Long term effects helped Hitler

When the Nazi Party first came onto the scene in the early 1920s, the German population paid little attention to them. People still had confidence in Weimar Government as evidenced by their outstanding approval rating of 76.2%. However, this is because the true repercussions of the war and the treaty that ended it were not yet visible. Once the consequences of the war finally set in, Germany was primed to allow an extremist group to seize power; this group turned out to be the Nazi Party. The long-term effects of World War One on Germany created conditions in which Hitler’s methods to legally take power were successful.
The greatest culprits of the Germany’s injuries from the war were the Treaties of Versailles and St. Germain. In these treaties, Germany agreed to accept full responsibility for instigating the war, and as such, was liable to pay the Allies reparations, on top of their own war debt. By signing these treaties, Germany set itself up for economic devastation that would ultimately make it desperate for a strong, radical leadership. Also through these treaties, Hitler first sowed the seeds of discrimination towards Jewish people. He claimed that the communists had agreed to sign the Treaties, and at the time, a large portion of the German communist party was Jewish. He thus built his claim that the Jewish people were responsible for Germany’s economic situation.
Germany lost much of its most productive land through the treaties, adding to the desolate financial situation by cutting off its means of production. The lands that were lost were then used to create new nations such as Poland. However, many of the people that lived on these lands were ethnically German and as such were upset to no longer be a part of Germany. For this reason, the Nazi promise to unite all German peoples under a single rule as one great Germany must have appealed to the people who had been separated from family. Also, when French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr Valley, Germany lost yet another valuable piece of land, for the Ruhr valley was an important region for iron production. The Weimar Government, led by Ebert, eventually reclaimed the area, but only by declaring the cease of all iron production. They were unable to take more direct action using the military because Germany’s armed forces were so reduced by Versailles. Likewise, the limited military Germany did have was not controlled by the Weimar Government but rather by other political groups, such as the Freikorps. The weakness of the Weimar Government was demonstrated when they had to enlist the help of the Friekorps in putting down the Spartacist uprising. Hitler and the Nazis later used this against the Weimar Government as well, pointing out their incompetence to protect the German people and their own ability to do just that.
The Treaty of Versailles took the greatest toll on Germany through its imposition to pay war reparations. This also was the condition that made Germany most vulnerable to the Nazi Party. Germany struggled to pay reparations until agreeing to the Dawes plan, in which Germany took out huge loans from the US, allowing them to pay reparations and rebuild the economy. Later, they also agreed to the Young Plan, which allowed for Germany’s debt to be paid out over 58 ½ years. While this did make Germany’s debt more manageable, Hitler later used the fact to say that the Weimar Government had shunted the consequences of their mistakes onto their children and grandchildren. Also, the Dawes Plan caused Germany to become overly dependent on the US, which meant that if anything happened to the US, Germany would be severely hurt as well. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened. Not long after the stock market crash in the US, five major banks in Germany crashed as well, and the entire economy collapsed. At this time, 5 ½ million people were unemployed. The people, experiencing continuous economic instability, began to grow desperate. They turned away from the moderate Weimar Republic and instead looked to radical parties that offered change. This was really the turning point for the Nazis, because the people officially lost confidence in the Weimar Republic, as evidenced by their plummeting approval rating. The Nazi approval rating, conversely, skyrocketed from 2.6% in 1928 to 37% percent in 1932. At this point, though they did not even hold the majority vote, the Nazi Party gained considerable power because they had the most popularity of any single party. The rest of the vote was broken up by the numerous political parties in existence at the time. Thus, the time was right for the Nazis, led by Hitler, to take control of Germany.
Hitler made it no secret from the beginning his intent to wipe out his political opposition. His claim was that the numerous smaller parties that existed at the time detracted from the possibility of a powerful, united Germany and that success lay in the authority of a single party. So upon gaining some power, he began imprisoning political rivals. In the process, he eliminated the threat of opposing political parties. No doubt his efforts were appreciated by the people because they showed authoritative action, even if they foretold of a harsh and radical regime.
Also, in his rise to power, Hitler did not make political promises. Rather, he spoke of the spuriousness of such statements, saying he instead would do what had to be done whenever it had to be done. This reinforced people’s confidence in him because he was a sharp contrast to the Weimar government and their numerous but empty claims.
Though the war caused Germany to suffer long before they ever signed the Treaties of Versailles and St. Germain, the suffering that had occurred was nothing to the damage that had yet to come. The effects, however, were not immediately obvious. Therefore, for a while, the people remained confident in the Weimar government. Once the full weight of the treaties hit the people, they became desperate enough to allow an extremist right-wing group to take power without considering the consequences. Ultimately, it was the magnitude of these delayed conditions that allowed the Nazi Party and Hitler’s methods to take power to be successful.