78.

Why did Germans become

supporters of Nazism, and of
Hitler, before 1933?

0357993
Peter Belfry
Andrea Geddes-Poole
HIST 150

March 12, 2009

When the period of Nazi rule in Germany is analyzed, blame is often directed
towards Hitler and the Nazi party itself for the inhumanities that it committed, but
the truth is that without everyday people becoming supporters, the party never
could have come to power. The question that comes to mind is why did Germans
become supporters of Hitler and of Nazism before Hitler was declared chancellor in
1933? This essay will suggest that many of the German people wanted an
extremist, authoritarian, nationalist government that would return them to the unity
they had experienced during World War I. What drove people into believing this kind
of government and abolishing democracy were necessary was fear during the
economic depression of how it would be handled by an unstable, democratic
government. There were other extreme right political parties during the depression
as well and plenty of opposition, but what made people support the Nazis was their
image. The Nazis exploited the fear and emotions surrounding people during the
period and suggested they were the only ones who could solve the problems.
Additionally, the Nazis were the most extreme party and best portrayed
commitment to a united Germany rather than being just another party during a
time of need.
Nationalism had always been a prevalent theme in Germany and because of
this the general population felt that democracy was preventing the unity the
country experienced during World War I. During World War I, everyone in Germany
was working together for the common cause of war and support for the country.
Looking at the war demonstrates the context of German history necessary for
understanding support for Nazis. The governments leadership during the war was
in the hands of the monarch, the Kaiser. The Kaiser symbolized Germany as a

monarchy and he had a very emotional and patriotic following similar to the
following Hitler would later receive. During the war, Germans shared much in
common. They shared culture, having friends and family participating in the war
and working together for war effort. They shared patriotism in symbols and in the
German anthem. The unity desired through the war can be demonstrated in the
words of the Kaiser one day, as a mass crowd of 300,000 people gathered right
before the start of the war to hear the Kaiser speak: I no longer recognize parties
or confessions. Today we are all German brothers, and only German brothers. 1
From this quotation one can see how the theme of unity for all Germans was a
common theme before Nazism. By the end of the war, devotion to the country and
patriotism grew to the point where people wanted more commitment to the country
and felt that the monarch was standing in nationalisms way. By the end of the war
in November 1918, the people had a revolution, overthrowing the monarchy and
creating a democracy. This movement was viewed as moving forward and further
unifying Germany. Unfortunately, people would later become discontent with
democracy and find it necessary to move even further to unite. Without this theme
of nationalism already being prevalent in German history, people would never have
come to support the Nazis and this theme is what brought the very existence of the
party itself.
The pressure to move away from democracy towards a more nationalist,
authoritarian government was created before Nazism emerged and Nazism is more
a by-product of this movement. Germany struggled to develop after World War I as
it faced many constraints after losing the war in The Versailles Treaty. This treaty
removed land, money and military from the country. The country was constantly in
1Peter Fritzsche, Germans into Nazis (Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2001) 17.

fear of other countries imposing their policies upon them (specifically the United
States and Soviet Union). When the economic depression took place, it hit Germany
hard. The economy dropped 31% from 1928 to 1930 and unemployment rose by 3
million, 200%.2 Many were discontent with democracy as Germanys parliamentary
system was very divided and struggled to get tasks done at this time of economic
depression. People began to desire change; they wanted to move forward just as
they had during the democratic revolution. As a result people began supporting
authoritarian parties that they hoped would better serve the country. Participation in
elections and votes for Nazis increased drastically during the depression, from
800,000 Nazi votes in 1928 to 6.4 million in September 1930 and 13.7 million in
1932.3 Nazism was created to be the party that could care for the whole country
and unite it in a way that democracy was unable to provide.
The idea of a strong German leader, or Fuhrer was created before it became
associated with Hitler. People began discussing the desire for a new leader who
would be devoted to unite and serve the country in the 1920s in a way that was the
same as that later attributed to Hitler: The Leader does not conform to the masses,
but acts in accordance with his mission. He does not flatter the masses; hard,
straightforward, and ruthless...The Leader is radical...carries out the will of God,
which he embodies in himself.4 The Nazi party began just as a regular party, but it

2 Luc Anselin, Colin Flint, John O'Loughlin, The Geography of the Nazi Vote:
Context, Confession, and Class in the Reichstag Election of 1930, Association of
American Geographers 84.3 (1994): 356.
3 Fritzsche 154-155.
4 Ian Kershaw, The Hitler Myth: Image and Reality in the Third Reich (Oxford: Oxford
UP, 1990) 20.

took on this concept of a Fuhrer and Hitler became the sole leader of the party.
Since the beginning of Hitlers involvement in the party, he displayed intense,
absolute leadership. After growing in reputation, Hitler demanded he either became
absolute party leader or he would leave the party. 5 To other party members and
followers, Hitler exemplified the image of a Fuhrer. The entire idea that
encompasses Nazism and Hitler was not of itself, but a product of nationalist ideas
that had already existed in Germany.
Often the Nazi party is remembered for its strong anti-Semitism, but most
people were not drawn into Nazism because of anti-Semitism, but rather developed
anti-Semitism because of Nazism or saw it as a small cost for the greatness they
saw in the party. This demonstrates confidence and strength people saw in Nazism
as a movement that would save them from their fears. Generally, anti-Semitism was
accepted but not very prominent as was the case in Northeim. Here discrimination
for Jews was not very prominent but people associated them with the employed
classes and made racist jokes. Many who were drawn into Nazism ignored the antiSemitism if they did not like it or came to accept it. 6 In other cities, anti-Semitism
was already a prominent movement and was more widely accepted as an important
aspect. In Saxon, anti-Semitist parties were prevalent as early as the 1880s. 7 This
demonstrates how the Nazi party is more a creation of views already in German
society rather than creating these anti-Semitist ideas themselves.

5 Ian Kershaw, Hitler (New York: Longman, 1991) 41.

6 William Sheridan Allen, The Nazi Seizure of Power (New York: Franklin Watts, 1984)
84.
7 Benjamin Lapp, Revolution From the Right (Boston: Humanities Press, 1997) 3.

There were many other radical, authoritarian parties prevalent during the
time of discontent with democratic politics, specifically leftist groups. The major
reason the Nazis won was because they best demonstrated nationalism and
continuity of German history within their politics. Many leftist groups such as
communism and socialism were prevalent in Germany but were viewed as dividing
the country by many. These more leftist parties were criticized for discussing
Germans in terms of different classes rather than as the same people as nationalist
rightist parties did. This feeling of discontent can be seen in a Nazi Northeim citizen:
I saw the Communist danger, the Communist terror, their gangs breaking up
bourgeois meetings...I saw the complete failure of the bourgeois parties to deal
with the economic crisis...Only national socialism offered any hope. 8 Communists
were often viewed as unpatriotic as well because of the growth of communism
being in other parts of the world, specifically the Soviet Union. For these reasons
leftist parties were not able to find as much popularity as rightist parties. The Nazi
party established themselves as very anti-communist and spoke of unity for all as
did many other rightist parties.
Many extreme, rightist parties existed during the depression but the Nazi
party stood out for their image. One image that helped them stand out was the
image of Hitler. As mentioned earlier, Hitler represented an already existent
movement striving for a hero-like figure who would lead Germany to greatness.
Hitler actually did not have much experience in leadership other than participating
in World War I and working with some right wing parties. Overall, he did not have
the experience to be Germanys leader. What made Hitler stand out were his
captivating speeches, his ability to reach people and the image he presented
8 Allen 85.

himself as. Hitler was able to convey messages that drew on peoples sorrows,
hopes and dreams in a way that many followers believed was perfect, giving him a
very religious following. One newspaper reported an appearance by Hitler as a
religious-like experience: He has poured tremendous strength into the hearts of the
many hundreds who were present...For each one of them it has become a sacred
experience, which means to him the joyful fight for Hitler, for Germany. 9 Hitler
portrayed himself as completely loyal to Germany, beyond parties and as the only
one who could save Germany. When people served and heiled Hitler, they were
serving what they believed was a greater and better future for Germany. This
saviour-like image stuck to people and after establishing himself as Fuehrer many
would be drawn into the religious following surrounding him.
The Nazi partys image of strength and power made them stand out among
other parties. Nazis were a very confident party displaying themselves as the only
future for Germany. Confidence, strength, and power were portrayed by the storm
troopers, a group that grew to 400,000 by 1932. Storm troopers were responsible
for putting up posters, intimidating political rivals at rallies, as well as terrorizing
opponents and bystanders.10 The storm troopers were typically very rough, violent
and intimidating. In the town of Northeim, where politics frequently clashed ending
in violent outbreaks, storm troopers always played a main role. They would often
intimidate political opponents, once painting a swastika on a SPDs door writing
Under this sign youll bleed, you red pig. On other occasions they would paint
messages around the town such as Throw the Jews out! and they would often yell
9 Kershaw, The Hitler Myth 39.
10 Dietrich Orlow, A History of Modern Germany (Upper Saddle River: Pearson,
2008) 171.

insults as well.11 Not only did this show the Nazi notion of power and strength, but
also the power of people in numbers. In Northeim there were only 50 storm troopers
before 1933 but to the townspeople it was reported to seem as though there were
three to eight times more.12 This notion of strength in numbers was also prevalent in
the mass gatherings, rallies and parades that Nazis held. In parades they would
show off all contributors to the party from Hitler Youth, storm troopers, party
members and other groups created by the party. Often the party would display
strength through military connections; supporting military parades and having Nazi
military leaders as guest speakers at meetings. Nazi meetings always attracted
large masses of people which made them stand out. Even in the small town of
Northeim, meetings could often have a thousand people. 13 The image of strength
and power showed people that the Nazis were confident and committed to their
message of salvation for the country.
The Nazi partys ability to connect with people through propaganda was
beyond that of other parties. Hitler helped the Nazis have a message through
propaganda that was vague, open and flexible so that it could connect with all
people without making specific commitments. Propaganda was intended to connect
with emotion and feelings.14 This way it could unify people and more easily draw
people in for common ideas and fears such as the economy and politics. It could be
11 Allen 78.
12 Allen 77.
13 Allen 75.
14 Martin Broszat, The Social Motivation and Fuhrer Bond in Nation Socialism,
Nazism, ed. Neil Gregor (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000) 83.

above ideology, become more of a movement of change than just another party.
While keeping many messages vague, there were certain themes that were made
clear, keeping the partys movement from being groundless. Part of how they
showed they were pro-German was making it clear that they were against any
groups that would stand in the way of Germanys development. These targeted
groups were Jews, Bolsheviks and Communists. They claimed they would provide
liberation from these non-German enemies and lead Germany towards a better,
greater future united together.15 Nazis recognized that perception was far more
important than understanding the movement that they wanted to take place. Hitler
greatly helped the Nazis propaganda and he said in a private speech that
individuals were like an insignificant worm, seeing 200,000 people all of whom
fight for an ideal, which he himself cannot even understand, which he does not
necessarily have to understand. He has a faith, and this faith is daily reinforced by
its visible power.16 Image was far more important than ideology and the Nazi ability
to present themselves as an unstoppable, necessary movement allowed them to
capture the support of many.
The Nazi party stood out as one that claimed they would serve all Germans
no matter what class they belonged to and displaying that they cared for the
German people in practice. The Nazis appealed to all groups of societies in their
message and had a very heterogeneous following. This was their desire, to unite
Germany and go beyond parties, leading it to greatness. An example of how they
displayed this kind of unity in practice would be the Hitler Youth. One man

15 Broszat 84.
16 Kershaw, Hitler 51.

expressed the unity displayed in his experience: I wanted to be in a boys club

where I could strive towards a nationalistic ideal...There were boys from all classes
of families though mainly middle class and workers. There were no social or class
distinctions, which I approved of very much...We werent fully conscious of what we
were doing, but we enjoyed ourselves and also felt important. 17 This quotation
exemplifies what Nazis wanted to display in their image, one of uniting the whole
country together no matter their class, sex, or age and working together for a
common purpose. Nazis also tried to connect with people during the depression by
opening soup kitchens in Northeim and feeding over 200 a day, claiming to serve
people of any party. They also opened an old factory to allow desperate storm
trooper members to stay in.18 Nazis didnt want to just say they would help save and
unite Germany, they demonstrated what they said in practice and this made them
stand out.
People came to support Hitler for many reasons, but it was certainly a
conscious choice. The Nazi party and the image presented of Hitler were very much
a product of prominent themes in German culture and for this reason it was able to
capture the support of many by associating itself with these themes. German
people wanted the country to return to a strong nationalist government that could
support the nationalism they had experienced during World War I, uniting the
people. The only way they thought this could be done was through an extremist,
authoritarian government that would abolish democracy. In retrospect, a movement
of this kind was imminent with many extreme leftist and rightist groups emerging

17 Allen 76-77.
18 Allen 74.

and gaining support as Germany became faced with economic depression. The
reason the movement was associated with the Nazi party was their ability to use
propaganda to connect with peoples emotions and fears as well as the fact that
their views were very extreme. While leftist parties were often viewed as dividing
Germany by many, patriotic rightist parties eventually became predominant in
Germany. The Nazi party alone however had the ability to fully convey the most
vivid image of salvation, of unity, strength and determination; as committed to
serving the German people and not just being another political party. Overall,
people became supporters of Nazism and Hitler because it portrayed nationalist
themes already imbedded in German society better than any other party during a
time of desperate need.
Word Count: 2614

Bibliography
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Confession, and
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Fritzsche, Peter. Germans into Nazis. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2001.
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