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Explain how Hitler manipulated the

Weimar constitution to become Fuhrer


The aftermath of World War one ‘the war to end all wars’ saw the form
er German Empire in political chaos with almost every radical party tryi
ng to seize power , it became a place of revolution.. Germany experien
ced mass-starvation, deprivation and unemployment due to the serious
economic issues like rising prices and the continued Allied blockade. At
such situations when people are starving and their sons died fighting fo
r the former dictator of the country, they are more likely to turn to the
extremists. Weimar Germany had ups and downs throughout the 1920
s yet still managed to survive and flourish till the end of the 1920s. "W
hen runaway inflation and bank failures struck in Germany in the 1920
s, the middle class was destroyed, which led directly to the rise of the
Nazis".- Nick Clooney

The DAP was formed by Anton Drexler on the 7th of March 1918. They
were an extremely right-winged group who were all anti-Marxist and an
ti-monarchists. In 1919 Hitler was put in charge of propaganda and th
e political ideas of the party. In 1920, they announced their 25 point pr
ogramme which included abolishing the treaty of Versailles and only ‘tr
ue’ Germanys to be allowed to live in Germany and renamed the party
as the Nationalist Socialist German Worker’s Party, Nazis in short. Hitle
r knew how to stir nationalist passions in his audiences, he provided th
e people scapegoats to blame for Germany’s problems. At the end of 1
920, the party had about 3000 members and in 1921 Hitler took over D
rexler’s position. He set up the SA to protect his meetings and disrupte
d those of his opponents. By 1923 Hitler believed the Nazis were stron
g enough and ready to put down Weimar Germany when the governme
nt was occupied with financial crisis. He was escorted with the old war
hero Ludendorff, they hijacked a local government meeting and annou
nced he was taking over the government of Bavaria. The Nazis begun t
o take over official buildings however, the next day the Weimar govern
ment forces hit back and police rounded up the Nazis , killing 16 of the
m. The revolt broke up in chaos, Hitler and other leading Nazis were ar
rested and charged with treason, it was horrible for Hitler. He did not a
chieve the support he expected to get. Hitler’s speech in the trial extre
mely impressed the judge who decided to give him 5 years in jail inste
ad of being sentenced for life. However , Hitler only served nine month
s in jail and wrote a book called Mein Kampf where he expressed all his
ideas and beliefs such as Lebensraum and National Socialism. As soon
as Hitler was dismissed from jail he started building the Nazis Party so
that it could take power through democratic means. Despite Hitler’s ne
w policy and plans for Germany, the following years were difficult for th
e Nazis. By 1928 the Nazis were the smallest party since Stresemann’s
leadership made extreme parties unappealing to the Germans. 1929 s
aw the wall street crash and Stresemann’s death , Germany was in dev
astating depression , salt was rubbed onto the unhealed wounds from
hyperinflation and deprivation. The Germans were desperate and were
willing to listen to anyone, even Hitler. This was the time the Germans
were interested in the 25 point programme the Nazis announced, Hitler
promised them to end the chaos , make an end to the irrational
irrational terms of the treaty of Versailles , deal with the unemploymen
t and more. On election day , September 1930 the Nazis received 6,37
1,000 votes , overnight the Nazis party went from being the smallest p
arty to the second largest party in Germany. The unemployed were giv
en food and shelter and became a part of the SA. The Nazis were the la
rgest single party in 1932. Under the organisation of Josef Goebbels Hit
ler spoke brilliantly at huge rallies, whipping the crowds into hysteria ,
he used films , radios and records. His message was passed to millions.
He ran for president in 1932 and got 13 million votes while Hindenbur
g’s were 19million. Hitler then demanded the post of Chancellor from t
he president however, Hindenburg was suspicious of Hitler and refused.
He allowed Von Papen to remain chancellor however, Von Papen did n
ot succeed in solving the problems and was not supported by the Reich
stag. Another election was called and the Nazis were again the largest
party although some of their votes fell. Hitler again demanded the post
of chancellor and Hindenburg refused again and chose Kurt von Schleic
her instead. However , within a month Von Schleicher was forced to res
ign due to the fact that he was unable to do anything about the unemp
loyment and other crises which were flooding Germany at the time. Ev
entually on the 30th of January Hitler was offered the post of chancellor
by Hindenburg. Hindenburg and his advisors thought that Hitler would
be controllable once he becomes chancellor. They were wrong.

Once Hitler was Chancellor, he took steps to complete a Nazi take over
of Germany. He called another election for March 1933 to try to get an
overall Nazi majority in the Reistag. Germany again witnessed speeche
s , rallies and street fightings. Then on the 27th February the Reichstag
building mysteriously burnt down , Hitler blamed the communists for th
is and demanded for emergency powers to deal with the situation. The
Nazis used these powers to arrest communists, break up meetings and
frighten voters. In the election the Nazis won their largest ever share o
f the votes and with the support of the smallest Nationalist party, Hitler
had the overall majority he needed. He then passed the enabling act w
hich enabled him to make laws for the next four years without consulti
ng the Reichstag. In 1933, the Nazis came to power and the more syst
ematic persecution of the Jews followed quickly. Laws were enacted wh
ich excluded Jewish children from higher education in public schools.- J
ack Steinberger He became the dictator of Germany, Hindenburg was
unable to do anything, Hitler achieved it by electoral success and
manipulation of the Weimar Consititution and the demorcratic process.
Hitler acted rapidly to secure his position, he made sure that local gove
rnment and local police were under Nazis control and banned trade uni
ons. Other political groups were banned and all opponents of the Nazis
left or were taken to concentration camps. Hitler did not feel secure ye
t , he feared Ernst Rohm’s control over the 4 million SA men made him
a potentially dangerous rival. In the night of the long knives Hitler kille
d off the SA and Ernst Rohm and secured his position completely. Soon
after the Night of the Long Knives Hindenburg died and Hitler took over
as Supreme Leader (Fuhrer) of Germany. On the 2nd of August 1934, th
e entire army swore an oath of a personal loyalty to Hitler as Fuhrer of
Germany.

During the time Hitler served in prison he realized that the Nazis were
not going to achieve power by force, they would have to work within th
e democratic system and destroy it once they are in power. He stated
every move he was going to make in order to come to power by democ
ratic means in his book Mein kampf. Eventually he succeeded and cam
e to power after manipulating the Weimar Constitution and achieving t
he most shares of votes. He then set off to demolish the terms of the T
reaty of Versailles and rearming Germany. Germany stays and falls wit
h the success of the policy of Hitler. - Hjalmar Schacht

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