"Germans Into Nazis" by Peter Fritzsche
‘German’s Into Nazis’ by Peter Fritzsche
1) Germany before the Fuhrer. Germany’s defeat at the end of World War I left the nation socially, politically, and economically shattered. The reparation agreements inflicted upon Germany without its’ consent at the end of the war meant that the nation was in complete financial ruin. In the wake of Germany’s defeat, public decent climaxed on the 9th November 1918 during the revolution that took place on Berlin’s Postdamer Platz. This revolution transpired as a result of the public’s culminating discontent towards the imperial monarchy, and lasted up until August 1919, which saw the establishment of the Weimar Republic. In attempts to guide Germany out of economic depression, hostilities grew towards the Weimar due to their failure to fulfil communist revolutionary prophecy. They were also perceived by the Right Wing as those who betrayed Germany by accepting the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. After Germany’s defeat in WWI the nations sentiment was becoming increasingly nationalistic; the people were looking for a leader who would promise economic recovery as well as a restoration of German pride. Hitler and his national socialist party were, in many German opinions, the hard lined party who would deliver such promises.
2) 30th January 1933. The collapse of the Weimar Republic gave way to the rise of the National Socialist party, which was then solidified by Hindenberg’s appointing of Adolf Hitler as the chancellor of Germany in 1933. The public’s consensus was not unanimous and Hitler’s rise to power saw countless counterdemonstrations from different groups all over Germany. In the north of Berlin, communists gathered in a counterdemonstration against the National Socialist party where hundreds of thousands rallied in favour of Berlin remaining “red”. Over the next few days, Hitler’s Brown Shirts and the Communist Rotfrontkämpferbund fought a blood-filled war on the streets, which
1) Germany before the Fuhrer. Germany’s defeat at the end of World War I left the nation socially, politically, and economically shattered. The reparation agreements inflicted upon Germany without its’ consent at the end of the war meant that the nation was in complete financial ruin. In the wake of Germany’s defeat, public decent climaxed on the 9th November 1918 during the revolution that took place on Berlin’s Postdamer Platz. This revolution transpired as a result of the public’s culminating discontent towards the imperial monarchy, and lasted up until August 1919, which saw the establishment of the Weimar Republic. In attempts to guide Germany out of economic depression, hostilities grew towards the Weimar due to their failure to fulfil communist revolutionary prophecy. They were also perceived by the Right Wing as those who betrayed Germany by accepting the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. After Germany’s defeat in WWI the nations sentiment was becoming increasingly nationalistic; the people were looking for a leader who would promise economic recovery as well as a restoration of German pride. Hitler and his national socialist party were, in many German opinions, the hard lined party who would deliver such promises.
2) 30th January 1933. The collapse of the Weimar Republic gave way to the rise of the National Socialist party, which was then solidified by Hindenberg’s appointing of Adolf Hitler as the chancellor of Germany in 1933. The public’s consensus was not unanimous and Hitler’s rise to power saw countless counterdemonstrations from different groups all over Germany. In the north of Berlin, communists gathered in a counterdemonstration against the National Socialist party where hundreds of thousands rallied in favour of Berlin remaining “red”. Over the next few days, Hitler’s Brown Shirts and the Communist Rotfrontkämpferbund fought a blood-filled war on the streets, which
Bibliography: Fritzsche, P. (1999). Germans Into Nazis. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.