Hunter- Give them Something to Believe

There were many different factors as to how Hitler and the Nazi party came into power. The poor economy, the mistakes of the government, and the willingness of the people helped Hitler develop his methods of taking over. All of which were legal. The conditions of Germany after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the methods Hitler used to take advantage of the economy’s poor state helped him rise to power.
After ending the war by signing the Treaty of Versailles and the war guilt clause, Germany’s economy began to suffer. Along with having to pay repartitions from the war they also had to forfeit some of their land leaving them hungry and poor. These conditions made Germany ripe for the rise of a single party power. The citizens of Germany were already mad and confused as to why they were taken out of the war when in their eyes they were winning. They blamed the Weimer Government and called them the November Criminals as they began doubting their ability to lead a country. Adolf Hitler, a worker amongst the people, channeled his hatred and anger at the way the war ended through powerful speeches. With his speeches against the Weimer Government, Hitler drew the attention of other citizens who were also mad about the situation and began gaining support. Amongst his supporters was a right-winged group who called themselves Nazis. With Hitler as their strong and faithful leader, the Nazis used the conditions of Germany after the Treaty of Versailles to bring Hitler into power. In his persuasive speeches Hitler shouted about the weaknesses of the Weimer Government and how unreliable they were as a leader. He spoke about how it was the Weimer’s fault that Germany was in this mess all because they signed the Treaty of Versailles and the war guilt clause. This method of propaganda was effective as people started agreeing with Hitler and openly bashed the Weimer Government. The people believed Hitler to be a strong and powerful man by the way he shouted all the time and looked them directly in the eyes, evoking fear and hope within them. Hitler claimed the Weimer Government was against the people because they signed the treaty but by looking at it from a different perspective, one could see that the Weimer Government had no other choice but to sign the treaty. If they didn’t sign they risked an invasion from the Allies which probably would have completely destroyed Germany. They thought they were doing the best thing for Germany by protecting them and bringing them out of the war. They were forced to sign the war guilt clause as well and take all the blame for the war, forcing them to pay all of the reparations and send their economy downhill. This piece of evidence is significant to the question because it shows how the conditions of Germany after the signing of the treaty gave rise to Hitler coming in power because it gave him an opening that he freely took. Had the Weimer Government not signed the Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s economy would not have been as bad and the people would not feel as though they needed a new leader. This piece of evidence directly supports my historical investigation because it demonstrates the lasting effects of the treaty and war guilt clause and how Hitler used these conditions to develop his methods of rising to power.
Since the economy was so poor and had so much debt to pay, the Weimer Government decided that in order to fix this problem they would print more money. This caused the value of money to rapidly decrease and inflation to hit Germany. Businesses began dropping like flies and the unemployment rate went through the roof. People were starving with no way to earn enough money to pay for food and were desperately looking for a way out. Hitler was their way out. Hitler saw these perfect conditions and with his speeches, drew people towards him and filled them with empty words of change and hope. The people had no work to do and used their free time listening to Hitler and his persuasive speeches. This was effective as the people were more willing to listen after the crashing of the major banks and the rise of employment. They had nothing to lose but much to gain if they followed after Hitler. However, after Hitler’s attempt at gaining followers at the Beer Hall Putsch incident in 1923, he was thrown in jail. There he published his book, Meln Kampf, known as the Nazi bible. This method was effective as it got the word out as to what Hitler believed and his thoughts as to how Germany should be ran. This was also a good idea as it helped spread Hitler’s ideology to anyone capable of reading and willing to listen. It might not have been his best idea however, because not everyone was able to afford his book because of the poor economy. Hitler used the poor conditions of the economy after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles to develop methods that helped him rise to power.