Factors Affecting the Success of Hitler, the Opportunist

Adolf Hitler’s rise to power can be largely attributed to his ability to make use of events that happened in Weimar Germany, however much of his success came from careful, precise planning. Life after World War One was difficult for all Germans; the country was in political chaos with other factors leading to the relatively easy rise to power of Hitler. During the Stresemann years Germany started to rebuild itself leading which required Hitler to very carefully plan the ways in which he conducted himself, his party and the information that he released to the public. When Germany plunged into the depression it created another opportune moment for Hitler to strike but he did so through the use of carefully manipulated propaganda which had to be distributed in a way that would lead the German people in the way the Nazis wanted. It is impossible to argue against the opportunism that Hitler utilized to make his final ascension to power. With the death of President Hindenburg and the inaction of the Enabling Act, Hitler took this perfect opportunity to final have complete power over the whole of Germany. Again it can be argued that he would never have been able to accomplish these great feats without careful planning.

The events after the end of World War I up to the Munich Putsch are prime examples of Hitler’s opportunism. The Weimar Republic was set up, in many ways, to fail. There was a major flaw in the constitution that essentially handed leadership to Hitler in the end. This was proportional representation. This allowed a wide range of political opinions but also meant that no one party could have majority rule leading to unstable coalitions, which often ended quite quickly. Things were hard for the newly elected Chancellor Fr...

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Hitler was able to take complete power through careful planning and utilizing opportune moments throughout the 1920s and 30s. He took full advantage of the situation that Germany found itself in after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and was quick to point the finger at “November Criminals,” communists and Jews. After the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch Hitler started to meticulously plan details of his legal ascension to power through the use of propaganda and the establishment of groups such as the Hitler Youth. From 1929 to 1933 Hitler again took full advantage of the depression and awful situation that Germany was in. He exploited the fatal flaw in the Weimar constitution and all of the hard work was now done. With death of President Hindenburg, Hitler displayed his most obvious piece of opportunism and rose to the position of Fuhrer of Germany.