Hitler's Rise to Power

Hitler Essay

Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th, 1989 in Braunau, Austria. His rise to power became extremely respected and well known. Coming from a lower class root, Adolf Hitler had a unique ability to appeal to the struggling working class. Hitler was not the type expected to obtain great power or become a conqueror. Germany's failing economy and his fiery personality brought one of the worlds most notorious men to supreme authority.

Hitler's outspoken speeches were key to acquiring his strong, powerful leadership over Germany. His first step was in 1919 when he joined an extremist group in Munich called the German Workers' party. Not until 1921 did Hitler gain absolute control over his small but increasing group. Hitler's ability as a master of mass propaganda and political showmanship proved that taking over his group was a piece of cake. Party members wore badges and uniforms, gave victory salutes, and marched through the streets of Munich as if they owned them. The mass rally was Hitler's most effective tool in gaining political support. His outlook on the Versailles treaty, the Jews, war profiteers, and Germany's Weimar Republic were presented in his compelling speeches. Hitler was sentenced and tried for attacking Berlin in 1923. During the trial, he successfully gained enormous amounts of publicity and attention after efficiently presenting his own government plan against the weak Weimar Republic. Hitler's autobiography, Mein Kampf , created somewhat of a bible, or guideline to all of his followers. It contained basic views and themes expected to be taken in by all who read it. From 1924 and 1929, Hitler's main goal was to build up and stabilize his National Socialist German Workers' party, a.k.a. Nazi group. By 1928, the Nazis received only 2.6% of the vote in the general elections and twelve seats in the Reichstag. Hitler's plan was to destroy the Reichstag from the inside out. For Hitler and his Nazi's to increase status among the Reichstag he had to gain more German support. Germany's economic crisis enabled Hitler to sway voters with economic, political, and military promises. Hitler realized he needed to attract more social classes. To lure the middle classes he de-emphasized the anticapitalist basics of the concept, National Socialism. Hitler worked aside from the middle class to win the support of two key elite groups, business leaders and top army leaders. He assured top army leaders that the Nazi's would overturn the Versailles settlement and rearm Germany. Being that Hitler himself was only 40, he appealed strongly to the young German men. The men felt that they could relate more to Hitler than to the other old officials. "National Socialism is the organized will of the youth." (Stated in "A History of Western Society"). Hitler assured national recovery, rapid change, and person improvements which gained in 6.5 million voted and 107 seats in the 1930 elections. In 1932, the election gathered 14.5 million Germans voters in favor of Hitler to make the Nazi's the largest party in the Reichstag. "On January 30th, 1933 Hitler was legally appointed chancellor by Hindenburg." (A.H.W.S) His culmination of power came in 1934 when the Enabling Act was signed making him dictator of all organizations.

Hitler had many views on his opponents early in the war and appeasement seemed natural to him. In the electoral campaign the Nazi's destroyed the Reichstag building by setting it on fire. Hitler convinced President Hindenburg that the Communist party was responsible. He expected to defeat his enemy by having Hindenburg sign the dictatorial emergency act that abolished freedom of speech and assembly as well as most personal liberties. When the Nazi's won the election, Hitler outlawed the Communist party and arrested it parliamentary representatives. When the Nazi's proposed the Enabling Act, which gave Hitler absolute dictatorial power, only the Social Democrats voted against the bill. Hitler successfully blackmailed the Center party by threatening to attack the Catholic Church when the Act was finally passed. Along with the Social Democratic and Center parties being dissolved, Hitler and the Nazi's moved to crush all independent organizations. Germany soon became a one-party state where only the Nazi party was legal. Democratic, socialist, and Jewish literature was put on the continually expanding blacklist. Everyone was to suffer who Hitler did not like. The army seemed suspicious of the Nazi storm troopers; therefore, On June 30th, 1934 Hitler decided that the SA leaders had to be eliminated. He defeated them by assigning his personal guard, the SS, to arrest and kill every assorted political enemy. About a thousand people were shot that night due to the need to persevere good relations with the army and big business. President Hindenburg's response was admiring and soon afterward army leaders swore an oath of absolute obedience to the dictator of the German State and People, Adolf Hitler. Not all Germans supported Hitler, which made them his enemy. In order to defeat these no nothing activist groups, Hitler imprisoned and executed all of them. During the first few years of his rule, the main resisters were the communists and the social democrats in the trade unions. Along with them were the Catholic, Protestant churches and then some high-ranking army officers who feared the consequences of Hitler's reckless aggression. Hitler's reckless aggression also caused a strong alliance determined to crush the Nazi order led by the grand Alliance. The Grand Alliance consisted of Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Britain adopted a plan of appeasement, giving Hitler everything he could practically want in order to avoid war since the emerging united front against Hitler quickly collapsed. It was easy for Hitler because at the time Britain and France were inferior, so he got things he wanted from acting away from war.

Hitler early in the war was a good commander at times but lived up to his reckless known self. Hitler's first tactical move was when he secretly supplied Ethiopia with arms to heat up the conflict, but supported Italy energetically and thereby overcame Mussolini's lingering doubts about the Nazi's. The result in 1936 was an agreement on close cooperation between Italy and Germany, also known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. Hitler's second move was in 1937 when he planned to crush Austria and Czechoslovakia as soon as possible during his pursues for living space in the east. While secretly keeping close relations with Britain and their naive prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, Hitler told Chamberlain there were only peaceful intentions. By threatening Austria

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