The German People did “Nazi” Hitler Coming

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Recommended: Effects of World War II on the economy of the United States

In 1932, Germany was in turmoil. Mass inflation had caused the prices of all commodities to rise, while the German people lived paycheck to paycheck. This type of socio-economic climate is notorious for breeding radical political ideologies. Ever since Germany lost the Great War (now called World War I) in 1918, the Germans had been required to pay reparations to the countries they had fought. While the US and UK prospered during the 1920s, Germany suffered. In order to pay off its debts, Germany raised taxes on the people and this caused businesses to increase their prices without raising employee salaries. The stock market crash of 1929 only made the situation worse for Germany, as the US and Britain stopped paying loans to Germany. All throughout the 1920s and early 30s, the Nazi party and the Communist party took advantage of Germany’s newfound freedom of speech to propagate their ideologies. While the Communist party argued for complete socio-economic equality, the Nazi party advocated a government of tight authority, Aryan superiority, and German pride. In most circumstances, the public would avoid these radical parties but desperate times called for desperate measures. While the people could see how Communism had changed Russia arguably for the worst, the Nazis provided an alternative to both the monarchy of old and the communists. Dissatisfied with the democratic government under President Hindenburg, the German people elected Adolf Hitler of the Nazi party as Germany’s president in 1933. Although Hitler initially brought prosperity and wealth to Germany, the German people should have seen the red flags because of Hitler’s over-the-top charisma, hatred of certain groups of people, loss of freedom, and fear of repercussions...

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... this day as a warning for the present and the future. How one man first took control of an entire country, then all of Europe, and systematically wiped out 1/3 of an entire ethnic group, stands as a stark warning against all of humanity. All the signs were clear from the beginning. Superficial charisma, genocide, loss of freedom, and fear of speaking out all created the perfect storm that the German people should have seen coming.

Works Cited

Rees, Laurence. “Viewpoint: His Dark Charisma”. BBC News Magazine.
BBC News. 11 Nov. 2012.

Goldensohn, Leon. Nuremberg Interviews. New York: Random House, Inc.,
2004. Print.

“Nazi Propaganda and Censorship”. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. n.p. n.d. Web.

Spector, Robert M. World Without Civilization: Mass Murder and the Holocaust, History, and Analysis. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. 2005. Print.

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