Essay Sample on Adolf Hitler and the Rise to Power in 1933

Introduction

Born on April 18th, 1889, Adolf Hitler was one of the renowned world dictators and a German Chancellor from 1933 to 1945. H served as the leader of the Nazi Party or rather the National Socialist German Workers Party where he dictated every activity which was to be conducted by the party. Most of his policies precipitated the Second World War and brought about the genocide of about six million Jews and another estimated five million noncombatants. The genocide was also referred to as the Holocaust. He is a man who did not believe in defeat and had most of his battles characterized with successes. Before 1933, he was not as strong as he was after 1933, an issue which will make us discuss how Hitler was able to come to power in 1933. It is also notable that the death of Hitler was untimely and came at a time when Germany was in a battle and was defeated on the Horizon (Abel, 2017). For a man who could not stand defeat, he committed suicide together with his wife Eva Braun on 30th April 1945. The paper is, therefore, premised on the discussion on how Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The first issue that marked Hitler's rise to power occurred when he joined and became involved with the Deutsche Arbeiterspartei. It was from this point that he sought the means and methods of finding his way into the Nazi Party. He explored the use of cunning negotiations, violence, and charm to convince the party members that he was one of the best people to be given key positions in the party for the party to progress. His eloquence also made the members of the Nazi Party believe in him and even allowed him to take over the mantle of the Nazi leadership. Therefore, joining the Nazi Party gave him the opportunity to further his leadership prowess and dictatorial schemes, issues that saw him become the German Chancellor. Before the beginning of the Great Depression in Germany from 1929 to 1930, the Nazi Party was a small party that focused on the fundamental rights of Germans especially those in the political spectrum. It was between 1930 and 1933 that things changed. The time was characterized by the worldwide economic depression, an issue which hit Germany hard with millions of its citizens being cut out of work. Those who were unemployed joined millions of other citizens in linking the Depression to the national humiliation of Germany after the defeat in World War I. The parliamentary government of the German coalition was seen as weak with the inability of alleviating the economic crisis (Kershaw, 2014). There was widespread economic misery, perceptions of difficult times ahead as well as fear, impatience, and anger, issues which offered significant grounds for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party to rise.

Hitler used the moment to showcase his oratory skills while promising the Germans that he would end the depression hence gaining support from a majority of the citizens. The voters were in great need of a strong leader who would ensure that their future is safe and their jobs restored. They saw the government as weak because of the defeat in World War I, something which caused the actions of Bruening, the then chancellor, to add more pain to an already broken nation. Hitler was the leader the people needed. He applied the use of propaganda to convince the people that the Nazi party had their interest at heart and would ensure that their situation is improved. The party pledged to restore the German cultural ideals and reverse the provisions that defined the treaty of Versailles. They were also promised that the Party after acquiring power would turn back the perceived threats which were received from the Communist uprising and give back jobs to those who had lost them. The unemployed were not left out in the deal, many job opportunities were to be created for them, and Germany as a nation was to restore its world's position. Together with other Nazi propagandist's, Adolf Hitler became highly successful in directing the population fear and anger against the Jews who were known to subscribe to the ideologies of the Marxists. The people were also made to be against Nazis who were part of the signing of the armistice of the Versailles Treaty and for offering a significant contribution to the establishment of the parliamentary republic. Adolf Hitler in most of his speeches referred to the individuals as the November criminals (Kershaw, 2014).

Hitler addressed every audience differently, for example, when he spoke to the businessmen, he downplayed the anti-Semitism and emphasized anti-communism and the restoration of the German colonies which were lost through the signing of the treaty of Versailles. When he spoke to the soldiers, he emphasized on building up a stronger army that would ensure that the territories which had been lost through the Treaty of Versailles are acquired back. The farmers were also assured that the government would prop up the falling of the agricultural prices. Adolf Hitler equally included the pensioners in his larger scheme; he reassured them that his government would stabilize both the amount and the buying ability of their monthly checks. The influence of Hitler and the Nazi Party led to the dissolution of the parliamentary system as provided in Article 48 of the German constitution (McDonough, 2014). The article allowed the German government to rule without the parliamentary consent on matters of direct national emergencies. Bruening, the then Center Party Politician, and Chancellor miscalculated the mood of the nation six months after the economic depression and called for elections. The Nazis won with an estimated percentage of 18.3 hence becoming the second largest party in the country. Bruening was left to resort to article 48 which also allowed for the issuance the presidential decree. His government for a second time failed in building a presidential system which would have excluded a majority of the Social Democrats, the Nazis, and the Communists.

By 1932, Hindenburg relieved Bruening from his position and appointed Franz Von Papen who was a former diplomat but also a member of the Centre Party. Franz Von Papen became the new Chancellor. Franz also called for second elections which were won by the Nazi by a more significant margin. They had an estimated percentage of 37.3 percent of the popular votes hence maintaining their position of the second largest party in Germany. The Communists only received 14.3 percent of the total votes which were cast. The situation made more than half of the deputies who were part of the 1932 Reichstag to publicly commit their interest in bringing to an end the parliamentary system of democracy. The situation forced Papen to resign allowing General Kurt Von Schleicher to take over. In November 1932, the Nazis lost ground only acquiring a win of about 33.1 percent of the total votes. The Communist acquired some grounds hence increasing their percentage estimate to about 16.9 percent. It was at this time that the inner circle of President Hindenburg came to believe that the Nazi Party was the only hope which would forestall the political chaos thus ending in a Communist takeover. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party did everything possible to ensure that the president had no otherwise but to choose him as the next German Chancellor, a position which was going to allow him to immerse many powers and do away with his key allies and assume the total control of the land.

30th January 1933, became the day Hitler was promoted by the President to become Chancellor of Germany. He was not appointed as a result of electoral victory but on the grounds of constitutional provisions. There was a small constitutional questionable deal among some of the German politicians who had given up on the parliamentary rule, the appointment of Hitler was thus aimed at restoring order as per the wishes of the president. The president hoped to use his popularity with the masses to buttress a comeback to a conservative absolute rule (Taylor and Stammers, 2017). Hitler on his side, anchored other plans of outmaneuvering the conservative politicians. Within two years of his appointment, he ensured that the Nazi had outmaneuvered the German Conservative politicians hence consolidating a Nazi dictatorship front which was utterly subordinate to his will. The Nazi Party and the economic depression contributed immensely in Adolf Hitler acquiring control of the masses which would later put him as a better choice of the President after the failure of two Chancellors. The party allowed him to voice his concerns to the people and reassure them of restoring order and the nation's position following the effects of the great depression. Together with the Nazi negotiators, they were able to enhance their impression to the president as the last hope to forestalling the political chaos and contributing towards the ending of the Communist takeover.

Even as Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party became influential in the whole of Germany, they lost at least two million votes in the 1932 Reichstag elections. Hitler, however, continued with his grab for power and went ahead to negotiate with the Reichstag members to accord him temporary emergency powers for a period not more than four years. The deal gave him the opportunity of ruling without leaning on the provisions of the German constitution or relying on parliamentary consent (Satyanath, Voigtlaender, and Voth, 2013). As he continued negotiating for more powers with the Reichstag members, he had his sizeable military force next to the parliament building with a threat of war should the deal fail. The negotiators were left with no choice but to grant him authority as the absolute ruler of Germany. It was this consent that marked an absolute Hitler error which was characterized by dictatorship and blood for the rebels. He ruled based on his authority and that of his advisers. He made legislation that favored his desires and plans of advancing his control in the whole of Germany.

Other reasons on how Hitler came to power in 1933 are based on the industrialists offering him money and support and the inability of the moderate political parties to work together. The money given to him by the industrialists gave him the opportunity of funding most of his campaigns and those of the Nazi Party hence putting him at a better position of advancing his policies and those of the party (Satyanath, Voigtlaender, and Voth, 2013). The money equally earned him respect among the party officials and ensured that he remained the party leader to the very end. In return, he promised the industrialists of better leadership which would ensure that their needs and ideologies are addressed. The division between the moderate parties also allowed him to advance the ideologies of the Nazi Party hence acquiring masses and support from the general German population. He also used his essential spies in ensuring that they fuelled more propaganda within the parties thus widening the divisions.

Conclusion

In summary, before 1933, Adolf Hitler was not the powerful man documented in the books of history, journals, newspapers, and other documentaries to mention but a few. The immense power he acquired in 1933 came as a result of him being a great speaker hence convincing the people to believe in him and the Nazi Party. The other reasons as discussed in the body included the Great Depression of 1929, the propaganda campaign, and the mistake made by Papen and Hindenburg. The great depression made people lose confidence in the government thus allowing him to make promises of restoring order in the land. His propaganda campaigns were equally effective and had different slogans based on the audience being addressed. The farmers were addressed differently from the business community. The same was n...