Essay Question: Emergence of Hitler’s Nazi Germany - “The conditions in which
authoritarian states emerged were mainly determined by economic factors.” Discuss
with reference to one authoritarian state.
The Nazi’s rise to power from a fringe party to an authoritarian state of Germany can
be accredited to economic factors. While other factors such as Hitler’s
reorganisation of the Nazi Party and the disunity of the Weimar government played
substantial roles, this essay will argue that the economic situation was the most
important factor behind the emergence of the Nazi authoritarian state.
The economic factors mainly caused the emergence of the Nazis authoritarian state.
The Great Depression occurred from 1929 to 1939, and sparked the stock market
crash of 1929. The crash was the worst global economic downturn in history and had
severe repercussions globally. Germany was one of the countries hit especially hard
by the economic downturn. Chancellor Gustav Stresemann had previously
negotiated the the Dawes Plan, spreading out reparations payments imposed by the
Treaty of Versailles over a longer period of time, while allowing for 800 million marks
worth of American lines to flow into the German industry. This has allowed for five
years of relative economic prosperity. As a result, despite the efforts of the Nazi
party, and other radical groups to gain support, the Nazis received less than 3
percent support in the 1928 German elections. The sudden economic downturn
caused American bankers and businessmen to demand immediate repayment of
loans issued to Germany, leading to economic collapse. Unemployment skyrocketed
from slightly over 1 million to 6 million from 1929 to 1932, a third of the total
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workforce. Industrial production halved while government expenditure in the form of
unemployment benefits increased. During this period, Chancellor Burning became
Chancellor and responded with unpopular austerity measures such as internal
devaluation. His measures were rejected by the Reichstag, leading to a snap
election. The Nazis had previously proposed ideas such a s the repudiation of the
Treaty of Versailles and rearmament to remove reparations and reduce
unemployment respectively. The great unemployment caused by the Great
Depression resulted in these ideas obtaining a special relevance in the minds of
suffering Germans. Combined with the failure of the Weimar government to
adequately address the economic crisis, the depression pushed Germans towards
the Nazis’ extreme political views. As a result, the Nazi party increased its vote share
from under 3 percent to 18.25 percent, gaining 95 Reichstag seats during the 1930
federal elections and becoming the second largest party. It can be seen that the
economic factors allowed for the Nazi breakthrough in support and heralded the
beginning of an era of Nazi political domination. Hence, economic factors allowed
the emergence of the German authoritarian state.
While not the main reason, Hiler’s reorganization of the Nazi Party contributed to the
authoritarian state’s rise to power. Upon joining the German Workers’ Party (DAP) in
1919, Hitler took control and renamed it to the National Socialist German Workers’
Party (NSDAP). Hitler spearheaded the release of the Nazis’ 25-point programme,
outlining the main goals of the Nazi Party. These included the abolition of the Treaty
of Versailles, Union with Austria, Nationalisation of Industry, generous old age
pensions and a strong central government. Following the failed Munich Putsch,
Hitler committed the parry to obtaining power legally instead of through force.
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Furthermore, Hitler capitalised on Germany’s large rural population and
conservative people by highlighting the peasant’s importance in Germany and
expressing their disdain for the liberal Weimar culture. In 1925, Hitler enlarged the
SA, the Nazi paramilitary wing, increasing his ability to suppress the communists
and other political opponents. He appointed Joseph Goebbels to lead Nazi
propaganda efforts, using rallies, poster and films to appeal to people’s feelings. The
clear goals and messages expressed by the party helped it achieve a breakthrough
in the 1930 elections. However, it is unconvincing to argue that Hitler’s
reorganisation was the main factor behind his rise to power as despite his efforts,
his support remained at less than 3% in the 1928 elections. This suggests that due
to the relative economic prosperity of the Stresemann years, Hitler’s reorganisation
efforts failed to sway most Germans to his side, hence why it is not the main factor
behind the rise to the Nazi authoritarian state.
The disunity of the Weimar government, while not the foremost factor, also played a
role in the Nazi authoritarian state. Upon the abolition of the monarchy in 1919, the
new Weimar constitution set up a complex system of checks and balances,
decentralising the government and giving more autonomy to the states. Additionally,
this led to a fracturing of German politics, with over a dozen parties winning seats at
each Reichstag election from 1919 to 1933. This prevented most Weimar
chancellors from commanding a majority in the fragmented Reichstag, forcing them
to rely on Presidential emergency powers granted by Article 48 of the constitution to
pass bills and stay in power. This had the effect of concentrating power in the office
of the presidency, thus decreasing civilian trust in democracy and hampering the
daily governance of Germany. Furthermore, several uprisings occurred against the
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Weimar government in its early days, most notably the communist led Spartacist
uprising and the far right Kapp Putsch. The government’s crushing of the Sparticist
uprising created lasting tension between the then ruing Social Democratic Party
(SPD) and the Communists, preventing them from working together against Hitler
even though their combined seat total outnumbered his. Furthermore, other parties
not aligned with the Nazis were disunited. Chancellor Franz Von Papen betrayed
Chancellor Bruning of the Centre Party to become chancellor, thus leaving the
Centre Party hostile to his government. He initiated a coup to take over the SPD
Prussian state government, unintentionally aiding in Hitler’s centralisation of power,
before being betrayed and replaced by Kurt Von Schleicher. The rapid changes in
power placed the inability of any party to form a government in the spotlight, further
decreasing civilians’ trust in the democratic system. Von Papen, blinded by his
hatred for Von Schleicher, convinced President Hindenburg to replace him with
Hitler. Thus, this political deal allowed Hitler to be appointed chancellor in January
1933. However, while this political disunity in the former Weimar Coalition played a
major role, Hitler would not have been offered this deal without the great electoral
breakthrough achieved by the Nazis in 1930 because of the Great Depression.
Therefore, it cannot be said to be the main factor behind Hitler’s rise to power.
In conclusion, economics factor’s large negative impact on the German economy
and the lives of Germans was the main factor behind the Nazi authoritarian state’s
rise to power. While other factors such as Hitler’s reorganisation of the party
strengthened it and the weakness of the government decreased civilian trust in
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democracy, it was ultimately the hardship caused by the economic downturn that
allowed the Nazi party to transform Germany into an authoritarian state.
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