Almost 70 years have passed since the suicide of Adolf Hitler. However, his colorful political figure is still of interest to historians who want to understand how a modest young artist without an academic education was able to bring the German nation into a state of mass psychosis and become the ideologist and initiator of the bloodiest crimes in world history. So what were the reasons for Hitler coming to power, how did this process take place and what preceded this event?
The beginning of a political biography
The future Fuhrer of the German nation was born in 1889. The beginning of his political career can be considered 1919, when Hitler left the army and joined the German Workers' Party. Six months later, during a party meeting, he proposed to rename this organization to the NSDAP and proclaimed his political program, consisting of 25 points. His ideas resonated with the inhabitants of Munich. Therefore, it is not surprising that, at the end of the first party congress, held in 1923, stormtroopers march took place in the city, in which more than 5,000 people took part. Thus began the story of Hitler coming to power.
The activities of the NSDAP in the period from 1923 to 1933
The next significant event in the history of the National Socialists was the so-called Beer Coup, during which a three-thousand-strong convoy of stormtroopers led by Hitler tried to seize the building of the Ministry of Defense. They were thrown back by a police force, and riot leaders were tried. In particular, Hitler was sentenced to 5 years in prison. However, he spent only a few months in prison and paid a fine of 200 marks in gold. Finding himself at large, Hitler developed vigorous political activity. Thanks to his efforts in the elections of 1930 and then 1932, his party won a greater number of seats in parliament, becoming a significant political force. Thus, political conditions were created that made possible Hitler's rise to power. Germany in this period was in the grip of a crisis that erupted in Europe in 1929.
Economic reasons Hitler came to power
According to historians, the Great Depression, which lasted about 10 years , played a large role in the political successes of the NSDAP. It hit Germany’s industry very painfully and spawned the 7.5 million army of the unemployed. Suffice it to say that almost 350,000 workers took part in the strike of the miners of the Ruhr in 1931. In such circumstances, the role of the Communist Party of Germany increased, which caused concern of the financial elite and large industrialists, who relied on the NSDAP as the only force capable of opposing the communists.
Appointment as head of cabinet
In early 1933, President Hindenburg received a large bribe from German tycoons demanding the appointment of the head of the NSDAP as Reich Chancellor. The old soldier who lived his life, saving every Pfennig, could not resist, and already on January 30, Hitler took one of the most important posts in Germany. In addition, there were rumors that there was blackmail associated with the financial frauds of the son of Hindenburg. But the appointment of the head of the cabinet of ministers did not mean Hitler's rise to power, since only the Reichstag could pass laws, and at that time the National Socialists did not have the required number of mandates.
The massacre of the Communists and the Night of the Long Knives
Just a few weeks after Hitler's appointment, the Reichstag building was set on fire. As a result, the Communist Party was accused of preparing for the seizure of power in the country, and President Hindenburg signed a decree endowing the cabinet with extraordinary powers.
After receiving carte blanche, Hitler ordered the arrest of about 4,000 activists of the Communist Party and secured the announcement of new elections in the Reichstag, in which almost 44% of the vote went to his party. The next force that could impede Hitler's rise to power was the assault troops, whose leader was Ernst Rem. To neutralize this organization, the Nazis staged a pogrom, which later became known as the Night of the Long Knives. Almost a thousand people became victims of massacres, including the majority of SA leaders.
Referendum
On August 2, 1934, President Hindenburg died. This event accelerated Hitler's rise to power, as he managed to achieve the replacement of early elections by referendum. During its holding on August 19, 1934, voters were asked to answer only one question, which was as follows: “Do you agree that the posts of president and chancellor be united?” After the vote count, it turned out that the majority of voters supported the proposed reform of state power. As a result, the presidency was abolished.
Fuhrer and the Reich Chancellor
According to most scholars, Hitler came to power in 1934. After the referendum of August 19, he became not only the head of the cabinet, but also the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, personally to whom the army should swear. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the country he was awarded the title of Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor. At the same time, some historians believe that when Hitler comes to power, the date of January 30, 1933 is more important, since it was from then on that he and the party he led were able to exert a significant influence on German domestic and foreign policy. Be that as it may, a dictator appeared in Europe, as a result of which millions of people on three continents were destroyed.
Germany. Hitler's rise to power: implications for domestic politics and economics (1934-1939)
In the first years after the establishment of a dictatorship in the country, a new ideology based on three pillars began to be introduced into the consciousness of its citizens: revenge, anti-Semitism and belief in the exclusivity of the German nation. Very soon Germany, Hitler's rise to power in which was predetermined, including by foreign policy reasons, began to experience an economic upsurge. The number of unemployed fell sharply, large-scale reforms were launched in the industry, and various actions were carried out aimed at improving the social situation of the poor Germans. At the same time, any dissent was suppressed, including by means of mass repressions, which were often sincerely supported by law-abiding burghers, content that the government isolates or even destroys Jews or communists, who, they believed, hinder the formation of Great Germany. By the way, Goebbels' outstanding oratorical abilities and the Fuhrer himself played a significant role in this. Generally, when you watch “Two-headed Eagle. Hitler’s coming to power ”- a film by Lutz Becker, almost entirely based on newsreels shot from the beginning of the November Revolution in Germany to the book auto-dauph - you understand how easy it is to manipulate public consciousness. At the same time, it is puzzling that this is not about several hundred or even thousands of religious fanatics, but about a multi-million nation, which has always been considered one of the most enlightened in Europe.
Hitler’s coming to power, briefly described above, is one of the textbook examples of how a dictator came to power democratically and plunged the planet into the chaos of World War II.