Hitler's Rise To The Great Depression

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How far can we attribute Hitler's rise to the Great Depression?
The increase of Hitler’s influence in Germany was caused by several different factors. The Great Depression of 1929 played one of the roles in this process. Other reasons why Hitler could turn a democracy into a dictatorship was the internal sociopolitical situation in the Weimar Republic and last but not least the effects of the Treaty of Versailles. This essay is going to consider to what extent the Great Depression helped Hitler on his rise. Although it was an important base for Hitler, it was just a part of more complex situation.
After the 1929 stock market crash in America, the Great Depression arrived to Europe, making it easier for Hitler to gain power. The economic crisis …show more content…

Since the origin of the Republic, Germany’s political representation was voted through proportional electoral system. This, on one hand, resulted in a true reflection of the voters’ demands. The extreme parties could be represented. Thanks to this, Hitler’s party was able to gain seats in Reichstag in 1928, even though only 12. On the other hand, no party was able to gain a majority of votes. As a result, the country was run by coalitions without a stable government and vision. The weakness of such government proved in the beginning when it was unable to control clashes between Nazis and Communists and their revolts. This showed when Communists established their own state with the capital being Munich. Their attempt was stopped with the help of Nazi Freikorps in 1919. Such events deepened the citizens’ distrust in democracy and tendency to look for a strong leader. Moreover, the citizens felt that they could blame the government for Germany’s poor economic state. When Weimar was faced with war reparations, the government made a decision to print money, causing hyperinflation. In 1923, paper money was practically worthless. For this reason, the government decided to refuse to pay the reparations which resulted in France taking over Rhineland, the German centre of industry, deepening the crisis. Again, this brought a reason for people to demand change. Eventually, Germany stabilized, however it was in debt which partially laid ground for the Great Depression to have massive effect on Germany. The shift from monarchy, with a clear direction to democracy with such problems did not meet the approval of the country’s citizens. This was accompanied by social changes (such as a different approach to women or a new art school) which caused dissatisfaction among conservatives who wanted back the old, stable times. Many middle-class people were beginning to

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