Why did the Nazis rise to power?

POINT The weaknesses of the Weimar governments/politicians played a part in the rise to power of the Nazis. KU - Unpopular Weimar govt surrendered at the end of WW1, agreed the armistice and signed the Treaty of Versailles ARGUMENT This was important because it made the Weimar govts unpopular from the start as they were forever associated with defeat ‘stabbed in the back’ and blamed for the harsh punishments which the allies gave Germany. These politicians were held directly responsible for the loss of land and reparations enforced by the TofV. Hitler promised to rip up TofV which won him support. KU - Weak Proportional Representation used made the WG weak. 60,000 votes were needed to get one seat in the Reichstag. ARGUMENT This was important because with over 28 parties no party ever got a majority. Coalitions had to be formed which did not produce good government and made for near impossible decision making in times of crisis such as the Great Depression. There were 21 governments between 1919 and By 1933 people had lost faith in democracy,believing their problems started when democracy came. Hitler was able to win support by promising to abolish PR,democracy and provide a return to strong stable leadership ( like the Kaiser) which the WG seemed unable to provide. ARGUMENT This was important because very simply, this was used to make Hitler Chancellor by Hindenburg in 1933 and therefore was the final important step in bringing him to power KU - Weak The Weimar Constitution article 48 allowed the President to rule without the Reichstag in times of emergency.

Balance However, the weaknesses of the WG can not be the only reason for the Nazi rise to power/ increase in support. ARGUMENT The Weimar Govt, although weak was not doomed to fail. After all, despite being a defeated post war country embracing democracy for the first time it and facing internal revolts such as the Spartacist and Kapp putsch it managed to survive 14 years. ARGUMENT The WG did enjoy some popularity, the years 1924 – 29 are known as the Golden Years. During this time Germany prospered, reliant on loans from the USA. Support for the WG was high and support for extremist parties including the Nazis was low at this point, with Nazis only having 12 seats in the Reichstag, on the fringe of politics. The Nazi increase in support only started in 1929 at the start of the economic downturn. In light of this, it suggests that the weakness of the WG were not entirely responsible for the rise in support for the Nazis and that without the external economic factors of the 1929 Wall Street Crash, the WG may have been able to last longer.

POINT The rise to power/ increase in support for the Nazi party was also due to a lack of opposition KU – Socialists + Communists The socialists and communists failed to unite against the Nazis because of hostility from the Spartacists uprising in 1919 when the socialists used the Freicorps to crush the revolt. ARGUMENT This was important because if these two groups had been willing to work together it could have produced a coalition government and prevent Hitler/ Nazis appearing as the only option. This is because the communists were very popular, and posed the biggest threat to the Nazis, increasing their seats consistently from 1928 to ARGUMENT This was important because right wing politicians such as Von Papen convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor using article 48 believing they control him for their own end, resulting in Hitler being made Chancellor even though the Nazis did not have an overall majority support of the public in elections. KU – Right wing politicians weak Right wing politicians were unwilling to stand up for democracy and Weimar. Their self interest meant they were willing to support the Nazis for their own ends.