An explanation of the Nazi’s rise to power would be inadequate without some attention given to the origins of Hitler, the Nazi party and the world views which would eventually shape the foundation of their ideology. The Nazi party began as the German Workers Party founded in 1919 . By 1920 they had renamed themselves the National Socialist German Workers Party and outlined their vision in ‘The Twenty Five Points’ that Hitler played a key role in composing . In many ways Adolf Hitler was a surprising candidate for the role of a dictator, he had a modest upbringing and was described as shy and awkward in his youth . It was his growth into a powerful and skilled orator that persuaded so many to adopt his cause. Kurt Ludecke one of the earliest followers of Hitler describes the experience of listening to his speeches “My critical faculty was swept away…he was holding the masses and me with them, under a hypnotic spell. ” It was also Hitler who recognised the importance of structure and appearance of organisation, in accordance to this he created uniforms, symbols and salutes . The road to power was paved with both mistakes and triumphs. Hitler’s appointment as leader of the NSDAP was by no means unanimous and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch was a failure that led to the Nazi party being banned and prominent Nazi leaders charged with high treason . Hitler’s short nine month time in prison allowed him to review his party’s policy and make important decisions as to the future of the Nazi party .
After Hitler was released from prison he began rebuilding the Party, at the time there was still divisions in both tactics and policies . It was in this time that Hitler and prominent Nazi authorities formulated interest groups like the Hitler Youth and in 1926 the notorious elite group, the Schutztaffel (SS) was formed, it was their role to protect the Führer and carry out his orders in the interests of Germany . At this point Hitler’s ‘Weltanschauung ’ or world view became cemented. There were four key principles of Nazi ideology the first being nationalism. Enforcing a sense of nationalism was pivotal not only to visions of a greater Germany but also on a more innate level, to restore the pride and dignity that was lost after WWI. This concept of extreme nationalism appealed to so many because it had roots in the ideas of what Germany had lost, and in turn what its people had lost. The second principle lay in Hitler’s belief in the existence of a hierarchy of races. He believed the Aryan race to be at the top of this hierarchy and non -Aryans like Slavs and Jews to be right at the bottom . This belief that some people were naturally superior to others was by no means new and was actually quite a widespread belief at the time. Evidence of this can be found in the police system where they had begun to view criminal behaviour in biological terms . Thirdly was Hitler’s ideological opposition to communism and his perception of the ‘Jewishness’ of communism . He argued that it was part of a Jewish world conspiracy and this belief had a profound effect on his foreign policy . Finally and most importantly was the concept of ‘volkgemeinschaft’ or the people’s community . This idea was central in drawing together for the common good of German people, a sense of unity. From differences in wealth, class, gender and age all would share a common bond. This pandered to the need for unification and a sense of collective identity that was lacking at the time.
The legacy of the war effectively served to legitimise Hitler’s grab for power . This is evident when in March of 1933 Hitler presented his government to Reich President von Hindenburg dressed in full military attire. It was an important strategy in transforming Hitler into a ‘statesman’ in the eyes of the conservative elite . Another means through which the legacy of WWI aided Hitler and the Nazis was through the spread of the popular basis for ‘revenge politics’ . The psychology of German politics and nationalism was one harboured by a desire for revenge on those who had imposed unnecessary hardships on the people after the war. These sentiments were marked by “willingness tolerate and support politicians who advocated the injustice of a supposedly unfair and dictated peace settlement. ” These harsh and militant politics was a reflection of a society in which millions were baring war scars that were both physical and psychological. The Nazi party was able to harness this resentment and bitterness and mould themselves into the poster child for not only economic stability and military strength but also revenge. In doing so this initially made the “crude politics ” of the Nazi party more acceptable to the German masses.
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