Hitler's Rise to Power By: Omie J. Adolf Hitler's rise to power was one of common sense and unpleasant fantasy and it's not so much how he came to power, but why he came to power. There are many reasons why Hitler came to power, some for example were the political and economic weaknesses at that time in Germany due to the Treaty of Versailles, the Depression, the Industrialists willingness to accept Adolf Hitler for fear of Communism and the strong leader Hitler presented himself as. Propaganda, use of force and the destruction of any who opposed Hitler were also contributing factors of his rise to power. 1. The allies intended to permanently cripple Germany. They would do this through the Versailles Treaty. This document stole Germany's nationalism, pride, and power. It left Germany helpless and lost. Many believed that Germany had been exploited and cheated under the terms of the treaty. The end of World War I shocked many people. Most of these people were the citizens of Germany. The German army intended to deliver the German Offensive of 1918, this final attack would guarantee German victory. The government then pushed the German citizens to hang on just a little longer so they may be the victorious country. The government controlled the flow of information to the German citizens using propaganda, this information mislead them to believe that they were just about to win. But because of the United States admission to the war, Germany was forced into submission. The citizens of Germany were outraged. They had been mislead and they were full of questions. 2. Germany despised the Treaty of Versailles. One of the articles of the treaty was that Germany limit their army to 100,000 men. Since Germany glorified the army as the number one strength in their country, it stabbed Germany's pride and militarism. The country was also forced to pay reparations and accept guilt for the war. Germany felt they had not even started the war and it was extremely unfair to pay reparations. Germany was also forced to give up their colonies --see appendix--. The country felt cheated and angry at the Versailles Treaty. Germany felt exploited, and many sought to avenge what they had lost. The Weimar Republic was instantly blamed for signing the Versailles Treaty. Many called the Weimar Republic traitors. The people started looking for a strong leader whom they could trust. 3. "After the revolt in 1918, I was a communist. I couldn't see any other way to bring upon the sort of socialism we wanted... It wasn't rightly what you could call a revolution in 1918... They forgot about us workers. Then this man Hitler got up to speak... everything he said was just common sense and sound. Although I wasn't one to be won over all in one moment, it didn't take me longer than that first meeting to realize that Hitler was straight as odie." 4. The above quotation is an example of a working class piece of mind. The working class after the war was forgotten about and the political...
