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I.

Outline with Thesis Statement

Thesis Statement: Hitler came to power because of societys discontent of with

the government and the society after the World War I; his ideologies, which
resonated with the weakened Germany; and his extensive and effective use of
propaganda.

Outline:
I.
II.
III.
IV.

V.
VI.
VII.

Introduction
Background
Counterargument
Discontent (society) As A Factor
a. Soldiers discontent
b. Loss of national pride and integrity
c. Heavy punishment led to heavy burden on the German people
economically
Transition to Hitlers ideology
Transition to propaganda
Conclusion

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II.

Research Pages
i.

Introduction

Adolf Hitler, the soldier who was once a decorated war veteran of World
War I, the leader who was once worshipped by millions of Germans, the villain
who was responsible for the massacre million Jews, is now the most hated
dictator of the 20th century and arguably throughout human history.
Almost every educated person has an idea of what evil Hitler had done to
the Jewish people, but few have thought about how he gained his power in the
first place; specifically, how did Adolf Hitler become the chancellor of Germany?
Hitler came to power because of societys discontent of with the
government and the society after the World War I; his ideologies, which
resonated with the weakened Germany; and his extensive and effective use of
propaganda.
ii.

Background

In the year 1918, which was near the end of World War I, a revolution
went on. The Kaiser was forced to abdicate and monarchy was overthrown. In
the early 1919, a parliamentary democratic government was established in
Germany the Weimar Republic. The same year, the Weimar Republic
government, representing Germany, signed the Treaty of Versailles, which not
only blamed the responsibility of war solely on Germany, but also included harsh
conditions and punishments to Germany including the payment of the cost of all
damage done. It was in this time of societal instability that Hitler came to power.

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iii.

Counterargument

Some say that Hitler gained power purely by imposing violence and use
nothing but force. The fail attempt of coup dtat, which brought him to jail, was a
perfect example of Hitler seizing power by force. It is true that Hitler used force to
eliminate possible enemies that were against him, but mostly, he was supported
by people, because of the discontent derived from a devastated society after
World War I; his ideologies, which attracted lots of people; and his use of
propaganda, which perfectly advertised him
iv.

Discontent (society) As A Factor

First of all, Hitler was given the chance to rise up because of peoples
general discontent towards society. The loss of national pride and national
integrity was two of the main reasons why the German people were discontent.
In 1919, Hermann Mueller, the Foreign Minister of the Weimar Republic
representing Germany, signed the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty made
Germany lose important industrial cities, which not only slowed down the
Germany economy a lot, but also, and most importantly, deprived Germany of its
national integrity. Hitler considered the Treaty a scandal and a disgrace and that
the dictate signified an act of highway robbery against [the German] people.
According to the Versailles Treaty, the war guilt was solely blamed on
Germany. This was devastating news to the Germans because it is not of a
German social value that they are losers. In fact, the German educational system

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emphasized nationalism and strong connection between one and the country,
and, in this situation, furthered peoples discontent, smashed peoples pride of
their country, and resonated with peoples feelings. The German social value
reinforced peoples discontent and anger towards the losing of war because just
like ancient Rome, the Germans could not bear the idea of losing a battle,
because it was a sign of weakness and a form of humiliation. Naturally, the
blame went straight to the Weimar Republic because it was the Republic that
sealed the fate of Germany at the Paris Peace Conference. Because of that the
Republic was a newly established government established by a revolution during
the war, plus Germany did not have any experience with democracy prior to the
Weimar Republic whatsoever, people did not put much faith in its democratic
government in the first place. Peoples faith in democracy was furthermore
deeply shaken by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and gave opportunities
to dictators like Hitler to rise up.
Economic turbulence after the World War was also an influential factor for
why people were discontent. After the Versailles Treaty, Germany, an already
economically damaged country because of the war, lost many of its main
industrial cities, and had to pay for the reparation of the damage and the costs of
war as agreed on the Treaty of Versailles. The Republic, borrowed money mainly
from the United States to pay war reparation to the French and monetarily
increased the amount of German Marks to stimulate the economy. As a result,
the crowding-out effect occurred. Crowding-out effect occurs when a government
increases the supply of money in an economy without raising taxes to back it up,

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and real interest rate decreases which acts as a disincentive for firms to produce.
Not only did it not help the economy in the long run but also hyperinflation was
resulted. The hyperinflation was so severe that it was said an entire wheelbarrow
of Germany Marks was only enough to buy one loaf of bread. This disastrous
hyperinflation made the German people discontent and doubt democracy and the
power of free economy and its invisible hand. With this damaged economy, the
Great Depression in the 1930s with its high unemployment and spiral deflation
was the final blow to the vulnerable German economy. This delicate economy
with unsatisfied people gave totalitarian dictators like Hitler a chance to come to
power.
Soldiers were especially discontent. For one thing, when Germany surrendered,
German frontline was intact, which seemed rather strange for a defeated country.
This made the German soldier feel betrayed, because they did not feel like they
tried their best for their country. One soldier says, The very men we had for
years defended, for whose sake the innumerable comrades had given their lives,
while they led a life of ease and profits, betrayed us. The fact that German Army
did not really lose their battles made the German people especially unhappy
because they lost the war not because that their country was not strong, but was
because of the decision of the Republic. This gives the people a reason to blame
the defeat on the Weimar government. Soldiers were also unsatisfied because
they did not do their best for the country; that they thought Germany could have
won if their government were not to surrender. Hitler, personally being a soldier of
the World War I, blamed it on the Jews and believed that Germany was stabbed

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in the back by the Jews. By blaming the Jews as being responsible for the
defeat of Germany, Hitler used peoples discontent as a source of unification and
gave the German people someone to blame and to revenge for the unacceptable
humiliation that fell upon them.
v.

Transition to Hitlers ideology

With society crumbling and people discontent about the government,

Hitlers ideologies seemed to be extremely attractive to the Germans because
people wanted to live a better life, have more jobs, and on top of that, regain their
faith and pride in their motherland.
One of the most important factors that Hitler emphasized in his campaign to
power is Gemeinschaft, which is an untranslatable term which combines the
meaning of unity, devotion to the community, mutual aid, brotherly love, and
kindred social values This idea differs from communism, which emphasizes the
idea of internationalism.
Gemeinschaft focuses on the unity of Germany, a country which
German people carried strong emotion towards. Ever since the very beginning of
human kind, people have been striving for the bond of kins. From Chinese
dynasties, to Roman houses, to medieval families, even to today with the Greek
systems in colleges, people take pride in their bonds. The Germans, with their
educational system and family traditions focusing of patriotism, especially have
strong feelings towards their country. The loss of World War I, the signing of the
Treaty of Versailles and the economic consequences followed broke Germanss

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hearts and smashed their pride. The soldiers who were discontent for the
seemingly unreasonable surrender and the patriots strongest desire was to
restore the German pride. The idea of Gemeinschaft made the Germans once
again feel the sense of unity, the kind of unity that, as the fascio symbol
suggests, is firm and unbreakable.
Hitler had this idea of a superior German race, the Aryan race that is the
purest blood and is determined to rule the world. In Hitlers book Mein Kampf,
Hitler argued that all the manifestations of human culture, art, science, are
exclusively the product of Aryan (German) creativity and thus Aryans are
superior, and that it was the Aryan alone who founded a superior type of
humanity. This idea had a profound influence on the German people because it
gave them confidence. Hitler took it even further; saying that because they were
the Aryan race, they could not have lost the war, it was the Jewish people who
stabbed [them] in the back. By telling the German people that a nation like
Germany could not have lost the war and by telling them that it was the Jewish
people who, through the Weimar Government, manipulated the situation of the
war and surrendered Germany, Hitler was able to successfully rally up the
German people and move their hatred, blame and discontent towards the Jewish
people, and by creating this hate towards a minority, Hitler was even able to
better unify the German people. During the Crystal Night, the German civilians,
with some German storm troopers attacked Jewish people and homes, broke the
glasses of Jewish shops and burned down Jewish synagogues. The Crystal
Night demonstrates that Hitlers idea of the supremacy of the Aryan race and that

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the Jews were contaminating the Aryan blood not only bound the German people
together, but also gave them the motivation to work and fight together. On top of
nationalism and the idea of Gemeinschaft, Hitler emphasized, and most of all,
believed in the idea of duty, the duty to the state, the duty to Germany. During
World War I, Hitler volunteered as a soldier on the frontline, and he believed in
the idea of serving Germany. In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler talked about his
personal experience as a soldier who struggled between saving his own life and
fighting for Germanys glory, a time came when there arose within each one of
us a conflict between the urge to self- preservation and the call of dutyuntil
finally the internal strife was over and the call of duty was triumphant. One of the
main reasons why Hitler could successfully convince his followers of the duty to
Germany was because he personally and deeply believed in such an idea. As a
decorated soldier of Germany during World War I, he was able to talk about his
personal experience and was able to capture the hearts of all the soldiers who
also fought in the World War and those nationalist youth who wished to fight for
the splendor of Germany. The German people had always been a patriotic kind,
their dream was to be able to regain its former glory by victory over battles. The
role that Hitler played here was to give them a push and help them to go through
the internal struggle between honoring the state and saving their own lives.
Furthermore, the idea of equality was perfect for Germany in its specific
socio-historical context. Ever since the signing of the Treaty of Versailles,
Germany had suffered huge economic losses. Employment was low while
inflation went over control. Then in the 1920s-30s, the Great Depression brought

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even more destruction to the already fragile German economy. In such hour,
people yearned for better living conditions, and that was what Hitler promised,
and that was what he achieved. Hitler believed that, other than the Jews, the
communists, the homosexuals, the gypsies and the ill, all Germans should be
equal. Because the Nazi party was modeled after socialism, everything was
controlled by the state. In the Nazi party, different ministries managed the
production of goods and services. In Triumph of the Will, different ministries
reported to Hitler, and more, to the people of Germany, about what they had
achieved in the past years. Those were all impressive achievements of
productivity. Although the purpose of Triumph of the Will was propaganda, which
must be taken into consideration, it was still a tremendous improvement over the
crumbling economy before Hitler and his National Socialist party took power.
Also, in one of Hitlers speeches given in Nuremburg in 1935 to the German
youths, Hitler stressed that the youth must not believe in ranks or castes,
Germans need to be one people.

By speaking to the youths about the

importance of social equality among Aryans, he not only cultivated the idea of
equality in the long run, but also convinced the Germans, that he was devoted to
achieving equality among Germans. The Germans then were able to focus more
on working towards the greatness of Germany, now that they did not need to
care about not earning money nor not taking care of basic needs of their families,
because Hitler convinced them that the State would take care of them.
vi.

Transition to Propaganda

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Other than the societal discontent and his ideologies, which were
seemingly the solution to the problems that Germany faced, propaganda also
played a huge role in his success in becoming the chancellor of Germany. One of
the most famous piece of propaganda that Hitler used was Triumph of the Will, a
movie directed by Leni Riefenstahl, who was, according to the Economists, was
the greatest female film-maker of the 20th century. Leni Riefenstahl, being one of
the most famous directors and actresses in Germany, was Hitlers favorite and
top choice director. The reason that Hitler liked Riefenstahl so much was
because he certainly cared a lot about propaganda. Hitler used such
propagandas as his primary tool to advertise himself and it worked well, because
before Triumph of the Will, most Germans had never even seen the face of Hitler.
One of the main ideas that Hitler tried to advertise was the greatness of
Germany under the Nazi rule. At the beginning of Triumph of the Will, there was a
shot of the Hitler Youth and German Youth encampment outside of the city of
Nuremberg. Although it was a youth camp, it gives the impression of the camp of
a strong and powerful army giant, dramatic, and orderly. Inside the camp,
people are wrestling, running and jumping. They seemed to be having fun, and
everybody is either smiling or laughing, and they all seem worriless. Given that
the movie was a tool of propaganda, Hitler tried to show the German people, and
to the world, that Germany is strong and firm, unlike what people thought as a
country

with

crumbling

economy,

hyperinflation,

stagflation

and

high

unemployment, a place of despair. By showing the greatness of Germany, Hitler

gave hope to the German people, and told the Germans that he was the savior of

P a g e | 11

Germany, that he was the right person that should lead Germany. On top of Hitler
Youth Camps, there was a scene of each of the heads of different ministries
such as press, finance and construction, speaking in front of the crowd to report
their impressive work over the years. The reporting was such plain listing, which
may seem boring nowadays, but backs then, all those achievements were
presented to the patriotic German citizens, who, would be thrilled to see that
Germany bounced back successfully again after such severe hyperinflation and
the Great Depression. Those achievements impressed the people and thus
gained both peoples confidence in the Nazi government and the support of
people to the government.
Other than advertising Germany, Hitler also tried hard to advertise himself.
Every time he went somewhere, he tried to make everything dramatic. When the
American journalist William Shirer visited Germany, he described Hitler as a
Roman emperor who rode into the town with phalanxes of crowed cheering
him on the side, and the crowed went frenzy even just for a glimpse of the
dictator. Hitler gave Shirer, as would he had given everyone else, the first
impression of a powerful leader that command and conquer. The impression that
Hitler tried to make was that he was not merely another normal chancellor,
another politician that says but does nothing, but a true leader that would lead his
people to victory. Moreover, Hitlers speeches generally tend to be extremely
passionate, and unlike an ordinary politician who speaks with cold tone and
argues with cold facts, he speaks with his heart. Hitlers speech giving skill was
able to really engage the audience and influence them with his charisma. By

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advertising himself both visually and verbally, Hitler was able to inspire morale
into the Germans and give them hope and confidence in restoring the pride of the
Reich together with Hitler.
vii.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Hitler was able to gain the support of the German people
and come to power because of societys discontent for the loss of German pride
and the devastation done to the German economy by the signing of the Treaty of
Versailles. His ideologies promoted equality among the Aryan race, gave hope to
the German people, and led them to proudly fulfill the duty to Germany. Finally,
Hitlers extensive propaganda on the success of Germany under the Nazi rule
and his ability as a leader gave the German people hope. No one in German
history ever achieved such unsurpassable support like the Fuhrer; and it was his
unshakable power, given by millions of German people, that, unfortunately,
enabled him to bring such a catastrophic war to the world.

III.

Appendices
Abel, Theodore. Why Hitler Came Into Power. New York: Prentice-Hall,
Inc., 1938.
Ayer, Eleanor. The Importance of Adolf Hitler. San Diego: Lucent Books,
Inc., 1996.

P a g e | 13

Hansen, Valerie, and Kenneth Curtis. Voyages in World History. Boston:

Wadsworth, 2010.
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Munich: Franz Eher Nachfolger., 1939.
"Leni Riefenstahl: Hand-held history," The Economist, September 2003.
Ritenour, Shawn. Foundations of Economics. "The German Hyperinflation"
Accessed
May
14,
2012.
http://foundationsofecon.blogspot.com/2011/09/germanhyperinflation.html.
Shirer,
William.
Berlin
Diary.
The
Ryerson
Press,
1941. http://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=4650.
Treaty
of
Versailles,
1919,
http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWi
ndow?
displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=WHIC&
action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE
%7CCX3447000884&mode=view
Triumph of the Will, directed by Riefenstahl, Leni. 1935; Synapse Films,
Inc., 2006. DVD.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., "Hitler
Comes to Power." March 27, 2012.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C., Third
Reich: An Overview. January 6, 2011.

P a g e | 14

IV.

Personal Information
Name: Marceline Mary Chelle de Asis
Course: Bachelor of Arts in Mass
Communications
Birthday: June 23, 2000
Height: 52
Weight: 41 kg
Hobbies: Read books, compose stories,
watch movies