Hitler Appointment as Chancellor in 1933

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Hitler Appointment as Chancellor in 1933

On the 30th January 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany,

an event which led to the establishment of a Nazi dictatorship, and

was one of the major reasons why World War II broke out, which had far

reaching consequences that still affect us to this day. It also led to

a rein of monstrous acts of tyranny and genocide, that historians have

called 'the most appalling times in History.' But as Historian John

Snell asks, ' How was it possible for the Nazis to come to power in

one of the most civilised countries in Europe just fourteen years

after the country had thrown of its monarchical armour on the slag

heap of history and wrapped itself in the clothing of democratic

republicanism.' To answer this question we must look at where the

support for the Nazis came from, and what occurred to trigger this

reactionary change in politics.

The first thing I shall look at and the most stereotypical reason is

that the Germans are naturally a nationalistic race, who are used to

and enjoy militarism and authoritarianism. We can see this when we

look into their history as for hundreds of years they were ruled by an

autocratic Kaiser, and so would be knowledgeable to the dictatorship

of Hitler, that the Nazi party was offering. Many people that despised

the Weimar Republic, who supported the old Kaiser regime and wanted

the old Reich to be back in power, would have turned their support to

the NSDAP because it offered something closer to the Kaiser and away

from democracy. Also Nazism would appeal to people who shared similar

views to the Nazi party or people who strongly agreed with a specific

pa...

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...e most support at the time, and seemed the best

choice, but his support that let him run to be chancellor came from

not one specific group of powerful people, but from a large cross

section of the whole of Germany. Hitler's genius was seen in his

twenty-four points, as anyone could find something in them to relate

to, and so join and support the party. This was where the NSDAP's real

success was, that it could therefore claim to be the only party

cutting across the whole political spectrum, representing the

Volksgemeinschaft as a whole and overcoming class divisions. So with

some justification then the Nazis were the Volkspartei, and because of

that they became the biggest party in Germany with a third of the

electoral vote, securing Hitler's place as Chancellor and putting him

one step closer to his dictatorship goal.

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