Essays

Failure of the Weimar Republic and Rise of the Nazis Historiography

Legacy of the War
“There is little doubt that the stigma of the so-called “November Criminals” hung like a giant shadow over the period of Weimar Germany. ” McGonigle

“The lament of so many decent …Germans about the burdens and cruelties inflicted by the allies on an innocent Germany….. undermined democracy….and facilitated the rise of Hitler.” Hugo Preuss

Many Germans saw the Treaty of Versailles as “ a vindictive Allied plot to humiliate Germany.” – McGonigle

Political Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic

“The effect of governing under Article 48 …..was to put effective power into the hands of the President and the group of right-wing politicians and army officers which surrounded him.” McKichan

The Economic Problems Faced by the Weimar Republic

“…to the ordinary German, it [the hyperinflation of 1923] was the fault of a government that had accepted reparations payments….and appeared to have played no active part to prevent the crisis….deepening.” McGonigle

“..The whole structure of the German economy was unhealthy. An over-reliance on foreign investments left the Weimar economy subject to the fluctuations of the international economy.” McGonigle

The Great Depression

“The NSDAP was in the fortunate position, unlike almost every other party in the Weimar Republic, of appealing to different groups for different reasons.” David Welch

“…a disastrous economic blizzard….” McKichan on the Great Depression “Hitler would almost certainly have remained on the fringes of politics had it not been for the Great Depression….and the hardship it brought.” McKichan

“There is no doubt that Germany suffered much more than Britain and France during this period and that Hitler exploited this misery to the full.” McGonigle

The increase in electoral support for the Nazis after 1929 “was directly related to the growth of mass unemployment and the growth of political instability in this period.” Mary Fulbrook

Attractions of the Nazis

“[Goebbels’s] brilliant propaganda techniques played a large part in exploiting the Depression to win mass support..” McKichan

“The NSDAP was in the fortunate position, unlike almost every other party in the Weimar Republic, of appealing to different groups for different reasons.” David Welch

Divided and Ineffective Opposition
The crushing of the Spartacist revolt “destroyed any hope of cooperation between the different wings of the socialist groups…”- McGonigle

Hitler’s Leadership

“[Hitler’s] ability to work a crowd, his sense of timing, his feel for their mood cannot be doubted. He was their greatest electoral asset.” Cameron , Robertson and Henderson.

“The Fatal Error”

“….Hitler came to office in 1933 as the result, not of any irresistible revolutionary or national movement …but as part of a shoddy political deal with the “Old Gang” whom he had been attacking for months past.” Alan Bullock

“Without the Depression, Hitler would not have been able to build up mass support. However, without the help of right-wing politicians who thought they could use him for their own ends, he could not have won power.” McKichan