Hitler and the Collapse of Germany - Essay Example

Hitler and the Collapse of Germany Reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic in Germany: Weimar Germany came after Imperial Germany was defeated in the World War One. Germany was in a state of Pandemonium at that time, and that is when the Weimar Republic was born. The Republic was declared in the small town of Weimar, not in Berlin, because Berlin itself was under the grip of a workers rebellion. That is one of the reasons why it was declared as artificial and not a part of actual Germany. It’s official name is Deutsches Reich which means German Empire. The first four years of its existence, 1919-23 were surrounded by instability and chaos due to a number of reasons. The signing of the treaty of Versailles in June 1919 led to the state being ‘robbed’ of its assets by its Western Counterparts. The German people viewed it as not only the handing over of their land and industrial resources but of their pride and honor as well. This is why many people never came to fully accept the Weimar Republic. From the very beginning, the Weimar Republic faced a number of problems which included tough political opposition, from the left and the right of Weimar itself, economic instability, hostility from the western Allies, and ever increasing inflation. The Republic was under constant threat from political opponents, left, right and center, like the communist leaders Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht. There were uprisings in various parts of Germany, attempts to take over Berlin and about 376 political murders. These rebellious attacks continued until November 1923, when they came to a halt with the failed “beer hall putsch” attempt by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Another reason why the Weimar Republic failed was that it was a democratic system and Weimar Germany had been given a purely democratic constitution. But Germany had never been a democratic state and the entire concept was new for it. Also, the general population itself had little trust in the government and the people were disappointed and shattered after Germany’s fall in the World War One. But one of the most serious problems that Germany had to face during those times was the brutal economic conditions. The cost of war was heavy on the state and it had to give up 6.600 million as compensations and damages to the Western Allies. It lost vital portions of land under the treaty of Versailles. But most of the people were facing severe unemployment. Troops returning from war were bitter and upset for having fought for practically nothing and there weren’t enough jobs to keep them all occupied. Even though the Weimar Republic was facing such major issues, it was considered a miracle that it entered into a period of stability from 1924-29. This “recuperation” was attributed by historians Gustav Stresemann, who was initially the chancellor and later the foreign minister of Germany till 1929. He was initially an ‘anti-Weimar’ but later released that Germany’s best interests lay in the acceptance of the Weimar System. But even though Stresemann’s contributions to Germany could be considered remarkable, there were other more evident reasons for Weimar Germany’s stability. Firstly there was no other possible alternative available. Secondly, the populace detested the communists, and the Nazis were an unorganized bunch at that time and were unable to take control. Weimar Germany was on its road to recovery and was viewed as a strong democratic nation. Germany was seen to be back in the international arena, and its economy was improving. Yet it wasn’t as strong as it seemed. But unfortunately, this period of so called strength and stability was not to last. In 1929, Germany lost one of its most prized politicians and the savior of the Republic, Gustav Stresemann. Another more crucial incident took place around the same time, the crashing of the American Stock Exchange, Wall Street. When the Wall Street Crashed, American creditors demanded payment from the German Debtors. This lead Germany to fall into the pit of another economic crisis. Foreign investment fell, inflation sky rocketed, unemployment peaked, and Germany was in a poor economic shape. The people of the nation felt hopeless. Facing another economic crisis in a span of six years led them to completely give up hope on the Weimar Republic. At about the same time the political opposition rose. The communists and Nazis both were offering solutions to these problems, and basically the promise of a “better” Germany. But it was the Nazi’s who were gaining popularity fast. They were full of a vibrant energy that seemed to outshine the meek Weimar politicians. But even though this economic repression played in the favor of the Nazis, they did not come to power immediately. The Weimar Republic was withering away slowly and gradually till there was hardly anything left of it and Hitler was in charge. Adolf Hitler fought for Germany in the World War I and was fueled by his passionate patriotism. He was a member of the free-corps that helped fight the communists. During the Weimer government Hitler was part of the military intelligence unit and was supposed to keep a check on the German workers Party, where he used to achieve his political gains. He later became the chairman of the NSDAP (national socialist German Worker’s party) and there he met with many influential people such as Ernst Rohm and Dietrich Eckert. On the party meetings he amazed people by his vivacity and eloquent speeches. He sternly believed in the German people’s rights of self-determination and welfare of the masses (population welfare). He criticsed the influx of Jews into Germany during the war and preached that they should be removed from the state, that is, Germany should be purified and should consist only of pure Germans. Little did his supporters and well-wishers know that this would turn out to become an obsession. Hitler’s Rise On November 28, 1923, Hitler held a convention in the Munich beer hall and called for a revolution. He got the attention and support of the whole crowd there, even though the Nazis were only a small bunch at that time. He planned on overthrowing the Weimar Government and taking over Munich. However he was unsuccessful and was stopped by the police. He was arrested for committing treason and put into jail for five years. But he stayed there only for eight months. This is where he started writing his autobiography, ‘mein kampf’. This book contained all his so called glorified moments, and his accolades which were inaccurate a little. It contained his hatred for Jews and how ‘unnatural’ they were. After being released from jail, Hitler reorganized the Nazi party and came back as strong opposition for the Nazi party. (Haugen) While the Weimar Republic was in its last stages, the Nazis had been devising a plan for gaining support of all the farmers and white-collar workers which eventually helped them achieve a massive victory in the September 1930 elections. The Nazis were a rebellious group and they refused to join the cabinet and be a part of the coalition regime. Hitler ran for president in 1932, and entered a coalition government with Paul von Hindenburg because Hitler lost the presidential election to him. But when Hindenburg died, in April 1934 Hitler was the obvious successor. And thus the third Reich or Nazi Germany was born. This is when the ‘purification’ of Germany started and Hitler’s dream of a purely German nation started to seem like a reality. The Nazis carried out killings of Jews, and thus, the holocaust began. Since, the economy was already improving. Hitler took credit for it and established himself as a dictator. He started making plans for a war of belligerence towards Europe and all those of generals that had any issues with his strategies were dismissed. He played a major role in causing the World War II in 1939 and he was successful in overpowering most of Europe. He violated all the terms and conditions of the treaty of Versailles. France and Belgium had protested but failed to do anything about the matter. Hitler annexed Austria and 1938 and started taking over parts of Europe such as Sudetenland and part of Czechoslovakia. Joseph Stalin, the president of the Soviet Union made a pact with Hitler that stated that they would not attack each other’s states. This pact is known as the Nazi-Soviet pact. Together they took over Latvia, Estonia and Finland and then later in 1940 Hitler attacked London and fought the battle of Britain. Hitler formed alliances with nations like Italy and Japan. By this time Hitler had become unstoppable. Not only was he in an attempt to cleanse Germany but started his torture and persecution campaigns in the states he had captured during the World War II. Hitler was man who many people feared of, even some influential people. Hitler’s supporters After the World War I, it was the German people that suffered the most. There was poverty, unemployment and extreme inflation. The people were in a state of constant despair for years. Even though things did stabilize for a few years during the Weimar regime, the country was engulfed in an economic crisis again. Amongst all this desolation and hopelessness, Hitler seemed like a savior to the common people. Before the elections he told the people exactly what they wanted to hear. He promised them a better life and a better future. He seemed like the bright light in a very dark and long tunnel. Germany had to give up her pride after the world war as the western world took away all her resources and properties. Hitler promised the people that he would get it all back. He would make Germany become a strong and proud nation once again. He promised the farmers that they would get a good price for their crops which would help them recover and improve the finances they incurred during the great economic recession. The jobless people were promised employment for good wages. He promised that he would develop Germany and would require a massive work force for building roads and other infrastructures. To the middle class people he promised reinstatement of their small businesses and recovery of the losses they had to face. And he actually did fulfill most of these promises when he came to power. He gave the common man tax breaks and enforced a new social welfare system. Even though the nation was constantly at war he made sure that taxes were never raised for the working class people. He took care of all the soldiers and made sure their families were also taken care off. This situation greatly differed from the time of World War I, when people were starving and were enveloped in poverty. (Housden) Hitler continued to take over Europe. A number of battles were fought, a massive amount of lives were lost. But it was finally in 1944 , when the Red Army drove the German army back into western Europe and the Western allies were proceeding towards invading Germany, when did Hitler realize that the Germans were going to lose. He used to view the German army as in destructible and he had become obsessed with control and power. So , when the two operations, operation Wacht am Rhein and Operation Nordwind failed, Hitler began to realize the possibility of defeat. He ordered the demolition of all the German industrial factories and plants so that the Western Allies could not get their hands on it. He also made attempts to negotiate with America and Britain. Later on the 29th of April, Hitler committed suicide and finally the terrifying Hitler regime came to an end. Works Cited Eyck, Erich. A History of the Weimar Republic: From the collapse of the Empire to Hindenburgs election. Atheneum, 1962. Haugen, Brenda. Adolf Hitler: Dictator of Nazi Germany. Compass Point Books, 2006. "hitlers rise to power." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 2007 Hornberger, Jacob G. Why Germans Supported Hitler, Part 1. 2007 Housden, martyn. Hitler: study of a revolutionary? Taylor & Francis, 2000. Kolb, Eberhard. The Weimar Republic. Routledge, 2005. Meier, David A. Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power. 2000 Pridham, Geoffrey. Hitlers rise to power: the Nazi movement in Bavaria, 1923-1933. Hart-Davis MacGibbon, 1973. Read More