Hitler as Ruler of Germany

Hitler as ruler of Germany.

In 1921 Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party. He was a firm believer in Germany and wished to return it to a time of power and prestige. Hitler’s chance came in 1929 with the death of Stressman and the Great Depression marking an end to Weimar’s Golden Age. With great civil unrest and rampant levels of unemployment, the German public began looking for answers. Hitler grasped this opportunity, persuading the public that all the solutions lay with him and his dynamic party, offering wild promises such as full employment. With this growing support, Hitler’s Nazi party began its rise to power and by 1933 they held the majority of   seats in the Reichstag.   President von Hindenburg came under pressure from some very influential power groups and appointed him Chancellor. Some people believed that Hitler "could be tamed" but within a very short period he proved them wrong and created a powerful totalitarian state.

On the 30th of January 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. His first act was to call a general election, which in his mind was to be the last. He used the power of the state to gain publicity. He also used an illegal campaign of street intimidation, believing that “Possession of the streets is key to the to the power of the state”. Prior to the election, a Dutch Communist, Van der Lube, set the Reichstag on fire, Hitler used this as an excuse to pass the decree for the protection of the People and state. This limited civil liberties and gave police special powers. Hitler used this to remove some of his sternest Opposition from the Reichstag. Despite all this The Nazis went onto secure only 43.9% of the votes, but with the support of the Nationalist Party (53 seats), they held a narrow majority in the Reichstag.

With the power of the state now fully behind Hitler, He proposed the Enabling Law, which gave him the right to rule by decree, full dictatorial powers. Once again he used intimidation to ensure it’s...