THE RISE OF HITLER

Hitler's rise to power was one of the most important events of the 20th Century but it remains largely unexplained. There is a popular view which ascribes the coming to power of the Nazis on the collapse of the German monetary system due to the conditions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles after WWI, and/or the Wall Street Crash of 1929. There is little evidence for this. The popularisation of the economic causes turns the rise into a unique and isolated occurrence which had never happened before or since. This again is not true. It is something which regularly occurs.

Countries often undergo great turmoil when they become democracies when certain factors are present:

·         Incorporating different nations / clans / tribes, with different languages, into a single country

·         Mixing a variety of socio-economic, classes, and cultures

·         Retention of a pre-democracy elite - be they aristocracy, landowners, judiciary, capitalists etc 

·         A liberal constitution which guarantees rights without legal responsibilities 

·         Political bias in courts

·         A partisan media and restrictions on freedom of speech

·         Publically unaccountable elite  

Forces which are against democracy come to the fore and inevitably create some form of dictatorship or oppress the population. An obvious example is France after the Revolution, and the Soviet Union after the Tsar - besides these, the list is a very long one starting with the first democracies of the Greek city states - Plato thought democracy will inevitably lead to dictatorship. The end of democracy in the Roman Republic when Julius Caesar took power is a classical case which shows the trend is not leader or party dependant. In the modern era new democracies in virtually all the countries of South America and Africa led to dictatorships or oppression of classic liberal democratic principles. The majority of the population will always vote against complete democracy and freedom - this means for the anti-democracy parties. This is the important understanding. In new democracies the electorate do not vote for a party - they vote against having to take responsibility for their own lives.

The resistance to democracy in Germany after WWI was therefore not exceptional and the establishment of a dictatorship was inevitable.   Freedoms would have been curbed and one of the parties - be it Nazi, Communist, Socialist or Catholic would have established a form of dictatorship. It turned out to be the Nazis because they listened to the average person. For example, to attract young female voters, the Nazis promised each woman will get a husband. For these women to find sexual partners willing to impregnate them, millions of Jews were murdered in the camps.

RESISTANCE TO DEMOCRACY

'Resistance to democracy' is the only theory which explains the rise of Nazism that allows for a worldwide application to predict future events. The most important aspect of the theory is the prediction it makes of voters turning against the parties which support freedom and democracy when their expectations have not been met. In political parties this leads to factions - with the anti-democracy faction eventually becoming dominant and changing the party from within.

From the election results during the existence of the Weimar Republic (1919 - 1933) the emergence of the 'resistance to democracy' parties can clearly be seen.

Larger political parties and their election results:

·         The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was supportive of democracy and upholding a republican Germany. It was a working-class party but internal leadership squabbles between egotistical leaders weakened the party. Voters lost faith as the party failed to put together an effective government. This made them lose votes to both the Communists and the Nazis. They never appealed to anyone but middle-class workers. Though they claimed to oppose anti-Semitism, a large part of their supporters resented Jews.

RESULTS: 1919 - 38% (1st), 1924 - 26 % (1st), 1928 - 30 % (1st), 1930 - 25% (1st), 1932 - 20% (2nd) 1933 - 18% (2nd)

·         The Centre Party was the political voice of the Catholic Germans. They had a high degree of internal organisation. They were committed to the republican ideal but ambivalent about democracy wanting a patriarchal government and a welfare state. Voters voted for their strong pro-Catholic stance and ignored the rest. After an initial drop they remained remarkably stable.

RESULTS: 1919 - 20% (2nd), 1924 - 14% (3rd), 1928 - 12% (3rd), 1930 - 12% (4th), 1932 - 12% (4th) 1933 - 11% (4th)

·         The German Democratic Party - DDP - was a merger of progressive and liberal parties which was strongly supportive of democracy and who contributed greatly to the liberal constitution of the Weimar Republic. Support came from middle-class intellectuals and shop owners. They opposed church control, big business and labour exploitation.

RESULTS: 1919 - 19% (3rd), 1924 - 6% (6th), 1928 - 5% (6th) Became the German State Party in 1930 - 4% (7th), 1932 - 1% (9th) 1933 - 1% (9th)

·         The German National People's Party - DNVP - This was the only party in Weimar Germany who used anti-Semitism to attract votes. The DNVP was hostile to democracy, Jews, a free market, a German republic and rejected the Versailles Treaty. Initially supporters were bourgeois monarchists who protected capitalism and acted in the interest of the big land-owners, big business and industrialists. In the 1924 election they did well because they abandoned their extreme right-wing views and became mainstream conservative. They then returned to extreme anti-semitic politics under the leadership of Alfred Hugenberg. More reasonable voters disliked him and they lost seats. In 1931 they became the brains and financiers behind the Nazis. Hugenberg who owned most of the media in Germany put his newspapers at the disposal of Hitler believing the Nazis will be a useful 'tool' which he could manipulate - he soon called it the "greatest stupidity of his life." In 1933 they were part of the coalition government which brought democracy to an end.

RESULTS: 1919 - 10% (4th), 1924 - 21% (2nd), 1928 - 14% (2nd), 1930 - 7% (5th), 1932 - 8% (5th) 1933 - 8% (5th)

·         The German People's Party - DVP- This was the party of 'right-wing' liberals and progressives who were hostile to democracy and the German Republic. They rejected the terms of the Versailles treaty. Supporters were the city bourgeois, intellectuals, rich and privileged who wanted to protect their interests at all costs. They lost their supporters to the Nazis after 1928.

RESULTS: 1919 - 4% (6th), 1924 - 10 % (4th), 1928 - 9 % (5th), 1930 - 5% (6th), 1932 - 2% (7th) 1933 1% (7th)

·         The Communist Party of Germany - KPD - The party started in 1918, wanted a Bolshevik Dictatorship. They were hostile to parliament and a multi-party democracy. Like the Nazis they engaged in violence, intimidation and mass strikes to win supporters. They acted violently against capitalist institutions and rejected the terms of the Versailles treaty. They engaged in street violence making it unsafe for ordinary people who resented them. After the economic crises of 1928, they managed to completely paralyse parliament and brought government to a standstill. The Communist hatred of the SPD was so great they voted with the Nazis in parliament and organised strikes together.

RESULTS: 1924 - 9% (5th), 1928 - 11% (4th), 1930 - 13% (3rd), 1932 - 17% (3rd) 1933 - 12% (3rd)

·         The National Socialist German Workers' Party - NSDAP - founded in 1919 and headed by Adolf Hitler became known as the Nazis. It was supported mostly by the uneducated lower middle classes who felt their social status had been eroded making them no better than peasants, unskilled labourers, immigrants and Ostjuden. They were nationalist, chauvinist, anti-Weimar, anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic and hostile to democracy. They rejected the Versailles treaty and believed German should have won WWI - 'stab in the back legend'. Like the communists they used violence and intimidation to intimidate the population and attract malcontents.

RESULTS: 1928 - 3 % (9th), 1930 - 18% (2nd), 1932 - 33% (1st) 1933 - 43% (1st)

NOTE: There were a large number of smaller parties in the Weimar parliament due to the proportional representative system. Election results of the small parties - at least once more than 0.5% of the vote -1919, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1932 and 1933:

·         Agricultural League   NA, 1.6,  0.7,  0.55, 0.3, 0.21

·         Reich Party for Civil Rights  NA, NA,  1.7,  0.78, NA, NA

·         Conservative People Party  NA,  NA, NA, 0.83, NA, NA

·         German Farmer Party   NA, NA, 1.6, 0.97, 0.42, 0.29

·         Christian Social People Service   NA, 0.1, NA, 2.48, 1.44, 0.98

·         Bavarian People Party   NA, 3.7, 3.1, 3.03, 3.09, 2.73

·         Christian National Peasants and Farmers Party NA, NA 1.9, 3.17, 0.13, NA

·         Reich Party of the German Middle Class   NA, NA, 4.5, 3.9, 0.31, NA

·         Bavarian Peasants' League   0.91, 1.0, NA, NA, NA, NA

·         German Social Party NA, 0.5, NA, NA, NA, NA

·         German- Hanoverian Party NA, 0.9, NA, NA, NA, NA

·         Economic Party of the German Middle Class NA, 2.3, NA, NA, NA, NA

·         National Socialist Freedom Movement NA, 3.0, NA, NA, NA, NA

Significant swings:

Parties who supported a republic for Germany lost 31% of the vote between 1919 and 1924 while parties against democracy made large gains - this was even before the Nazis contested elections.

Large parties supporting democracy and the republic:

1919 - 77%

1924 - 46%

1928 - 47%

1930 - 41%

1932 - 33%

Election results of large parties who fought against democracy and the republic:

1919 - 14%

1924 - 40%

1928 - 37%

1930 - 43%

1932 - 60%

The swing can clearly be seen. After an initial enthusiasm, Germans clearly perceived democracy and having to take responsibility, in an increasingly negative light. They wanted to impose restrictions on free speech, free markets, foreign influences, competitive labour practices, academic competitiveness etc. This they believed would minimise the effect of the great democratic revolution which was sweeping the world as a result of the massive advances in technology. They wanted to give the masses respect through a job - whether the person could do the job or not was irrelevant.

The discontent with the large parties can also be seen in the 12.2 % gains for the smaller parties between 1919 and 1924. They together with the DNVP and DVP took the votes from the SPD and DDP. These voters later stopped voting or voted for the Nazis and Communists.  

Between 1928 and 1930:

·         The Nazis gained 15%

·         The Communist gained 2%

·         The smaller parties gained 2.11% cumulative.

Losing parties:

·         The German National People's Party lost 7% (DNVP)

·         The Social Democratic Party lost 5%

·         The German People's Party lost 4% (DVP)

·         The German State's Party lost 1%

The Nazis gained votes from new voters and the extreme right wing parties - the DNVP lost two million votes and ceased to be a relevant party. The Social Democrats lost a few votes to the smaller parties but failed to attract new votes so their percentage dropped noticeably. The communists - like the Nazis - attracted votes from previously apathetic lower class voters. This was the continuation of a trend - not a response to the economic crises.   

Between 1930 and 1932:

·         The Nazis gained 15% of the vote.

·         The Communists gained 4%

·         The German National People's Party 1%

The major losing parties were:

·         The smaller parties lost 10, 03% of the vote

·         Social democratic Party 5%

·         German People's Party 3%

·         German State's Party 3%

Out of fear of the gains made by the communists in 1930, the Protestant middle-classes abandoned the idea of voting for powerless small parties and the SPD. They abandoned the dream of democracy and when they stayed away, 1.4 million voters were lost to the SPD. At the same time the Nazis gained most from 2.5 new young voters of all classes. The ability to attract young voters of all classes and religions was one of the greatest strengths of the Nazis.

Between 1932 and 1933 the Nazis gained another 10% of the vote while the losing parties were the Communists 5%, the Social Democrats 2%, the Centre Party 1%, the German People's Party 1%., and the small parties 1.48%. The new voters the Communists got in 1932 as a result of the economic downturn stayed away or voted Nazi as the horrors of the famine enforced by Stalin in the Ukraine became known.

THE ANTI-SEMITISM THEORY

When compared to the rest of Europe there was little anti-Semitism in Germany until latter part of the 19th century. The initial hatred was a rural phenomenon where Jews were the only cattle buyers and traders - and the only people willing to lend money to the farmers. The system worked well until the newly built railroads caused a collapse of agricultural prices due to low priced imports. It was the failure of the farmers to adopt modern farming methods which led to many of them going bankrupt but they blamed the Jews - forgetting the Jews had lost their livelihood as well. This resentment spread from the farming communities to the cities.

Two-thirds of Jews lived in the bigger cities, with a third - 180 000 - living in Berlin alone. These intense concentrations, an obsession with own affairs and their independent careers acted as a shield which protected them from the public eye. During the years after 1880, Jews integrated into German society and immediately became successful in all aspects of distinguished life. Increased integration resulted in intermarriage and the cultural conflicts, or rejection of suitors with the resultant loss of face and subsequent antagonism.

During the Weimar period, Jews became increasingly prominent with achievements in all fields with gloomy expressionistic music by Arnold Schönberg, flowery impressionist paintings by Max Liebermann, and ridiculous Jewish religious philosophy from Herman Cohen. But it was in the sciences where Jews were most prominent with a quarter of Germany's Nobel prizes going to Jews. And there was Albert Einstein. It is no wonder - and equally no mystery - why Jews were hated by high-brow Germans who could not compete. The working classes paid little attention to the Jews until after 1933.

Among the middle-classes, Germans who felt their jobs were threatened by better educated Jews became intolerant. As with the rural people, they did not want the Jews murdered but they wanted job protection and economic empowerment without merit. This group was made up of better educated professionals, businessmen, teachers and civil servants and they voted for the Social Democrats - not for the Nazis or the communists. Most of them would have regarded themselves as being liberals and left-wing.

Clearly, most of Germany was anti-Semitic and this became significant after 1933, but using it to try and draw voters during the Weimar was a poor strategy. Only the aristocratic DNVP tried and it cost them dearly at the polls. Other politicians seldom used anti-Semitism because the bulk of German voters had other more pressing concerns.

THE COMMUNIST FACTOR

The majority of Germans regarded the communists with fear as they were seen as the vanguard of an invasion from the east. The Soviet Union had rapidly transformed itself into a powerhouse of industrialisation with an emphasis on the military. Due to the restrictions of Versailles which prohibited the formation of an army and a lack of finances, Germany was left powerless in the face Russian imperialism.

The communists in Germany were completely committed to a Bolshevik soviet dictatorship were prepared to use violence to achieve their objective through intimidation. During the 'civil war' in Germany which followed WWI, Kurt Eisner established a soviet type state trough ruthless violence in a district of Bavaria. In the subsequent leadership struggle Eisner was murdered and the soviet turned on each other and soon there was complete lawlessness which dragged non-combatants into the conflict. More violence followed with the establishment of the soviet style, 'Raterepublik'. Rosa Luxemburg with her Spartakusbund - which later became the German Communist Party - embarked on a campaign of steel and blood trying to establish a dictatorship through violent means. The Weimar government was powerlessness to curb the Communist violence because it was their human right to protest - this was protected under a liberal constitution. The German military was not allowed to act with the force required to bring the civil war to an end. A voluntary military force called the Freikorps entered the fray and restored the rule of law and saved the recently formed Weimar Republic. The Freikorps together with the Workers' Party became the Nazis with the objective of drawing workers away from the Communists into a nationalistic - as opposed to an international - movement.

The majority of Germans hated the Communists for the violence and their attack on the democratic Weimar Republic. And trough self-hating Jews like Eisner and Luxemburg, violence and dictatorship became associated with Jews. The German Communist claims that they acted to protect the Jews is simply not true. In 1930 the Nazis introduced a bill in parliament to expropriate Jewish land without compensation. Hitler - of all people - forced them to withdraw it. The KPD promptly reintroduced the bill - word for word.

OTHER OVERLOOKED FACTORS 

Hitler understood how complicated arguments fell flat with most audiences - the excessive German beer and schnapps culture cannot be ignored either. He believed with a few simple easily understood ideological ideas and hugely impactful visual symbols, the masses could be persuaded to vote for him. At this time the swastika was one of the most popular symbols in the world - it was always used to imply luck and occult power by organisations as diverse as the Boy Scouts and the Finish Air-force. At the same time the completely false idea of an Indo-European - or Aryan (Iranian) - race emerged and an association was made between the two. The imperial red, black and white colours of past monarchies created the impression of a continuity of a great people living on their own land. The reality of the German people being a recent mass immigration of masses of starving, disease riddled peasants was ignored. Without words a mythical country with a powerful people was confirmed. 

Uneducated (rural) young people became the mainstay of the Nazi voters. Their agenda differed completely from that of the older Nazis. Being brought up on the lies of German superiority and of an undefeated military - and never knowing the realities of war - they wanted glory and conquest for themselves. At the same time the universities had become nests of fascism and anti-Semitism. Hitler adapted himself to the youth and changed from wearing a suit to wearing his uniform with medal. The Nazis got the youth vote.

The judicial system was never modernised in the Weimar constitution and the judges remained to a large extent right-wing. This is reflected in the far harsher sentences handed out to left-wing offender than to right-wingers. The German courts upheld the principle of some people - Germans to whom the country 'naturally' belong - have more rights than others - the Jews - no matter how long they had been in the country. So Jews who had been in Germany for 1500 years were deemed artfremde with fewer rights. This eventually led to Jews being prevented from entering universities and not finding employment in the civil service.

To counter freedom of speech the Weimar Republic became the first country to have hate speech laws. These laws were twisted to become anti-racism laws. Insulting 'pure' German institutions like the Reichswehr carried heavy penalties as did insults which were deemed to incite class hatred. The laws also prohibited insults towards religious groups - theoretically this meant Judaism as well. It became impossible to criticise any religious pronouncement. Much to the benefit of the Nazis, the churches (especially the Catholics) used this privilege to mercilessly attack the communists from which the Nazis drew immense benefit.

THE PRUSSIAN PIG: At the 1920 Berlin Dada exhibition a work by George Grosz was deemed to poke fun at the gods of Prussia - the officers. The effigy of a Prussian officer with the face of a pig was regarded as an insult to the German military and seen by the Weimar authorities (and this does not mean Hitler) as detrimental to the reforming of the German nation. Grosz was put on trial and fined 300 Mark. What was punished was opinion - not crime. Opinion in Germany became silenced to safeguard the mythical German values narrative, which was later espoused by Hitler. He could not be criticised because he was propagating the Herrenvolk narrative which was made law by the socialists.

With anti-Semitic courts the laws completely failed to protect the Jews. The Germans could call for the Jews to be tortured and murdered and the courts acted with leniency. Jews who insulted Germans - by for example calling them "schwein" - were given big fines and even long prison sentences. The Jews very quickly learnt not to retaliate and the Nazis could say what they wanted. Hitler and Goebbels were often insulting in court and in parliament - but their opponents were silenced out of fear of biased judges.

The Nazis did not need to retract the hate speech laws when they came to power - they added the protection of 'German moral feelings' clause which put group rights before private rights. The Germans were always 'our people' while the Jews were individuals. Limiting free speech became a means of oppression and a major cause for the rise of Hitler and the subsequent Holocaust.

THE END OF DEMOCRACY

By 1932 it seemed as if the Nazi party was going to split up into smaller nationalistic anti-democratic parties - especially after Hitler lost in the presidential elections to Paul von Hindenburg. At this stage Hitler would have disappeared into obscurity if the party had not been financially rescued by the German generals, aristocracy, landowners and capitalists - the power behind the DNVP. They drove an anti-Semitic agenda because they wanted to exclude the Jews from the economy and take their business - even if it meant killing democracy. With unlimited funds the Nazis could launch a massive campaign and won the 1933 election.