'Hitler's charismatic personality and policies only partly explain the Nazis' rise to power in 1933.' To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Essay by laurenwalker88High School, 10th gradeA+, June 2004

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The Nazi rise to power was helped greatly by Hitler's charismatic personality and policies. He had cleverly taken Germany's recent misfortunes and manipulated his policies to make them very appealing to the German public. The failure of the Weimar Democracy, the Treaty of Versailles, Hyperinflation and the Depression provided many opportunities for Hitler to make promises and allowed for him base his policies around these promises. Although Hitler's speeches were captivating to Germans, they would have been nothing without the use of propaganda. Hitler's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels allowed Hitler to conduct rallies all over Germany in a matter of hours through advanced technology, making him appear to be a man who would move Germany forward towards a brighter future. Hitler's policies and charismatic way of presenting them helped the Nazi rise, but it was Germany's recent hardships which allowed his policies to take shape and have an affect on the German people.

The events which preceded the Nazis' rise to power in 1933 allowed Hitler to create policies which would appeal to Germans. Over the previous two decades, Germany had suffered through war and been defeated, had suffered the humiliation of the agreements in the Versailles Treaty, a hyperinflation which caused the price of bread to be raised every hour, and at the time of the Nazis' rise, were in the depths of the Great Depression. These events gave Hitler many opportunities to reach out to the German public and make promises for a better future. The Versailles Treaty caused Germany many losses including 10% of its land and most of their armed forces, as well as being forced to pay about £6.6 billion worth of war reparations. Germans blamed the 'November Criminals' for agreeing to these conditions and were not only humiliated, but also found it had...