Adolph Hitler came to power of Germany in 1934. There were many forces on his side which made his rise to power easier for him and the Nazi Party. Hitler used many methods to gain power, none of which were illegal. His strictly legal tactics and his lack of empty promises helped him to gain supporters. The condition that Germany was in at the time had a large affect on Hitlers rise to power. This can be seen through the elections of the time. In 1928 the Nazi Party received 2.6 percent of the votes, and in 1932 they received 37 percent of the votes. The amount of Nazi supporters grew very fast for numerous reasons. The conditions of Germany and the methods used by Hitler made his rise to power very manageable.

The conditions in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s made Germany ripe for Hitlers rise to power. Germany was in a slump because of the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Among various other things Germany was being forced to make large payments to the Allies for reparations. They had just gotten out of the war so they were low on cash and many cities were destroyed. Germany was having trouble having enough money to sustain itself and they were supposed to pay back these debts. Being put into this situation would be very stressful because the government had no money to give away. So without thinking they took the easy way out, they printed more money. This caused the prices of goods to go way up and the currency started to lose value. It quickly became rapid inflation and soon after that the money turned into firewood for the citizens. The government leaders were stuck in a hard place, they did not know how to fix the situation because it seemed the like debt they owed was unmanageable. In a position like that it is easy to make rash decisions. The citizens of Germany on the other hand were left with no idea of what to do. They just got out of a war and were struggling to get their lives back together when this happens and now their money is worth nothing. On top of all of this, unemployment rates were skyrocketing. After the war jobs were scarce and with the economy going as it was the situation was not getting better. Owners could not afford to pay their employees. With these two conditions of inflation and unemployment, people had more time on their hands and they were looking for a way out. This turned many heads toward Hitler and his famous speeches. As the economy of Germany got worse, the Nazi Party votes go better. The people had nothing better to do than go and listen to Hitler or become a member of the Nazi Party. Through the Dawes Plan America lent money to Germany so that they could pay their debts to France and Great Britain. America made a smart decision to do this because if France and Great Britain were getting there money, then they could spend it on American products. It was all part of the plan for America. This caused the economy to rise back out of the slump, which in turn caused Nazi Party membership to go down. People no longer had so much free time and some returned to work. The final step that led Germany back into the slump and back into the hands of Hitler was the Great Depression. America goes deep into a depression and now needs to take back the money that they gave to Germany. Once again Germany is left with no money and debts to pay. The economy becomes bad again and the Nazi Party is flooded with new members. Inflation, unemployment, and the Great Depression all left the citizens of Germany vulnerable and looking for a way out of their situation. This is where Hitler and his tactics come in.

When the economic slump allowed for Hitler to gain members to the Nazi Party he discovered that this would easily help him in his quest for power. With the people vulnerable and looking for someone to get them out of the slump it was the perfect time for Hitler. One major thing Hitler used to his advantage was his propaganda. He had flyers up all over Germany and there was information from the Nazi Party. The most important part of his propaganda were his speeches. Hitler is famous for his convincing speeches. People would travel far and wide to hear him speak. People who had not even heard him speak would vote for him in elections, he was that well known. In the peoples position, they were looking for an escape route and Hitler was not making false promises. He just said that he would make things better for the people and that was very appealing to them. When they are starving and have money they are not worried about how things are getting done, just that they do get done. Also Hitler managed to get into the place of Chancellor. When the people saw this they felt like they could rely on him. He could not be chancellor if he did not know what he was talking about. Hitler knew that if he could become Chancellor then he would have no troubles gaining full power. The fact that he became Chancellor legally was also appealing to the people. Hitler used many tactics to help his rise into power along with the conditions of Germany which were growing worse.