Failure of the Weimar Republic and Rise of the Nazis
Historiography
Legacy of the War
“There is little doubt that the stigma of the so-called “November
Criminals” hung like a giant shadow over the period of Weimar
Germany. ” McGonigle
“The lament of so many decent …Germans about the burdens and
cruelties inflicted by the allies on an innocent Germany…..
undermined democracy….and facilitated the rise of Hitler.” Hugo
Preuss
Many Germans saw the Treaty of Versailles as “ a vindictive Allied
plot to humiliate Germany.” – McGonigle
Political Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic
“The effect of governing under Article 48 …..was to put effective
power into the hands of the President and the group of right-wing
politicians and army officers which surrounded him.” McKichan
The Economic Problems Faced by the Weimar Republic
“…to the ordinary German, it [the hyperinflation of 1923] was the
fault of a government that had accepted reparations
payments….and appeared to have played no active part to
prevent the crisis….deepening.” McGonigle
“..The whole structure of the German economy was unhealthy. An
over-reliance on foreign investments left the Weimar economy
subject to the fluctuations of the international economy.”
McGonigle
The Great Depression
“The NSDAP was in the fortunate position, unlike almost every
other party in the Weimar Republic, of appealing to different
groups for different reasons.” David Welch
“…a disastrous economic blizzard….” McKichan on the Great
Depression
“Hitler would almost certainly have remained on the fringes of
politics had it not been for the Great Depression….and the
hardship it brought.” McKichan
“There is no doubt that Germany suffered much more than Britain
and France during this period and that Hitler exploited this misery
to the full.” McGonigle
The increase in electoral support for the Nazis after 1929 “was
directly related to the growth of mass unemployment and the
growth of political instability in this period.” Mary Fulbrook
Attractions of the Nazis
“[Goebbels’s] brilliant propaganda techniques played a large part
in exploiting the Depression to win mass support..” McKichan
“The NSDAP was in the fortunate position, unlike almost every
other party in the Weimar Republic, of appealing to different
groups for different reasons.” David Welch
Divided and Ineffective Opposition
The crushing of the Spartacist revolt “destroyed any hope of
cooperation between the different wings of the socialist groups…”McGonigle
Hitler’s Leadership
“[Hitler’s] ability to work a crowd, his sense of timing, his feel for
their mood cannot be doubted. He was their greatest electoral
asset.” Cameron , Robertson and Henderson.
“The Fatal Error”
“….Hitler came to office in 1933 as the result, not of any irresistible
revolutionary or national movement …but as part of a shoddy
political deal with the “Old Gang” whom he had been attacking for
months past.” Alan Bullock
“Without the Depression, Hitler would not have been able to build
up mass support. However, without the help of right-wing
politicians who thought they could use him for their own ends, he
could not have won power.” McKichan