How Did Adolf Hitler's Rise To Power
1. Adolf Hitler’s rise to power first began at the start of the 1920s, when he played a significant role in the advancement of the Nazi Party. Eventually, in July of 1921, Hitler became president of the party, and used his eloquence to present his views to others, expanding his followers. Although his persuasion ostensibly was important to him attaining power, it perhaps was not the only factor to his success. Later, he believed that he and his party were capable of leading an uprising against the Bavarian government, which quickly gave him a 5-year sentence to jail. During his time there, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, which explained his anti-communist opinions that reflected the Nazi Party. Although uncultured, Mein Kampf combined with Hitler’s
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relations with other socialist extremists led to the Nazis “becoming the 2nd largest party in Germany” (Axelrod Hitler). Afterwards, Hitler ran for President of Germany, but fell short in the election to Paul von Hindenburg. However, Hitler later became chancellor, despite the president disliking him. This shows that Hitler was ambitious, in the way that he could achieve the top position without starting there. Hindenburg predictably appointed Hitler as chancellor because of his fear of what would happen otherwise, considering his attitudes reflected in Mein Kampf. Still, arson of the Reichstag along with the imprisonment of opposing figures to Hitler allowed him to attain full power over Germany, replacing the role of the president with Fuhrer, or supreme leader. The Enabling Act was also instated, granting him 4 years of full control. Despite most of Hitler’s progression to power appearing to be legal, there were crucial elements prior to his reign that were questionable in terms of legality. First of all, Hitler became president purely through his power within his party, and because of the fact that his party was large enough to nearly decide elections. Most of this presumably could be accredited to his speaking skills and persuasion. Furthermore, other than his participation in the Nazi Party, Hitler had done nothing to place himself as a contender for power. Paul von Hindenburg, for example, established himself as accomplished because of his position of a field marshal, lieutenant general, and having an illustrious history. On the contrary, Hitler had accomplished nothing of great significance, and was seemingly not good at anything except for fervor and eloquence. However, because of Hitler’s skill in one particular field, the citizens of Germany were drawn towards him unlike any other ruler, with his followers not considering his potential hunger for power. Another event was the abolishment of communists and jailing of disputants after him becoming chancellor, which would be blatantly illegal if it were done by any normal citizen. Once he had this position, however, no citizen had the authority to question his actions. On top of that, the Reichstag was intentionally burned down by members of his party, in order to remove the threat of Hindenburg to his power. After these considerations, it is probable that Hitler came to power illegally, despite evidence saying otherwise. One main part of Hitler’s economic policy was his ability to reduce the unemployment rate to almost non-existence.
Previous leaders, Brüning and Hindenburg, had unemployment at “around three million” before Hitler’s reign, mostly due to the worldwide depression due to the American Great Depression of 1929 (Grossman). Hitler’s capability of lowering the unemployment shows that he may have been a better leader economically, albeit tyrannical. However, this may have been a result of him simply omitting Jews from citizenship, therefore removing them from any statistics. Still, Hitler was able to keep the workforce employed through “military rearmament as he prepared for German territorial expansion and war” (Zander). Hitler’s strive for militaristic power needed factories to create weapons as well as soldiers, which both gave jobs. This was a result of him supporting autarky, which is the idea of a self-sufficient economy. He and the Nazis also started the Beauty of Labor, which attempted to show to the German citizens that work was a good thing, in order to further lower unemployment. Public works were also a large factor, since it both created jobs and expanded the German community and amenities. Hitler presumably demanded this for the gain of power as fast as possible. Overall, Hitler’s goal in the economy was to employ all that were capable and also using the economy to increase the
military. First of all, the idea that Hitler had of absolute power was not seen in most other rulers, even in modern times. Causing as much of the population as possible to work would benefit the economy, but in Hitler’s opinion, it may have been incited by wanting more work done, not for the actual advance of the economy. When this is considered, it can be seen that Hitler’s economic policies were not exactly ideal. The way that Hitler created his policies somewhat brainwashed the Germans, in a way that he made them enthusiastic about working and helping him. Furthermore, all of the products that were created were mostly militaristic weapons, for the advancement of the German Army. However, focusing on building up military suggests a threatening characteristic of the ruler, in this case Hitler. From this, it is assumed that Hitler wanted to be the utmost power in the entire world, which was true. This aspect is arguable, since it may make it difficult to build relations with other countries, like trade and treaties. All in all, Hitler’s economic policy did well for the economy, but afflicted foreign relations conditions, causing it to be inferior in that way.
2. In the 1930s, Japan had a constitutional monarchy, but also had an emperor. The emperor of Japan at the time was Emperor Hirohito, who “was revered as a god on Earth” (Axelrod Hirohito). However, he may have just appeared as a figurehead, since he himself did not rule, but his ministers and assistants did most of the tasks. This statement is further supported by the fact that he appeared to the Japanese citizens on a white horse, performing physically combative actions. From this, it can be seen how he was somewhat of a celebrity through visuals. From 1930-1941, Japan had multiple prime ministers, most of which specialized in military, because of the imminent conflict of WWII. Another significant leader was Hideki Tojo, who was the Prime Minister of Japan in 1941. He also “equated conflict with nothing less than national survival”, which increased his relations with Italy and Germany through the Tripartite Pact” (Fredriksen). These were both influential factors of WWI, and were significant because it caused conflict between them and the U.S. Before WWII, Japan had an economy highly based on oil, which was mostly given to them by the U.S. Japan needed oil for their industrialization, which they were known to do more so than other countries. However, when Japan started to colonize outsize of their land, Roosevelt instated an oil embargo upon Japan. While this may not seem like a problem, this resulted in “60 percent of Japan’s oil imports” shut down, causing an immediate problem for industrialization (Burg). Further expressing Roosevelt’s dislike of Japan’s expansion, he passed the Export Control Act, which limited exports of iron and steel in addition to oil to Japan. These in combination hurt the Japan economy in terms of businesses and product overall created. It was especially detrimental, since Japan had similar views to America at the time, in the way that they supported the businesses in the economy, with the hopes that money would eventually trickle down to the citizens. On the whole, because of the U.S.’s opposition to Japan’s expansion, Japan suffered economically. Over the course of the time before WWII, Japan attempted expansion and events occurred as a result. One of these was the Rape of Nanking, which happened in 1937. The event refers to when terrorism broke out after Japan took over China’s capital. Its significance was that “it was an early example of the use of organized brutality to…terrorize civilian populations” (Roberts). It also caused sympathy for China, because of the event resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. The assumption can be made that this increased tension between Japan and China. Another significant event was the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which was caused by the Mukden Incident. The Mukden incident was the bombing of a Japanese railroad track in 1931, thought to be planned by China. However, despite it not doing much damage, Japan invaded Manchuria until the end of WWII. This was an important event, because it triggered Japan’s leave of the League of Nations in 1932, causing further isolation from other countries. There was also the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was fought between Japan and China. Its significance was its progression into further hostility and eventually Pearl Harbor and the U.S.’s involvement in WWI. Overall, the actions of Japan in the period after WWI increased tension among the countries internationally and arguably caused U.S.’s entry to the war.
3. Although Hitler and Mussolini are often compared to each other, their rises to power were significantly different. Mussolini started out, even growing up, as a strong socialist, but “suddenly abandoned the Socialist Party line and urged Italy’s entry into the war” (Axelrod Phillips). This presumably meant that a significant turn of events and opinions for Mussolini occurred that would influence the future of Europe. Afterwards, Mussolini attained views similar to Hitler, with pro-labor and pro-militarism in mind. Mussolini expanded his power and influence by bringing powerful, esteemed people to his side, as well creating the Blackshirts. The Blackshirts were thugs that opposed anyone against Mussolini’s views, such as Catholics and Socialists. Eventually, Mussolini led a march across Rome, and obtained permission from King Victor Emmanuel III to have a joint leadership. However, Mussolini also somehow gained dictatorial power for a year, suggesting that he carried persuasive qualities, similar to Hitler. Mussolini’s ability to bring himself up to that political level also suggested an eloquent characteristic of him, which is vital to a dictator’s success. Overall, although Mussolini and Hitler’s progression to power contrasted greatly, in the end, their positions were similar. Mussolini’s ideas for pulling Italy out of a depression were similar to that of Hitler and Roosevelt, in the way that helping the businesses of the economy would eventually assist the rest of the economy. One form of this was “reducing taxes on industry to encourage production”, which evidently worked, as he was “able to revitalize the nation’s floundering economy” (Axelrod Phillips). By reducing taxes on businesses, they would have more money to create capital and employees, therefore increasing money for citizens. Utilizing this business cycle in the economy caused it to thrive, but its success was also attributed to spending less on public work services. In America, however, Roosevelt also created many organizations that contributed to public works services with the New Deal. Although public works did create jobs, it was reasonable for Mussolini to make the choice to reduce them, as the government was already reducing taxes for businesses. Mussolini also improved the failing economy by industrializing, and building more products for citizens to purchase, which goes along with the business cycle. Finally, Mussolini supported a way of government that strengthened the relationship between workers, their employers, and state. This was significant because it helped to increase profits, especially considering it included his own intervention.
relations with other socialist extremists led to the Nazis “becoming the 2nd largest party in Germany” (Axelrod Hitler). Afterwards, Hitler ran for President of Germany, but fell short in the election to Paul von Hindenburg. However, Hitler later became chancellor, despite the president disliking him. This shows that Hitler was ambitious, in the way that he could achieve the top position without starting there. Hindenburg predictably appointed Hitler as chancellor because of his fear of what would happen otherwise, considering his attitudes reflected in Mein Kampf. Still, arson of the Reichstag along with the imprisonment of opposing figures to Hitler allowed him to attain full power over Germany, replacing the role of the president with Fuhrer, or supreme leader. The Enabling Act was also instated, granting him 4 years of full control. Despite most of Hitler’s progression to power appearing to be legal, there were crucial elements prior to his reign that were questionable in terms of legality. First of all, Hitler became president purely through his power within his party, and because of the fact that his party was large enough to nearly decide elections. Most of this presumably could be accredited to his speaking skills and persuasion. Furthermore, other than his participation in the Nazi Party, Hitler had done nothing to place himself as a contender for power. Paul von Hindenburg, for example, established himself as accomplished because of his position of a field marshal, lieutenant general, and having an illustrious history. On the contrary, Hitler had accomplished nothing of great significance, and was seemingly not good at anything except for fervor and eloquence. However, because of Hitler’s skill in one particular field, the citizens of Germany were drawn towards him unlike any other ruler, with his followers not considering his potential hunger for power. Another event was the abolishment of communists and jailing of disputants after him becoming chancellor, which would be blatantly illegal if it were done by any normal citizen. Once he had this position, however, no citizen had the authority to question his actions. On top of that, the Reichstag was intentionally burned down by members of his party, in order to remove the threat of Hindenburg to his power. After these considerations, it is probable that Hitler came to power illegally, despite evidence saying otherwise. One main part of Hitler’s economic policy was his ability to reduce the unemployment rate to almost non-existence.
Previous leaders, Brüning and Hindenburg, had unemployment at “around three million” before Hitler’s reign, mostly due to the worldwide depression due to the American Great Depression of 1929 (Grossman). Hitler’s capability of lowering the unemployment shows that he may have been a better leader economically, albeit tyrannical. However, this may have been a result of him simply omitting Jews from citizenship, therefore removing them from any statistics. Still, Hitler was able to keep the workforce employed through “military rearmament as he prepared for German territorial expansion and war” (Zander). Hitler’s strive for militaristic power needed factories to create weapons as well as soldiers, which both gave jobs. This was a result of him supporting autarky, which is the idea of a self-sufficient economy. He and the Nazis also started the Beauty of Labor, which attempted to show to the German citizens that work was a good thing, in order to further lower unemployment. Public works were also a large factor, since it both created jobs and expanded the German community and amenities. Hitler presumably demanded this for the gain of power as fast as possible. Overall, Hitler’s goal in the economy was to employ all that were capable and also using the economy to increase the
military. First of all, the idea that Hitler had of absolute power was not seen in most other rulers, even in modern times. Causing as much of the population as possible to work would benefit the economy, but in Hitler’s opinion, it may have been incited by wanting more work done, not for the actual advance of the economy. When this is considered, it can be seen that Hitler’s economic policies were not exactly ideal. The way that Hitler created his policies somewhat brainwashed the Germans, in a way that he made them enthusiastic about working and helping him. Furthermore, all of the products that were created were mostly militaristic weapons, for the advancement of the German Army. However, focusing on building up military suggests a threatening characteristic of the ruler, in this case Hitler. From this, it is assumed that Hitler wanted to be the utmost power in the entire world, which was true. This aspect is arguable, since it may make it difficult to build relations with other countries, like trade and treaties. All in all, Hitler’s economic policy did well for the economy, but afflicted foreign relations conditions, causing it to be inferior in that way.
2. In the 1930s, Japan had a constitutional monarchy, but also had an emperor. The emperor of Japan at the time was Emperor Hirohito, who “was revered as a god on Earth” (Axelrod Hirohito). However, he may have just appeared as a figurehead, since he himself did not rule, but his ministers and assistants did most of the tasks. This statement is further supported by the fact that he appeared to the Japanese citizens on a white horse, performing physically combative actions. From this, it can be seen how he was somewhat of a celebrity through visuals. From 1930-1941, Japan had multiple prime ministers, most of which specialized in military, because of the imminent conflict of WWII. Another significant leader was Hideki Tojo, who was the Prime Minister of Japan in 1941. He also “equated conflict with nothing less than national survival”, which increased his relations with Italy and Germany through the Tripartite Pact” (Fredriksen). These were both influential factors of WWI, and were significant because it caused conflict between them and the U.S. Before WWII, Japan had an economy highly based on oil, which was mostly given to them by the U.S. Japan needed oil for their industrialization, which they were known to do more so than other countries. However, when Japan started to colonize outsize of their land, Roosevelt instated an oil embargo upon Japan. While this may not seem like a problem, this resulted in “60 percent of Japan’s oil imports” shut down, causing an immediate problem for industrialization (Burg). Further expressing Roosevelt’s dislike of Japan’s expansion, he passed the Export Control Act, which limited exports of iron and steel in addition to oil to Japan. These in combination hurt the Japan economy in terms of businesses and product overall created. It was especially detrimental, since Japan had similar views to America at the time, in the way that they supported the businesses in the economy, with the hopes that money would eventually trickle down to the citizens. On the whole, because of the U.S.’s opposition to Japan’s expansion, Japan suffered economically. Over the course of the time before WWII, Japan attempted expansion and events occurred as a result. One of these was the Rape of Nanking, which happened in 1937. The event refers to when terrorism broke out after Japan took over China’s capital. Its significance was that “it was an early example of the use of organized brutality to…terrorize civilian populations” (Roberts). It also caused sympathy for China, because of the event resulting in tens of thousands of deaths. The assumption can be made that this increased tension between Japan and China. Another significant event was the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, which was caused by the Mukden Incident. The Mukden incident was the bombing of a Japanese railroad track in 1931, thought to be planned by China. However, despite it not doing much damage, Japan invaded Manchuria until the end of WWII. This was an important event, because it triggered Japan’s leave of the League of Nations in 1932, causing further isolation from other countries. There was also the Second Sino-Japanese War, which was fought between Japan and China. Its significance was its progression into further hostility and eventually Pearl Harbor and the U.S.’s involvement in WWI. Overall, the actions of Japan in the period after WWI increased tension among the countries internationally and arguably caused U.S.’s entry to the war.
3. Although Hitler and Mussolini are often compared to each other, their rises to power were significantly different. Mussolini started out, even growing up, as a strong socialist, but “suddenly abandoned the Socialist Party line and urged Italy’s entry into the war” (Axelrod Phillips). This presumably meant that a significant turn of events and opinions for Mussolini occurred that would influence the future of Europe. Afterwards, Mussolini attained views similar to Hitler, with pro-labor and pro-militarism in mind. Mussolini expanded his power and influence by bringing powerful, esteemed people to his side, as well creating the Blackshirts. The Blackshirts were thugs that opposed anyone against Mussolini’s views, such as Catholics and Socialists. Eventually, Mussolini led a march across Rome, and obtained permission from King Victor Emmanuel III to have a joint leadership. However, Mussolini also somehow gained dictatorial power for a year, suggesting that he carried persuasive qualities, similar to Hitler. Mussolini’s ability to bring himself up to that political level also suggested an eloquent characteristic of him, which is vital to a dictator’s success. Overall, although Mussolini and Hitler’s progression to power contrasted greatly, in the end, their positions were similar. Mussolini’s ideas for pulling Italy out of a depression were similar to that of Hitler and Roosevelt, in the way that helping the businesses of the economy would eventually assist the rest of the economy. One form of this was “reducing taxes on industry to encourage production”, which evidently worked, as he was “able to revitalize the nation’s floundering economy” (Axelrod Phillips). By reducing taxes on businesses, they would have more money to create capital and employees, therefore increasing money for citizens. Utilizing this business cycle in the economy caused it to thrive, but its success was also attributed to spending less on public work services. In America, however, Roosevelt also created many organizations that contributed to public works services with the New Deal. Although public works did create jobs, it was reasonable for Mussolini to make the choice to reduce them, as the government was already reducing taxes for businesses. Mussolini also improved the failing economy by industrializing, and building more products for citizens to purchase, which goes along with the business cycle. Finally, Mussolini supported a way of government that strengthened the relationship between workers, their employers, and state. This was significant because it helped to increase profits, especially considering it included his own intervention.