Factors Giving Rise to Hitler’s Rise to Power, Essay Example

Introduction

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria and rose to become both Chancellor of Germany and leader of the tyrannical Nazi party. From a young age he developed a strong hatred of both the Jews and Communists.  He seized power in a constitutional manner using oratory skills to convince the German people to rise from the shackles of the Jewish and Communist peoples and create a new German Reich (empire) that would last 1,000 years.  The rise to power started in 1924 when Hitler re-established the National Socialist Democratic Part in Munich.  In the early days he forged alliances with Unions and created a para military wing to support the party. (History Place).

Hitler’s views became further polarised after his serving as a soldier on the Western Front in France.  After the war was over he returned to Munich where he was jobless, disenchanted, has no skills or money and no real friends.  He remained in the army and was given trivial jobs until he was given a job in the political department in 1919.  His good oratory skills and strong anti-sematic views gained approval from a more senior officer and he was promoted to the office of Educational Officer where he could expand his oratory skills.  Hitler grew in stature by delivering series of public lectures throughout the beer halls of Munich. During this time he was arrested and thrown in prison with a five year sentence. It was during this time he met Rudolf Hess who later became his deputy.  Hitler only spent nine months in prison and it was during that time he developed his thought and ideas into a book called MeinKampf (My Struggle).  By 1923 Hitler had achieved prominence in the Nazi party as a main spokesperson and he secretly put together the military wing of the party. Hitler admired the approach taken by Mussolini in the occupation of Rome and he began to realise that a similar concept was required in Germany.

The Rise to power

In re-establishing the party now Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi) he won 800,000 votes in 1928. He began moving the party into a strong military force with storm troopers being the central armed might of the party. By 1930 the party had grown to the second largest in Germany and held over 100 seats in the German Reichstag or Parliament.  Hitler was a great orator and he discovered that he had the ability to capture the minds and hearts of the German people.  He appealed directly to their main concerns and ambitions for social improvement.  He found a logical scapegoat in the Jews whom he blamed for the social ills in Germany.  It was the spread of the depression in 1932 that saw millions of jobless German people. The party flourished by promising a new approach, improved living and more jobs for the people. It was in 1933 that President Von Hindenburg called upon Hitler to form a new Government and take the position of Chancellor of Germany. (Rossell)

Methods of Exploitation

The party seized legitimate power by being elected to office.  From the 1920`s Hitler exploited the weaknesses and sentiments of post-world war 1 Germany.  The treaty of Versailles he portrayed as an insult to the German people. He used this to gain the affection of the German people and their support.  He pointed out the weaknesses of the German Government and stated the need for strong leadership in order to end the social woes of the German people. The Nazi party funded propaganda campaigns singling out the Jews as the problem and that Hitler was the last hope for the German people.  Hitler whipped up this hatred campaign by using his storm troopers to make examples of the Jewish people.

It was Hitler’s oratory skills that moved the people to support him. The economic situation in Germany was dire and the people needed change and firm leadership which Hitler promised them.   It was President Hindenburg that reluctantly allowed Hitler to become the Chancellor, believing that he could manipulate him once he was in office.  However, the subsequent death of Hindenburg allowed Hitler to seize presidential power as the Fuhrer or Leader of the German people. (English Online).

It was in the early 1930’s that Hitler demonstrated the power of his oratory skills and he travelled throughout the Cities of Germany delivering powerful persuasive speeches; in some instances as many as three a day.  He stressed the point of blaming the defeat of the First World War on the old politicians of Germany and that they had caused the people to lose pride in the fatherland. He squarely placed the blame for the demise on the Jewish bankers and money lenders and that the Jews in Germany had betrayed the country, He promised to build a new army and a war of retribution against the Jews and Communists whom had wrecked the German economy.  Hitler said that he would give the German people a new sense of pride for the fatherland and reconstitute the army for the war against communists.  In this period of reconstruction there would be jobs for everybody and together they would rebuild the Aryan race and supremacy of the German people

Self Conviction

It was after Hitler’s service in the First World War that he viewed himself as being a saviour of the German people . It was this strong sense of self belief that driven his purpose to convince the German people that he was their last hope for a determined and forceful leader that would free them from weak governments and the stranglehold being created by the Jews and Communists.  The Jews were singled out as the scapegoats upon which their platform of hatred would be built upon.  They were an easy target  and represented the enemy within, thus giving the people an object upon which to focus their hatred and blame for the economic woes of Germany.  (Noakes)

Conclusions

The Views of Hitler really started from his early childhood and particularly the times spent in Linz and Vienna.  Hitler came from a poor family and was an illegitimate child. He saw the Jews as an affluent sect of people, distinct from the hard working Germans and Austrians. Hence the stereotyping was formed from early days.  In some regards he was already on the path of hating the Jews and communists by the time he moved to Munich in Bavaria.  His views further galvanised during his time spent as a soldier in the first world war and he viewed the German Surrender at the Treaty of Versailles as a humiliation for Germany from old weak politicians.  The war having returned him to a state of poverty in Munich further enflamed his passion for a new belief and destiny for Germany whilst purging the country of the Jews and Communist influence that he held responsible for dragging Germany into the mire and losing its self-respect.

In 1933 Historians strongly believe that the fire in the Reichstag (Parliament) was orchestrated by Hitler and the Nazi party in order to blame the communists and purge them from positions of power and authority.  Even before the fire they had a list of people compiled and this was used to round up the communists who were blamed for the fire.  Many were rounded up and either thrown in Prison or Executed.  Hitler used this as part of his election campaign stepping up the attacks on Marxists and communists.  This resulted in the Hindenburg decree in 1933 putting Adolf Hitler in power as a German dictator with authority and power over all German states.  The path had been set for WW2 which lasted between 1939-1945 and resulted in the death of over 6 million Jews.

Works Cited

English Online. The rise of Adolf Hitler. 2011. http://www.english-online.at/history/world-war-2/rise-of-adolf-hitler-and-nazis.htm. 31 10 2011.

History Place. Hitler Rise to Power. 1996. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/. 31 10 2011.

Noakes, Jeremy. The Rise of Adolf Hitler. 30 3 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/hitler_01.shtml. 31 10 2011.

Rossell, S. Hitlers Rise to Power. 2011. Web Paper. 31 10 2011.