Do you know your hyperinflation from your depression? 1923 1929 Triggered by the American Wall Street Crash Result of a combination of printing more money and the Ruhr crisis Happened the same year as the Nazi led Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch Created hyperinflation Created mass unemployment Destroyed people’s savings Destroyed people’s belief in Weimar democracy Was solved relatively quickly Was resolved in main by the policies of Stresemann Led to the signing of the Dawes Plan Led to the recalling of American loans Helped the Nazis into power The Nazis still remained a marginal party Everyone was adversely affected At its worst it lasted 4 long years Triggered unprecedented collapse of business, industry & trade

How was Hitler able to become Chancellor in 1933?

How did the Depression weaken the Weimar government? (1) Unpopular economic policies: Germans judged their country by its economic success WR did not seem to know what to do about depression Feared printing money & increasing spending would lead to inflation (1923) Instead Chancellor took followed unpopular policies of raising taxes, cutting wages & reducing unemployment benefit (2) Presidential Rule Unsuccessful economic policies & a lack of consensus about what to do in the RS led to a collapse of the coalition govt as the Social Democrats withdrew President Hindenburg fell back on Article 48 and used emergency powers to appoint his Chancellors and pass emergency laws How did the Depression weaken the Weimar government? (3) The Rise of Extremism Germans lost faith in their govt – they wanted a strong party to lead Germany to recovery People started to vote for extreme parties like the Communists and Nazis who offered them solutions and someone to blame for the crisis they were in Street fighting increased between political opponents

Why did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933? Weaknesses of the Weimar Government Political manoeuvring between von Schleicher & von Papen The Depression Why did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933? Hitler’s leadership skills Nazi Tactics W:\History\KS4\Germany 1918-45\Hitler and dictatorship\Why did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933 (student task).doc

Why did Hitler Become Chancellor In 1933 Why did Hitler Become Chancellor In 1933? Political Manoeuvring between von Schleicher and von Papen The German Reichstag c.500 MPs President Chancellor

Sequence of Events: Early 1931 Hindenburg meets Hitler Hitler fails in Presidential elections 1932 Groener and Bruning forced out of Reichstag May 1932 von Papen Chancellor July 1932 election (Nazi numbers up) November 1932 election (Nazi numbers down) Power struggle von Papen vs. von Schleicher 30 Jan 1933 Hitler appointed Chancellor as part of Nazi-Nationalist coailition

What does all this tell us? Hitler was helped into power by a single decision, which was underpinned by their electoral success, Nazi powers of persuasion and their application to the task of achieving power Hitler was underestimated by key political figures Extra: Hitler’s greatest advantage was the inability of the German political system to invest genuine power in elected government!