Sæl.
Hér fyrir neðan er lokaritgerð sem ég gerði fyrir IB nám mitt.
Í þessari ritgerð rannsaka ég hvaða hjálpaði Hitler að komast til valda í Þýskalandi, með aðal fókusinn á heimskreppuna. Ritgerðin er því miður á ensku, því að ég nenni engan veginn að þýða hana. Ég afsaka líka að ég geti ekki haft myndirnar sem ég var með í ritgerðinni, þ.e.a.s töflur með tölfræði o.s.frv.

en hérna kemur þetta:


To what extent did the economic depression in 1929
work as a catalyst in Hitler's rise to power in Germany.








15/01/09


Abstract
How Hitler convinced the German masses to vote for him, has always been fascinating and in truth important to the history of the world. As Karl Marx put it, ‘History repeats itself’, thus it is vital for historians to analyze what factors assisted Hitler’s political take, to prevent such a dictator to rise to power again. His road to success did not happen instantaneously, as it took patience and talent for him to succeed. In this essay, I investigated the different factors that brought Hitler to success. In doing so, I investigated the great depression and its affect on the German society. Using different sources, and following Hitler’s road to power, I also tried to analyze other factors that made him victorious, such as his personal character. After researching the topic, and writing the essay, I concluded that the main factor that supported Hitler’s rise to power was the economical situation. Not only did it cause unhappiness within the German community, but it started a set of events that would push Hitler forward and make it easier for him to take over Germany. This is in fact very important for the world today, as we are heading into another big recession. Governments and international powers must analyze what they must do in order to hinder a dictator’s rise to power.






















Table of content


1. Introduction Page 4 - 5
2. Economical factors Page 6
2.1 Treaty of Versailles Page 6
2.2 Economical instability Page 7 - 8
3. Political factors Page 9
3.1 Hitler’s Character Page 9
3.2 The Beer Hall putsch Page 9
3.3 Organisation Page 10 - 11
3.4 Luck Page 11
4. Social change Page 12
5. Cultural change Page 13
6. Evaluation of sources Page 13
7. Conclusion Page 14-15
8. References Page 16 – 17
9. Acknowledgements Page 18












1. Introduction

The reason for my topic of choice is due to my vast interest in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. It is evidential that the world today is surrounded by what is left of Hitler’s campaign against the allied forces. This of course is namely movies, books, comics, computer games, and neo-Nazism. Being surrounded by this, this subject understandably fascinated me.

Looking at the current economic situation and the possible future outcome, one must think history could possibly repeat itself. Thinking how important the depression was to Hitler’s rise in power, the following research question was formed; “To what extent did the economical depression in 1929 work as a catalyst in Hitler's rise to power in Germany”. In doing so, I plan on investigating the historical events that led to Hitler’s rise to power, and how many of them spurred his way to success.

Hitler’s road to success did not happen overnight. The great political change that Germany went through at the time, from being a republic to a totalitarian state, took Hitler a great deal of work and smart decisions. Combined with events both occurring nationally and internationally saw Hitler steadily rise from being a member of a small local party, to becoming the dictator of Germany.

If one analyzes how Hitler came to power, it is essential to take into consideration all the different causes that helped his progress. The main steps for Hitler’s rise to power can be divided up into several categories. Most notably was the grave economical depression and Germany’s political chaos at the time. Cultural and social desperation was also evident, overwhelming the country with fear and anxiety.

The grave depression that the German nation faced augmented the series of events that lead Hitler to power. First, hyperinflation plagued the country when the French invaded the Ruhr, and later on unemployment rate was extremely high when the Wall Street market crashed n 1929. As the German people knew that the Treaty of Versailles had forced Germany to its knees, the imminent governmental change gave Hitler his chance. Hitler’s promises, creating more jobs and denying paying the foreign war bills, gave Germany a new hope.

The political aspect of Hitler’s rise to power is a combination of different political factors that influenced Hitler’s success. Hitler’s character played a major role in his increased support, both being a very good public speaker and very organized. The trial after Hitler’s failed revolution in 1923 received heavy media attention, and thus Hitler was able to bring forward many of his political ideas. The weakness of his political opponents also played a very important part in his advancement, both being badly organized and fearing Hitler and his masses of supporters. Being heavily supported by rich people who feared communism, also allowed Hitler to employ a very effective propaganda . The event that then finally gave Hitler most of the governmental powers he needed was when he was appointed chancellor in 1933.

There was an enormous change in cultural and social aspects that Germans went through after the First World War and during the economic recession. They lacked experience in running a democratic government, and the hefty amount of money they had to pay because of the Treaty of Versailles caused a political chaos, where the German people demanded change. Quality of life was deteriorating very quickly, and the embarrassed German nation wanted to regain its international pride as one of the world’s super power.

The German society demanded political change. They strongly believed that the current government was tearing the country apart, and wanted a new system of government, with new ideas. The timing could not have been better for Hitler. The people of Germany were emotionally crashed, and Hitler knew what the people wanted to hear. Promising more jobs, promising to boycott the Treaty of Versailles and turning Germany into a great empire, were one of the many things that made people vote for Hitler.

The combination of all of these factors was vital to Hitler’s success, thus the hypothesis of this research essay being “The importance of the economical recession that was spreading throughout the industrialized world was the one big reason that Hitler got to power. If it would not have been for the great depression and the hyper inflation people would not have lost their life savings and unemployment would have not started to increase, and thus people would not have demanded a governmental change”.


2. Economical factors
The economical recession went hard on Germany. After World War I, Germany had been forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, in which they were obliged to pay billions of dollars in repair for war damages. Unemployment rate was growing rapidly, and the economy was collapsing. The collapse of the US economy also had a great impact on the US loan based German economy.

2.1 - Treaty of Versailles.
The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany into massive debts. In it, the German nation was forced to pay 132 billion marks (equivalence of about £11.3 billion), due to war damages. The inflation was rising at an extremely fast rate and the people were starting to doubt the government. The treaty then caused a domino effect, when the US announced it would loan the German nation enough money to pay for the war damages (which they were forced to pay because of the treaty ). Due to the US loans causing a decrease in inflation, as a new currency was used , the Weimar republic regained popularity . However, as soon as the Wall Street stock market crashed, the US government had to recall their loans. Unemployment rate started rising very rapidly, as there was a huge decrease in demand. People now thought of the Weimar Republic as weak and unorganized. The result was immediate decrease in the government’s popularity . Hitler saw this as an opportunity, clearly stating his strong opinions in public about the Treaty of Versailles.

However, the civilian’s discontent with the Treaty of Versailles was not only due to its economical affects. The symbolic meaning of the treaty angered many nationalists, ex-soldiers and generals as it represented Germany’s loss in World War I . This sparked off nationalistic behaviour in Germany, as anger with the Weimar republic rose and many people thought that a nationalistic government should dominate the country. This rising instability of course gave the Nazi party a chance to grow.

2.2. – Economic instability
After the war the economic instability grew as inflation rate grew at first, and later on unemployment. The hyperinflation was caused by the invasion of Ruhr in 1923 by the French, due to Germany not living up to the war bill that the allied forces had required Germany to pay after the war. This caused the mark to become worthless and therefore people lost all their savings. Figure 1 clearly shows how the exchange rate for the mark exponentially decreased, and how the inflation rose exponentially.

Figure 1


Between 1920 and late 1923, the inflation rapidly grew. People starved and had no place to live. As the inflation ascended into the worst one the world had seen, unemployment rate also increased. However, when the US announced their loan plan, lending the Weimar Republic money to pay for the war bill, and thus giving them a chance to create a new currency. The inflation quickly slowed down and unemployment rate decreased. During this time, the people became optimistic again, thus support for the government rose. The Stock market crash in the US in 1929 had a massive impact on the American-German loan relationship. Due to the recession that followed the crash, all American loans in Germany were recalled. This triggered the collapse of the US loan based German economy, due to the massive capital flight. What followed was a rapid increase in unemployment. As the prices of every day material rose very rapidly, the rise of the rate in unemployment went out of control.

Figure 2
September 1928 650,000 unemployed
September 1929 1,320,000 unemployed
September 1930 3,000,000 unemployed
September 1931 4,350,000 unemployed
September 1932 5,102,000 unemployed
January 1933 6,100,000 unemployed

Figure 2 clearly shows how unemployment rate in Germany quickly rose after the Wall Street crash. During this time, Germany would see a decrease of about 42% in industrial production . Germany would only start seeing a reduction in unemployment rates when Hitler became chancellor, in January 1933.

One might argue that the first inflation that spread through the country in 1921 had nothing to do with Hitler’s political career. However, it would turn out be very important and set start to a chain reaction which would lead Hitler to power. The chaos that had been caused by the inflation saw chance for many political parties to take power. The Nazi party’s members put heavy pressure on Hitler to plan a revolt. Hitler, not wanting to lose his power in the party, decided to plan a revolution. The revolution turned out to be extremely unsuccessful, and the ending result was Hitler’s imprisonment.

In 1924, Hitler was then prosecuted for crimes against the government . The plan was to jail him for about 5 years, but a pro-Nazi member of the government had picked the judges, creating the trial a platform for Hitler to present his ideas to the public. Because of the massive coverage that the trial received, Hitler soon became known nationally, and his ideas inspired many people . The inflation that began in 1921 had clearly started a chain reaction, helping the Nazi party gain fame in the whole of Germany.
When the US then recalled their loans, the German economy that was building up slowly had fallen. Hitler, who had been gradually building up the Nazi’s fame in Germany, quickly used the advantage to gain more power and fame. If one compares two different elections, one before the US had to recall the loans, and one after the US recalled their loans. 1928 the Nazi party had 12 seats, but in 1930 it had 107 seats.




3. Political factors
Hitler’s character was a key to the accomplishments of the Nazi party. Being a good public speaker and very organized, combined with good political awareness and connections, allowed Hitler to succeed.

3.1 Hitler as a public figure
Hitler’s strong public personality allowed him to become more than just a leader. His speeches inspired and his promises and later actions benefited and appealed to the people. As his speeches were so convincing Hitler became popular public figure.

His ideas and ideals might, in retrospect, be interpreted as megalomania and psychotic. Although one must take in account the desperation of the people. This was in fact a key reason; it meant that Hitler was willing to gain his power through any means possible, no matter how unethical they were.



3.2 The Beer Hall Putsch
After his failed revolution in 1923, Hitler was put on trial for treason. Before the trial, he had become very pessimistic and had been talked out of committing a suicide. However, the judges that were picked for the trial turned out to be anti-Semitic, and thus creating the trial another way of delivering his propaganda to the public. During the trial, the judges allowed him to speak for as long as he wanted and interrupt others . This in fact was great for him and his party, due to the massive media coverage that the event received. Hitler was able to show the German people all the ideas behind the Nazi party, how they planned on boycotting the Treaty of Versailles, and thus decrease the inflation and unemployment. Hitler’s ideas really captivated German’s minds, as he had found a perfect scapegoat for them to feel better about them (the Jews) and promised those better times. This helped build up the Nazi party and when Hitler was released from prison the Nazi party started expanding at a fast rate.
When Hitler was impeached, Nazi sympathizers were selected as judges by a corrupted government worker. Therefore, Hitler was able to express his view during the court case, where he would receive so much media attention that people all over Germany were aware of him and his ideas, and many people liked what they heard. Even though the organization of the Nazi party decreased a bit, the massive media attention that Hitler had gained would surely help with the future.



3.3 Organization
The plans and the promised reforms attracted many sectors of the society. His economical plans attracted both the wealthy and the poor. His promises for the creation of less unemployment through the creation of more jobs attracted the rising number of unemployed. His promise to boycott the Treaty of Versailles both charmed soldiers and civilians. Soldiers and generals disliked the era of peace that had been created through the treaty, as well as the symbolic meaning of loss it had for Germany. Civilians were fond of his promise to impose the treaty because of the dreadful economical effect it had on the German economy, causing hyperinflation and unemployment.

The support Hitler received from prosperous people would then help him create a better propaganda. The wealthy were afraid of the rise of communism in Germany. The ideas behind communism, spreading the wealth evenly, had them afraid, and noticeably they did not want to lose their wealth. As a result, Hitler received large sums of money. This meant that the Nazi party had more funds, of which they would use wisely to build up a powerful propaganda, to convince the masses that supporting them was the only good option.

Hitler used propaganda as a powerful weapon to success. By writing good pamphlets, combining well written texts with statistics was a very efficient tool for him , and because of the support of a great deal of wealthy people, he was able to exploit his advantage and out-advertise his political opponents. His speeches were also a key factor. Through it, he was able to convince the masses that the facts he was presenting were true and his ideas were the only thing that could get Germany out of the horrifying situation it was stuck in. Hitler was also aware of how he could use emotion to capture their minds and then control them. Hitler realized that because of what had happened to the German nation, it had emotionally collapsed. He quickly took note of his advantage, acted quickly and turned out very successful.

Hitler’s Sturmabteilung, whose mission was to protect political meetings and take part in the Nazi’s public marches were lead by Ernst Röhm. They were the reason for the political fear that surrounded Hitler’s campaign. The group would attack Jews and any political opponents. The members of the group quickly grew to about two million after the stock market crash, when the unemployment rate started increasing.
The Sturmabteilung’s acts kept the competition between the Nazi group and any other rival political groups to a minimum, as other parties would be too afraid of the Sturmabteilung’s conduct towards them. The political parties that stood up to Hitler, soon realized it would have been better if they had kept quiet.



3.4 Luck
Hitler’s political campaign was not only successful due to Hitler’s sheer charisma and good connections. The timing of his campaign and rise to power played a key factor in his political triumph.

It can be debated whether Hitler recognized the situation, thus presuming that the series of events were unplanned. The situation being Germany’s economical status. The economic depression that plagued the country proved the Weimar Republic was incompetent. The economic policies were ineffective and the economy was slowly deteriorating.

When Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933, it marked the beginning of his dictatorship. The president (President Hindenburg) and Von Papen thought that they could control Hitler and his actions. On the other hand, the power he received when he became a chancellor enabled him call for new elections in 1933. The Sturmabteilung’s quickly began to harass Hitler’s political opponents, raiding their offices, and assaulting the party members .




4. Social change
The depression had a major impact on the standard of living. Impatience and frustration in the community was growing, while Germany became more and more politically divided. Germany had been humiliated with the post-war treatment they received. To regain its pride, Germany needed to re-establish itself as one of the world’s great powers.

Unemployment rate had been a major factor in the development of the German society in the past years. Everything that the citizens of Germany had owned had become worthless due to the hyper-inflation that had plagued the country. The quality of life had decreased extremely fast, as both food rationing and the number of people dying from hunger went increasing. Desperation was the underlying mood in German society, as there seemed no way out of this horrifying downward spiral. The German nation needed change; the desperation of the whole community was unmistakable.

When Hitler came and promised them a new start, where he would both improve the quality of life and create more jobs for people, there was no doubt in many German minds that supporting him was their best option. Hitler also found a scapegoat for the Germans that made them feel better about themselves that it was not their fault that things in society were like this. Hitler also knew what to promise the people, in order for them to vote for him. Before the World War One, Germany had been one of the super powers in the world. However, after Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, it would be forced to pay war damages to the allied forces, turning it into a very humiliating situation for the nation. Hitler presented to the nation his ideas that the Germans were the ‘great race’ and was meant to take over the world. This charmed the people, as they wanted to regain their international pride. Hitler also promised a way better standard of living, with a decrease in unemployment rate and denying in paying for the war damages.





5. Cultural change
Over a short period of time, Germany went through a great cultural change. One of the main changes it went through was the leadership change. Before World War One, Germany was a monarchy. After the German revolution, a new democratic government was formed, the Weimar republic. However, several factors lead to the fall of the democratic government.

Germany lacked democratic experience, making the government very weak and inefficient. The Treaty of Versailles also forced Germany into heavy inflation, and the German republic did not want to display themselves as enemies of the allied forces, thus kept paying the bill, creating hyperinflation. When the US then lent Germany money through the Dawes plan to pay off the war debts, the economy started building up again. When the US then had to recall their loans, which the German economy had been built on, high unemployment rates soon followed. The fall of the Weimar republic helped pave Hitler’s wave to success, as the lack of experience to run a democratic government, and its dependency on foreign nations was extreme.




6. Evaluation of sources
The main book used for this essay was the book made by Konrad Heiden, The Fuhrer: Hitler's Rise to Power. The book is recognized as maintaining a very diplomatic view point of what happened in Germany, as well as being a reliable source of information. Another stable source that was used was the online encyclopaedia Britannica. Being published online, the authors are able to keep Britannica constantly updated, making it a very valid sources. The authors of the Britannica articles are also known for keeping a much centred point of view when writing their articles.

However, in order to use more than two sources, and to expand my knowledge of the subject, I used online journal entries and online articles. The weakness of the journal articles and entries, if not professionally recognized, is the probability of it being biased and not factually correct. But the mixture of using online sources, an encyclopaedia, and combining that with the four other books used, The Fuhrer, The Treaty of Versailles,, Europe 1870-1991 and Hitler and the Beer Hall Putsch, turned out to be very successful, as the essay managed to use reliable sources and good statistics to create a powerful and unbiased paper.




7. Conclusion

As Hitler’s progressively gained popularity and power in Germany, it seemed as though his tactical brilliance, personal characteristics and his unstoppable will were the key factors that lead him and his party to such an extreme success. However, as this essay has analyzed, there were countless different factors that helped lead Hitler to power. The economical recession plaguing the world had had a major impact on Germany, causing starvation and anger in the public. The nation had realized that the Weimar republic was not capable of controlling their country, and the country needed an immediate change if it was not to fall a part. The question therefore is, was it the economical depression that caused the set of events that lead Hitler to power. Because of the Treaty of Versailles and the collapse of the stock market, the German people were losing their homes and their savings. The treaty had not only causes such horrific economic effects, but had also humiliated the German nation. The economic effects then catalysed political events that would help Hitler rise to power, such as Hitler’s failed revolt because of the hyperinflation, and the dismantling of the Weimar republic. The German usual standards for quality of life had completely disappeared, and what was left was a desperate nation that needed strong leadership. Even though, the people in the country were ready for change, it still took a very strong character to win their hearts. Hitler’s rise to power was not always easy, after the miserable failure of the Beer Hall Putsch; he had seriously considered committing a suicide.

It is obvious that the most important factor, that played a key role in Hitler become the dictator of Germany was the economical recession. Not only did it cause unemployment and inflation, but it was the beginning of numerous events that lead to Hitler’s victory. Nevertheless, one must not forget to give Hitler himself credit, for he slowly built up his party, from being very unpopular local political party, to the most dominating party in congress. His unethical behaviour, his stubbornness and his great speeches made it possible to rise against other political parties and slowly beat them.

Therefore, there were two main aspects that helped Hitler rise to power. The economical recession that both caused anger within the German community, as well as acting as a spark to set off a chain reaction which would help Hitler gain power. The other one being Hitler himself. He was able to convince the masses that he was the right person for them, and by being very politically aware, as well as stopping at nothing, he was able to turn the German republic into a totalitarian state.

The importance if this analysis is vital, especially during times like these. The world is heading into an extremely deep recession, and during times like these it is important that the world’s powers (such as UN or NATO) make sure that a dictator with ideas as Hitler do not get to power. By analyzing the factors that helped Hitler become a dictator; it is possible to avoid such a terrible event happening again.

























Main text word count: 3909 words.




8. References



Books
The Treaty of Versailles, A reassessment after 75 years, Boemeke, Feldman, Glaser (2006)
Hitler and the Beer hall Putsch, Gordon, Harold (1972)
The Fuhrer: Hitler’s rise to power, Heiden, Konrad (1999)
Europe 1870 – 1991, Morris, Murphy (2006)

Encyclopaedia
“Great Depression.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 12 Jan. 2009 <http://school.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9037849>.

“Great Depression, Timing and Severity, Table 1” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 12 Jan. 2009 <http://school.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9390201>.

Hitler, Adolf." Britannica Student Encyclopedia. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 11 Jan. 2009 <http://school.eb.co.uk/all/comptons/article-9274895>.

“SA." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 15 Jan. 2009 <http://school.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9064574>.

“Versailles, Treaty of.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. 12 Jan. 2009 <http://school.eb.co.uk/eb/article-9075152>.

Articles, journal and power points
Bergmann, Mathias. The influence of big business on the rise of Adolf Hitler, 1998. http://www.geocities.com/mdbergmann/bigbusiness.htm
Estes, Jacob, Maxime Jones, Samuel Ajayi, and Chetak Sanktar. German Hyperinflation. http://www.terry.uga.edu/~rswjr/7920/team11.ppt

The Economist. Loads of money, December 23rd 1991. http://www.economist.com/diversions/millennium/displayStory.cfm?story_id=347363
Guinnane, Timothy, 2004, FINANCIAL VERGANGENHEITSBEWÄLTIGUNG, http://www.econ.yale.edu/growth_pdf/cdp880.pdf

History learning site, Weimar republic and the great depression. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/weimar_depression_1929.htm

The History place. The Rise of Hitler – Hitler on trial for treason, 1996. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/trial.htm

Hitler’s foreign policy, 2002. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A828317

Kosares, Michael. The Nightmare German inflation. 1999. http://www.usagold.com/germannightmare.html

Rochefort, Jean-claude. Hitler, October 2002. http://home.ca.inter.net/~giskhan/HITLER.html

Schenk, Robert. A case of inflation. http://ingrimayne.com/econ/EconomicCatastrophe/HyperInflation.html

Sexton, Timothy. How did the Stock market crash of 1929 affect foreign countries?, October 17th, 2008. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1090226/how_did_the_stock_market_crash_of_1929.html?cat=3

Simkin, John, http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERdawes.htm

Smith, Rick. Propaganda for the Masses: Reflections on Hitler's use of Emotions in Order to Manipulate Reason and Public Opinion, 2001.
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/2001/cnpropagandaforthemasses4oct01.shtml

The History place. The Rise of Hitler – Great depression begins, 1996. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/begins.htm

Tonge, Steven. Hitler: The rise to power. http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/hitrise.htm

9. Acknowledgements

Þorsteinn Þórhallsson, Extended Essay supervisor
Soffía Sveinsdóttir, IB Co-ordinator
Guðmundur Arnlaugsson, IB History teache