home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- History
- How, by 1932, had the Nazi Party become the largest Party in the Reichstag?
-
- Hitler's Nazi party came to power almost entirely because of accidents. In
- 1929 the American Stock Market crashed, a powerful symbol of the growing
- depression. Germany was particularly badly affected, since Germany's
- economy was partly dependent on Americas prosperity and a large number of
- loans made by America to Germany were called back and the German economy
- crashed.
- Since the German government suffered badly in the depression the
- existing Weimar government, put in place by the victorious allies, was
- blamed. Without the depression the government was not particularly liked
- since it was indecisive and it had not central power. Hitler used his
- twenty-five points from the beginning of the Nazi party. These were a set
- of promises appealing to everybody, they included elements of socialism and
- told people what they wanted to hear. They promised to stop reparations to
- the victors of the First World War, end unemployment, give a strong
- leadership and they attacked immigrants and particularly Jews. The
- twenty-five points were attractive to those most vulnerable to the
- depression, especially ex-soldiers, the unemployed and the middle classes.
- In the time of crisis the German people had swung to an extreme group,
- and the Nazis were an easy way out, more appealing than the Communists to
- the industrialists, and they were also attractive since they apparently
- promoted the old and respected German militaristic values. In the hard
- times they were effective since the democratic parties could not solve any
- of the problems facing Germany. In the 1930 elections the Nazis greatly
- increased the number of seats that they held in parliament, by 1932 they
- had nearly 200 seats, although they did not have a majority they were the
- largest single party.
-
-