The weakness of the Weimar Republic: A democratic government ran Germany during the 1920s. But it was blamed for defeat in World War I and the harsh peace treaty afterwards, the Treaty of Versailles.
7
The largest party: Hitler gained popularity and his party increased the number of seats in the Reichstag from 12 in 1928 to 230 in 1932, making it the largest party in Germany.
6 284
The SA and SS: Hitler’s Nazi Party was supported by two paramilitary (similar to an army) groups – the SA (Brownshirts) and the SS (Blackshirts). The SA and SS attacks on communists and socialists led to riots in the streets. They intimidated (threatened) all opposition.
5
Propaganda: Hitler used many different forms of propaganda to get across his message.
Causes of Hitler’s Rise to Power
4
Hitler’s policies: His policies appealed to many – his nationalism appealed to all Germans; his anti-communism appealed to business people and industrialists; his promise to revive the economy appealed to the unemployed.
Hermann Goering, Chief of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force)
2
The Great Depression: Unemployment rose in Germany from 1 million in 1929 to 6 million in 1932. The government was not able to cope with this, and many blamed them for making matters worse.
Causes 3
Hitler’s leadership of the Nazis: Hitler intended to achieve power by democratic means (elections) and then establish dictatorship.
1930
1932 Year of Elections
What does the graph tell you about the relationship between unemployment and the number of seats held by Nazis and Communists in the German parliament (Reichstag) 1928–33?