible. Deeply ashamed of its loss in World War I, Germany was devastated both by the war itself and the steep reparation payments demanded by the Treaty of Versailles.
The German people, with a history of anti-Semitism, found it much easier to blame the defeat on the Jews and Marxists than themselves. Hitler provided this scapegoat, and claimed that if only the Germans could expel the Jews, the state could return to its past glory. That glory had long been associated with authoritarian government in Germany, with periods of liberalism associated with unrest and war. As a result, many sought a return to the old ways and the security they promised, and were happy to grant Hitler the power he needed to return German national pride.
In addition, Hitler's political program was a vague collection of promises that led each group to believe they would be the primary beneficiary of the Nazi government. He promised relief for the unemployed, protection of private property against the communist threat, profits for large businesses, and survival for small businesses. These promises addressed the most important reason for Hitler’s ascent to power: the economic depression that wracked Germany during the interwar years. This is demonstrated most clearly by the lack of growth in the Nazi Party between 1925 and 1928, a period of relative prosperity. Fortunately for Hitler, the 1930s brought depression to Germany, and one out of every two German families was affected by unemployment. As the leader of the frustrated and disillusioned, Hitler reaped the political benefits.
