Essay - Was economic collapse the main reason why the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1993?
The Nazi rise to power in Germany brought an end to the quasi-democratic system of presidential rule due to series of key causes. By following his appointment as chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg on January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler started laying the foundations of his Nazi state. Guided by racist and authoritarian principles, the Nazis eliminated individual freedoms and pronounced the creation of a Volk Community. In this essay I am going to find out if the economic collapse of Germany was the key trigger which led the Nazis into power.
On 24 October 1929, the day that 13 million shares changed hands, went in to the books as 'Black Thursday'. Finally on 30 October the New York stock market collapsed totally. As the demand for goods and services fell, production slowed and factories were forced to lay off workers.
The consequences of the crash have been likened to 'an economic blizzard' as its effects spread rapidly to Europe and the rest of the world. In Germany, the weakness of the foundation on which German economic revival had depended were exposed for all see. The so called 'Golden Years' of the Weimar Republic over.
In 1927 and 1928, Germany had borrowed almost five times the amount needed for reparations payments. Now, with support of the mark at an end, with loans drying up and American banker calling their existing loans in, Germany leaned towards getting into a crisis. Soon after, German banks collapsed, heavy industry stagnated and unemployment raise. This economic crisis which created armies of unemployed people was also going to have major political consequences.
In July 1930, Finance Minister Hermann Dietrich put forward a number of financial proposals intended...