Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power in 1929 at the beginning of the world depression. He gained many new followers because of his cunning political tactics and manipulation. The first group he gained was the youth. He promised "a new German person in addition to a new German society." (186) After the youth, Hitler went right to the Christians, he was carful when it came to religion, always sure to emphasize his Catholic upbringing. Relating his religion to other Christians, gave him a leg up from the Communist party. Surprising members to the Nazi Party were women. Hitler claimed that the Party "glorified motherhood and defended the traditional family" (187) He also claimed he would rid Germany of things such as pornography and prostitutes to make Germany a cleaner place for children. Hitler attracted many other groups such as blue collar workers and bankers. He personalized each argument to each different group, attracting the maximum number of followers.
Hitler also forged new friendships with political figures. His alliance with Hugenberg allowed him to approach industrialists and financiers for money to fund his party and political needs. Hitler's relationship with Von Papen also helped him in his quest for Chancellor. He mislead these political figures and let them think that he was a "non-entity" thus not a threat in the political world. Unfortunately they were terribly wrong.
National Socialism rose to power because of its appeal to the German public. The movement appealed to several demographics in Germany, including:
Young People and Intellectuals: NS appealed by "promising transformation and practicing the politics of transcendence" (186)
Women: The NS's take on women's issues appealed to many women who disliked the role of women during the Weimar Era.
The Working/Middle Class: Who were "attracted by the party's effective organizational efforts, able local leaders, and propaganda"
National Socialism was appealed to a wide range of people, which gave them a significant advantage in elections (as elections are all about numbers). Even though National Socialism was openly hostile to certain demographics, ultimately, they were able to appeal to enough people to gain power and elected positions.
Also, many Germans saw National Socialism as a safer alternative to communism. The Communist Movement advocated for very different social issues than Nationalism (such as feminism), and this turned off the more conservative German citizens who disliked the "pornography, obscenity, prostitution, and overt displays of homosexuality" (187) which were (According to Hitler, a leader in the National Socialist party) the fault of the Weimar Republic's leaders. People who were dissatisfied with their lives in Weimar saw the National Socialist movement as a way of moving away from Weimar and the era of discontent.
Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Posts: 6 Location: United States
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 4:24 pm Post subject:
I agree with Michaela that many, particularly capitalists and industies, saw the National Socialist party as the better option opposed to communism.
A combonation of politics, politicians and population, all manipulated by Hitler and the Nazi party, contributed to the rise of National Socialism
This reading really gave the Nazi Party (or as they prefer to call Nazi movement) the vibe of evil genius. Hitler really knew what kind of language to use and timed his support perfectly, like addressing working class when the depression hit. The party found different ways to gain followers. On page 187, it mentions gaining voters who previously voted in the now collapsed ‘political center’ of the spectrum. This way, they used politics to their advantage. The Nazi’s managed to attract all sorts of people, either by appealing to them as they did with lower classes and being the lesser of two evils for the upper class and industries.
I would argue that it was definitely a combination of German politics and the voting population. Hitler had a way with words in the sense that he could convince many different kinds of voters to support him by being "for and against many things at the same time." (189) Thus appealing to those who were opposed to and for certain views. He was even able to get women support by praising the societal expectations that they were unaware that they were oppressed by at the time. The rise to power by fault of the politicians was a result of them underestimating Hitler's abilities. But Hitler was actually quite smart and strategic. He had allied himself with Hugenburg, the then Chancellor to Hindenburg at the time. He was able to use his alliance with him to more easily gain money from industrialists and financiers. After Franz von Papen convinced the President to push von Schleicher out and let Hitler in, they only anticipated that it wouldn't be a problem because they thought Hitler could easily be controlled. "Von Papen thought he could use Hitler to consolidate his own power. President Hindenburg considered Hitler to be a non-entity and was sure smarter men would control him."(191) It was this overlooking of Hitler's strength and power by these politicians that also helped cause Hitler and the Nazi party's rise to power.
Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:38 pm Post subject: National Socialist Workers' rise
Hitler's rise to power had much to do with him being able to relate to the regular German. He claimed at least that he was a faithful Catholic, which consisted of a large percentage of the German population. In many societies, citizens want a religious leader, probably partially because believing in something fundamental gives them more hope. Hitler, just like many Germans, were angry about the outcome of World War One as well. Hitler praised Germany as a country instead of criticizing it like some other leaders. He said what many of the war fighters wanted to hear: that Germany could be great again.
The women were most likely pleased because Hitler promised to cleanse the country of prostitution. Surprisingly, many women at the time supported their traditional roles in the family, like Hitler. Maybe it was a religious belief. Maybe they were just used to their roles. Who knows?
The Nazis in general had romantic ideals about the future. The pro-Weimar parties promised improvement whereas the National Socialists described more radical change. The Communists discussed change as well, but they did not convey their ideals as romantically as the Nazis did.
Because many people supported National Socialism party which is Nazi party and efficient Hilter's politics, Nazi party was able to rise its power rapidly. Many white collar workersrs and farmers supported Nazi party during the depression period. Hitler tried to utilize the policy which is for lower and middle classes. Lower and middle class people were afraid of economic crisis and they view Nazi party as a solution of crisis. Also, Hilter believing in Catholic helped to gain a lot of supporters since since many common people believe in God. Lastly, many young people supported Hilter because Hitler reaffirm young people's future. He aided modern technology and factories for future society and for young people.
I really think all three were responsible for the rise of the National Socialists. Obviously, without the voting population, there would be no way for Nazi party to come into power, since the support of the public is necessary if you are trying to get elected. However, Hitler's public speaking skills and the ideas of the party would only get it so far; the politics and the previous politicians in power contributed to the rise of the Nazi party by making decisions that caused the institutions that had been in power to fall out of favor. It's true that the Nazi party was rapidly gaining support, but we can't really be sure it would have been such a quick ascension into popularity if it had not been for the other parties losing support.
I think when it gets down to it, though, the voters are the ones who ultimately cause National Socialism's rise into power and the public favor. After all, at the end of the day, they were the ones who found themselves attracted to the ideas and arguments of Hitler and the Nazis, and they were the ones who voted accordingly.
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