Hitler's coming to power. The reasons for Hitler's rise to power

Since Adolf Hitler's suicide, almost 70 years have passed. However, his colorful political figure is still of interest to historians who want to understand how a modest young artist without academic education was able to introduce 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's rise to power, how did this process take place and what preceded this event?

The beginning of political biography

The future Führer of the German nation was born in 1889. The beginning of his political career can be considered 1919, when Hitler retired from the army and joined the German Workers' Party. Already in six months during the party meeting, he proposed to rename this organization in 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 after the first congress of the party held in 1923, a march of storm troopers marched through the city, in which more than 5,000 people took part. Thus began the history of Hitler's rise to power.

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 Putsch, during which a three-thousand-strong storm troopers column led by Hitler tried to seize the building of the Ministry of Defense. They were thrown back by a detachment of police, and the leaders of the riots were tried. In particular, Hitler was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. However, he spent only a few months in prison and paid a fine of 200 gold marks. Once free, Hitler developed violent political activities. Thanks to his efforts in the elections of 1930, and then in 1932, his party won more seats in parliament, becoming a significant political force. Thus, political conditions were created that made Hitler's coming to power. Germany in this period was in the grip of a crisis that erupted in Europe in 1929.

Economic reasons for Hitler to come to power

According to historians, a great role in the political successes of the NSDAP was played by the Great Depression, which lasted about 10 years. She very badly hit the industry of Germany and gave birth to the 7.5 million-strong army of unemployed. Suffice it to say that in the 1931 strike of the miners of the city of Ruhr, almost 350,000 workers took part. In such conditions, the role of the Communist Party of Germany grew, which aroused the concern of the financial elite and large industrialists, who relied on the Nazi Party as the only force capable of resisting the Communists.

Appointment to the post of head of the Cabinet

In early 1933, President Hindenburg received a large bribe from the German tycoons who demanded the appointment of the head of the NSDAP to the post of the Reich Chancellor. The old soldier who lived his life, saving every pfennig, could not resist, and 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 machinations of the son of Hindenburg. But the appointment to the post of head of the Cabinet did not mean Hitler's coming to power, as the laws could only be passed by the Reichstag, and at that time the National Socialists did not have the necessary number of mandates.

Massacre with Communists and Night of Long Knives

Only a few weeks after Hitler's appointment, there was an arson attack on the Reichstag building. As a result, the Communist Party was accused of preparing to seize power in the country, and President Hindenburg signed a decree on giving the Cabinet extraordinary powers.

Having received a carte blanche, Hitler ordered the arrest of about 4,000 Communist Party activists and succeeded in announcing new elections to the Reichstag, where almost 44% of the vote went to his party. The next force capable of hampering Hitler's coming to power was the assault troops, led by Ernst Rhem. To neutralize this organization, the Nazis also organized a pogrom, later called "Night of 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 coming to power, as he succeeded in replacing the early elections with a referendum. When it was held on August 19, 1934, voters were asked to answer just one question, as follows: "Do you agree that the posts of the president and the chancellor should be merged?" After the vote count, it turned out that the majority of voters supported the proposed reform of state power . As a result, the post of president was abolished.

The Fuhrer and the Reich Chancellor

According to most researchers, the year Hitler came to power - 1934. After the referendum on August 19, he became not only the head of the Cabinet, but also the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, personally to whom the army had to swear. Moreover, for the first time in the history of the country, he was given the title of Führer and the 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 precisely since that time he and the party led by him have been able to exert a significant influence on Germany's domestic and foreign policy. Be that as it may, a dictator emerged in Europe, as a result of which millions of people were killed on three continents.

Germany. Hitler's rise to power: consequences for domestic politics and economy (1934-1939)

The first years after the establishment of the dictatorship in the country, a new ideology was introduced into the consciousness of its citizens, based on three pillars: revanchism, anti-Semitism and belief in the exclusivity of the German nation. Very soon, Germany, Hitler's coming to power in which was predetermined, including foreign policy reasons, began to experience an economic recovery. The number of unemployed has sharply decreased, large-scale reforms have been launched in the sphere of industry, and various actions aimed at improving the social status of poor Germans have been carried out. At the same time, any dissent was thwarted, including through mass repression, which was often sincerely supported by law-abiding burghers, who were pleased that the government was isolating or even annihilating Jews or Communists, which they thought were preventing the formation of Great Germany. By the way, an important role in this played the outstanding oratorical abilities of Goebbels and the Fuhrer himself. In general, when you look "Two-headed Eagle. Hitler's coming to power "- a film by Lutz Becker, almost entirely based on newsreel footage captured from the beginning of the November revolution in Germany and to the book auto-da-fe-you understand how easy it is to manipulate the public consciousness. At the same time, it is bewildering that it is not about a few hundred or even thousands of religious fanatics, but a multi-million nation, which has always been considered one of the most enlightened in Europe.

The coming to power of Hitler, briefly described above, is one of the textbook examples of how the dictator came to power democratically, plunging the planet into the chaos of the world war.