The Holucast

Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s Germany had lost everything, the economy was in a decline and there was an extremely high unemployment rate.. The unemployment rate in Germany had never been higher. Germany had lost nearly everything, including their pride after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. In 1923, inflation reached its climax in Germany which made the German Mark lose its value and virtually wiped out the middle class. The German economy was so bad that cartoons were drawn depicting middle class Germans carting around their few possessions and money in wheel barrows. Middle class citizens became more susceptible to appeals from extremist groups such as the Nazis which came about in the years following World War I because they had provided a focus for Germany's problems. Less than three years after German's economy had somewhat stabilized, it went in to a severe economic depression along with the rest of the Western world in 1929. During the years of economic depression the Weimar Republic, who ruled Germany from 1919 to 1933, was criticized for not being able to deal with Germany's problems effectively and efficiently. The Communist and the National Socialist Parties were supported by most of the German voters by 1933 because of Germany's economic problems.
. Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Party were behind this antisemitism campaign. When Hitler and the Nazi party gained power, they made antisemitism an official government policy. Germans were looking for a quick way out of their problems and, by listening to Hitler, they believed they found a quick way out. His reason was the Jews, and Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's economic problems and its defeat in World War I. Hitler blamed the Jews because, he said that the Jews were not German and he had developed a hate towards the Jews as he grew older. Hitler was bringing back old. Hitler used propaganda to get Germans thinking that the Jews were the ones responsible for Germany's problems Propaganda that was spread over Germany was very antisemetic and crude.

There were several characteristics which Germany possessed after the First World War which made them vulnerable to being manipulated by someone like Adolf Hitler. As in most nations, the economic factors of the time play a significant role in determining how a society will behave. Germany was economically devastated after a draining defeat in World War I. Due to the Versailles treaty, Germany was forced to pay incredibly sizeable reparations to France and Great Britain. In addition, the Versailles treaty, which many agreed was far too harsh, forced Germany to give up thirteen percent of its land.