From the May 2006 Paper 2 DP History exam
To what extent was the rise to power of Hitler due to personal appeal and ability?
Timed in-class essay from a student who eventually scored a '6' in the course:
EXAMPLE II
"The [Nazi party] should not become a constable of
public opinion, but must dominate it. It must not become a servant of the
masses, but their master!"- Adolf Hitler. This was the view from a man who
under other circumstances, would have made a brief appearance in the annals of
history and then be forgotten forever. Instead, he became the dictator of an
entire nation, and then became the sole reason for the deaths of at least 6
million innocents. As the head of the Nationalist Socialist German Worker's
Party, Hitler was an ambitious man whose sole purpose was to become head of
Germany. However, at the peak of his support, he only had 44% of support in the
Reichstag--never even a majority. In fact, the year before he took
chancellorship, the Nazi Party was experiencing a dramatic fall in the number
of seats in the Reichstag. The eternal question remains; how did Hitler come to
power if his party never even had majority support? Hitler's appointment to
chancellorship on January 30th of 1933 was the culmination of a series of
events that led Hindenburg to appoint him chancellor--the effects of the
economic depression, his appeal to the people and to the Reichstag, the growing
power he was wielding through terror, and the miscalculation and ineffective
plotting of others.
The Great Depression because of the Wall Street Crash in October
1929 had a terrible effect on Weimar Germany--because of the horrible
conditions, Hitler's support gained momentum, making him a viable contender in
the eyes of those that mattered. The German economy collapsed after the US
withdrew its loans from the banks of Weimar Germany, and soon, unemployment was
rampant. In 1928, before the Depression, unemployment levels were at 2 million
people, or 8 percent of the population. However, only 3 years after the advent
of the Depression, 1932, unemployment was at 6 million people, or about 29.9
percent of the population. This shows the rapid decline of conditions in the
Weimar Republic. Because of their situation, the people turned toward Hitler,
who seemed to them to be a beacon of change and an end to the democracy the
public hated so much. As two chancellors had been appointed by 1932, von Papen
and Schleicher, and neither had done much to combat the growing numbers of
unemployment, the public was more than ready for a change in leadership, and
hoped it to be Hitler. He presented himself as the salvation for the German
people, and the German people accepted that illusion. It is extremely
significant to note that the people were not the ones that elected Hitler into
chancellorship--rather it was the President at the time. However, Hitler's
support from the people was nevertheless a factor in his rise to power, as
President Hindenburg noted that Hitler's popularity with the public would spill
over into support for him if Hindenburg displayed to the people that he was
taking Hitler under his wing.
Hitler's personal decisions and powers also helped him gain
the chancellorship--once Hindenburg saw the public's and the Reichstag's
attraction to him, Hitler became a contender for Hindenburg. His speeches and
oratorical powers of persuasion and convincing were legendary in the political
circles, and Hindenburg and his aides took note of his influence in
speech-making as well. He was aware of the people's problems and what they
craved to hear, and how best to craft his policies and present them so as to
have the maximum effect upon his audience. It must be taken into account that
in 1928, the Nazis held a mere 2.6 percent of the vote in the Reichstag, but
because of their merging with other parties in the following years, the Nazis
were brought into a socially influential right-wing coalition, as a result
making connections with wealthy financial backers. His propaganda was also a
great factor in his growing influence in the political sphere. His Nazi
propagandist Jospeh Goebbels began an intensive media campaign that continued
to focus on the points that Hitler was pushing in his 25-point plan:
eradication of the Jews because of their usurping of jobs and money, and
Germans over all. Through their intense campaigning, the entire public spectrum
was appealed to, and this made Hitler a strong presence in the political field,
in terms of public support. This public support also helped him gain votes in
the Reichstag, even though he never had a majority in it, he still had a substantial
percentage--44% in 1932. He especially had the support of the right-wing
conservative members in the Reichstag. All these factors made Hindenburg
realize Hitler's influence with the Reichstag, specifically with the
anti-democratic right-wingers, and contemplate his value. Hitler's personal
decisions and powers such as his oratorical gifts, his use of propaganda, and
his reformation of the party all served for Hindenburg to take note of Hitler's
expanding political presence.
Hitler's path to chancellorship was also marked by his use
of terror to achieve his aims, and the President's decision to fight that. At
the creation of the Treaty of Versailles, one of the conditions placed upon
Germany was the limitation of the Weimar Republic's army to that of 100,000
men, a minuscule military. As Hitler expanded his Party, he created
sub-organizations such as the SA, SS, and the Gestapo. He called them his
bodyguards, his stormtroopers, and his secret police, but in reality they
served him as his own private army. Hitler used his army to strike terror into
the hearts of his opponents--he sent them out to carry out ruthless killings of
opponents. In total, his personal military numbered at around 2 million men,
more than twenty times greater in numbers than the official governmental
military. Furthermore, because of Hitler's financial support, arming his men
was possible. In short, Hitler had a massive, fully-armed military at his
disposal. If Hitler were to create trouble with his SS and SA, the official
military did not have enough power to suppress it. Additionally, Hitler's army
would be extremely effective in crushing Communist revolt, especially if in
collaboration with the governmental army. President Hindenburg was able to see
that if Hitler were to start a revolution with his men, there would be chaos
and terror presiding over all. With this in mind, Hindenburg realized that if
Hitler were in the chancellor position, his army would be under control and
even more effective when crushing the Communists, who Hindenburg despised.
Because of Hitler's use of terror and force to advocate his party, the
President came to realize Hitler's use in the chancellorship position.
As Hindenburg closely watched Hitler's political movements
and saw his usefulness if appropriately harnessed, he collaborated with his
aides to plan a method to control Hitler, which was the reason for his final
appointment to chancellorship. Von Papen was the chancellor in 1932, but the
Reichstag gave him next to no support when he tried to pass legislation. He had
the support of Hindenburg, however had no rapport with the parliament.
Therefore, General Schleicher, a fervent anti-republican, convinced Hindenburg
to dismiss Papen. In December of 1932, Schleicher formed a new government, but
lost Hindenburg's support within a month. Finally, the decision came to offer
the position of chancellorship to Hitler. This was the culmination of
Hindenburg's tracking of Hitler, and his ulterior motives to giving Hitler the
chancellorship were numerous. Firstly, he had noted Hitler's popularity with
the people, and had noticed that this popularity had given him significant
influence within the Reichstag. Even though Hitler did not have majority
support in the parliament, the support he did have was much weightier than that
of the two previous chancellors. Secondly, Hindenburg considered Hitler's power
over his multitudinous army, the SS and the SA. If Hitler were to initiate a
revolution with his military at the head, Hindenburg would be powerless to stop
it. He then realized that if he brought Hitler on his side, he could
"tame" him by providing him with governmental responsibility, and in
doing so, Hitler's popularity in the Reichstag would transfer to him.
Furthermore, if Hitler were harnessed, his army could be utilized to combat
Communist uprisings, and there would be no danger of Hitler using the SA and SS
against the government itself. Von Papen and Hindenburg listed these apparent
benefits in giving the chancellorship to Hitler, and therein lies the truth to
Hitler's ascent to power. Most importantly, Hitler did not take power per se,
but was handed it by others in authority. Nevertheless, certain factors such as
his popularity and his terrorizing helped him into power, but overall Von Papen
and Hindenburg provided Hitler with the chancellorship--through their plotting
and miscalculation.
