World War one had left Germany in an unstable state. Large amounts of the state budget had been spent on war pensions, one of the factors contributing to Germany being virtually bankrupt. The war had deepened divisions in the German society, many workers were bitter because of restrictions placed on their wages. Germany could not start to recover and gain power again because it had reparations to pay due to the treaty of Versailles. The Weimar republic was under pressure, it had just survived some serious crises. From the left and right came putsches, assassinations and anti-government propaganda. The economy was weak and was damaged by inflation. The USA brought stability and recovery to Germany by giving them a loan in an agreement called the Dawes Plan. The state of the country improved to some extent, support for extreme parties fell. However between 1929 and 1934 the Weimar Republic began to fail. The Wall Street crash caused great depression in Germany. Germany was at a low and the people of Germany wanted a leader to make them great again.
The Nazi party believed in two different concepts, they were nationalist yet they believed in a fair society and equality. This allowed virtually everyone in Germany to agree with some aspect of the Nazi party. The Nazi policies were direct and general. They relied on generalised slogans. The Nazi's talked about uniting the German people behind one leader. They went back to traditional values though they were never clear about their policies making it very hard for people to find weakness with the party and its policies. If they were criticised for a policy they would be most likely to drop it. The Nazi posters and leaflets were to be found everywhere, this resulted in the swastika- the symbol on the Nazi flag- becoming the best-known political symbol in Germany. Their rallies were impressive with energy and enthusiasm. The Nazi party was organised along military lines.