How Did Nazism Rise and How Did It Lead to the Holocaust?

Adam Phillips 12/7/04

Western Civilization

How Did Nazism Rise and How Did It Lead to The Holocaust?

The first World War, or the Great War, left lasting effects on the entire world, particularly Germany. During the war, the German people faced many hardships and had to sacrifice much for the war effort. The gaps between social classes widened as the working class was faced with a food shortage and a lower standard of living overall. In the winter between the years 1916 and 1917, over 700,000 Germans perished due to starvation and disease (Dwork 35).

The chancellor of Germany, Bethmann Hollweg, saw the problems and promised political reform in 1917. However, his promise caused political unease. The military held the dominant position and the chancellor was forced to resign in July of 1917. The military imposed stricter regulations on all of Germany such as the right to assemble, as well as banning all anti-war material (Bulow).

But with the coming of 1918, Germany's ability to win the Great War vanished. This was partly because of the United States entrance into the war. The allied powers, led by United States President Woodrow Wilson, demanded that Germany be transformed into a democracy. In November of 1918, the Kaiser was abdicated to Holland, and the Weimar Republic was born (Landau 88).

The victors of World War I met at Versailles to create the treaty. The Treaty of Versailles placed the blame of the war on Germany. It ordered the government of Germany to pay reparations to Britain and France for the cost of the war. In addition to those terms, it placed severe restrictions on Germany's military. The army was reduced to a mere 100,000 soldiers and restricted them from possessing a variety of weapons. The air force was eliminated as were the naval submarines. The navy contained a small number of battleship and cruisers (Levin 23).

Despite the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar Republic signed it regardless. The majority of Germany rejected the idea that they were to blame for the war. They also were outraged at the idea of paying reparations. Germany's economy was severely weakened by the war and they would struggle to pay any reparations. The most drastic of the terms of the treaty was the loss of territory for Germany. The overall size of the country was reduced by almost 15 percent, and it was stripped of all its colonies. The signing of this treaty enraged most of Germany and the Weimar Republic took heat for doing so (Landau 90-91).

The Weimar Republic also faced internal problems on top of disapproval from the country itself. The Worker's Councils Congress pushed for further reforms of the government, but the Social Democratic Party rejected their notions. Many uprisings from extremists groups in attempts to seize power caused further disturbances within the government. Economic instability led to further disapproval of the Weimar Republic. Severe inflation led the currency of Germany to become nearly worthless. A redistribution in wealth enacted by the government led those with wealth in savings to lose nearly everything(Landau 92-93). All of these factors led to a nationalist opposition to the government and created determination to bring it down.

One of the parties created in opposition to the Weimar Republic was the National Socialist German Worker's Party, or Nazi Party (Landau 95). However, in 1919, it numbered only a few dozen members and had no real political ideas. But many middle class citizens in Germany admired Nazis opposition to the National Democratic Party. As the interest and the popularity of the party grew, it began to grow in membership. Members came in the form of middle class professionals, middle class workers, and farmers. The Nazis projected an image of the young and the strong, and were in opposition to the establishment currently in place. In the German elections of 1930, they received almost 6.5 million votes, placing them second in popularity only to the Social Democratic Party (Landau 100). The leader of the Nazi Party was a fiery individual named Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889 in a small Austrian town called Braunau. He was the son of a customs official and lived in moderate means. He attended elementary school and achieved exceptional marks. However, as he moved on to college preparatory school, he became rebellious and dropped out. His rebellious nature led him to not conform to society and take up a regular job. He began to paint and dreamed of fame as an artist. He moved to Vienna in 1907 in hopes to attend the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts. Hitler failed to gain admission to this school and sank into depression. He attempted to escape service in the military from Austria