1. 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

2. How was Hitler able to become Chancellor in 1933?

3. 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

4. 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 \Hitler and dictatorship\Why did Hitler become Chancellor in 1933 (student task).doc

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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!