The Fear of Socialism and the Rise to Power of the Nazis in Germany between 1919 and 1933

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The Fear of Socialism and the Rise to Power of the Nazis in Germany between 1919 and 1933

By the end of 1918 it was clear that the axis powers had lost the

Great War. The German people were demoralised and hungry. The

nationalistic fervour with which they had greeted the start of the war

had gradually evaporated – replaced by a desire for (fair) peace with

the Allies. Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had led his people into the

debacle, was forced to abdicate. A Republic was declared on the 9th of

November and an armistice shortly followed. A democratic constitution

was signed in the city of Weimar, which leant its name to the new

republic. The nationalist and bourgeois elements in Germany, some

still hankering after the return of the Empire under the Kaiser,

critically supported the new SPD (Socialist) led Government. They, and

majority of the German people, wanted the guarantee of a fair and

reasonable peace with the Allies. The government also gave an

assurance that the revolution would go no further i.e. that it would

not take a revolutionary socialist character. The Russian Revolution

of October 1917 had sent shockwaves through the European ruling class.

All over Europe, the barbarism of the ‘Great War’ had radicalised

society. Old certainties were now questioned. Everything, it seemed,

was up for grabs.

At Versailles in May 1919, the “fair peace” that Germans had been

hoping for was not forthcoming. She lost large parts of her territory;

was burdened with Reparations – the amount of which had not been

determined – and the treaty included the infamous “war guilt” clause,

which said that Germany was wholly responsible for the war and all
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... To conclude, “fear of socialism” did produce some support for the Nazi

movement, particularly in the “elites” of German society. Most Nazi

support however, came from their ability to capitalize on the

weaknesses of Weimar democracy, such as its association with the

Treaty of Versailles. The Great Depression gave the Nazis the

opportunity to offer themselves as the solution to the terrible

unemployment and poverty it caused. The cult of the individual around

Hitler, coupled with Nazi nationalism and anti-Semitism made them

appealing to sections of the German population who had grown weary of

the Republic and desired a new “strong man” to lead Germany. What is

clear is that the collapse of Weimar democracy and its replacement

with a Nazi totalitarian state was a disaster for all Europe, no more

so than Germany itself.

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