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The Nazi Party Was Born
The right-wing National Socialist German Worker's Party was first born on February 24th, 1919. They despised the work of the Weimar republic (German government) and under the command of Adolf Hitler, it started it's reign of terror with 50 members. Hitler organised the Nazi's rose up against the government, even before the Treaty o Versailles had been signed. -
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Hitler's Electoral Success
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Treaty of Versailles Accepted
The German government signed the Treaty of Versailles on the 28th of June, 1919. They had no option but to accept the harsh conditions of the Treaty due to the threat of the Allies overthrowing their rule of the country. This made the German government very unpopular with the German citizens at the time and many groups rose up against them. The Nazi Party was one of these. Hitler used the government's lack in popularity to his advantage to gain support from the suffering people of Germany. -
Nazi Party Expanded
The Nazi Party started with ony 50 members, but under the instruction of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi's had grown to 50,000 members by 1923. The Nazi Party had it's own armed force known as the SA who 'delt with' all those who dared to speak up against them. The Treaty's reparations and armed forces restrictions allowed Hitler to cunninly recruit the people to the Nazi's. The Nazi's re-established German military pride and were a beacon of hope for the people. -
Hitler Failed To Overthrow The German Government
On the 8th of Novermber 1923, the government of Germany's Munich resisted defeat from Hitler and the Nazi's. Hitler was arrested and charged with treason. This lead to his imprisonment which should have lasted only five years, but due to a letter with a request for Hitler's early release becuase of good behaviour, Hitler only spent 9 months in Landsburg prison. This made Hitler even more determined to sieze control of Germany and when he was released, he was strongly set against the government. -
Hitler Entered The Reichstag
After being released from the Landsberg prison, Hitler worked on taking charge of Germany legally by entering the government. In the 1924 May elections,the Nazi Party were voted into 24 seats in the German parliament, also known as the Reichstag. They were able to gain votes from public parades and propeganda, promising the people suffering from the Treaty of Versailles a future of hope, peace and economical stability. The Nazi's began convincing the people that they would "save them." -
Black Tuesday - The Start Of The Great Depression
After the stock market crashed on Black Tuesday, Hitler siezed the opportunity to recruit and gain support for the Nazi Party. He made speaches across Germany with three main points:
1) The policies of the Weimer Republic had caused the Great Depression
2) The Jews were the cause of Germany's problems
3) The government double-crossed the Geman nation by signing the Treaty of Versailles
Uniformed Nazi's encouraged country pride, but with the reparations, the German people struggled financially. -
Reichstag Elections
In the 1930 elections, the Nazi Party recieved 6,371,000 votes and were able to claim 107 seats in the German parliament. The picture to the left shows propeganda used during the 1930's elections. Hitler again siezed an opportunity to grain popularity. With the stock market crashed, the people were beginning to lose jobs and Hitler promised the people economic freedom and stability, ensuring them that it was the government's fault. The Treaty of Versailles had been in place for over 10 years. -
Reichstag Elections
In the 1932 elections, 33.1% of the votes were for the Nazi Party which means that they held 196 seats in the Reichstag. The Nazi's had the largest number of votes and seats that the other parties. With the French in control of the Rhineland and the separation from Austria, Germany was struggling with resources. They had lost all sense of country pride but with the large Nazi 'army' parading the streets, the Germans were beginning to re-gain their hope and support Hitler and his cause. -
Hitler Made Chancellor Of Germany
German President Paul con Hidenburg, made the fatal mistake of offering Hitler the position of Chancellor of Germany in January of 1933. Of course, Hitler willingly accepted and swiftly brought down the influence of his coalition partners. He captured and confined thousands of his political opponents and instilled a fear of communism. He also imprisoned communist opponents too. The Treaty allowed Hitler to gain enough support from the public to be formally made one of their leaders. -
Hitler And His Government
In August 1934, President Paul von Hindenburg died leaving Hitler as Germany's dictator. Hitler's party overtook the rest of the government, making Germany a one-party country. The army swore an oath of personaly loyalty known as the Wehrmacht to Hitler and his cause, and the German defence force began to grow, despite the limitation due to the Treaty. Hitler also reached out to Austria in defiance of the Treaty as he wanted to unite all of the German people and create a supreme race. -
Changes To The German Army
In the March of 1935, Hitler went against the laws of the Treaty of Versailles and re-introduced conscription to the German army. Hilter also made a public scene of re-arming his army and said that "the Treaty of Versailles is an embarrassment for all Germans." This made Germany popular with the people, but made the Allies wary and suspicious of this new leader of Germany. Though we look at Hitler now and see the horror he released on Germany, the people of the time only saw a miraculous savior. -
Changes in 1936
Hitler sent three battalions into th Rhineland in 1936 to re-rake control from the French. Hitler also started to get the German economy ready for war through a four-year-plan. He changed to value of money which made paying reparations almost impossible and he twisted the rules of the Treaty while silently wiping it from existence. When he invaded the Rhineland, Hitler went against the military confinement section on the Treaty and therefore, the Allies planned to act against Germany's leader. -
Hitler Took Over Austria
Hitler finally took over Austria on the 12th of March Which defied the Treaty of Versailles by his communication and unification with Austria and also from the expansion and rearmament of the German army. The people of Germany were not as fond of their dictator as they were in the beginning, but Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles as promised, but he started World War II in the process. Without the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler would not have been able to progress through the governent. -
World War II Started
On the 1st of September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days after they invaded Poland. With Hitler in the lead of Germany, the war raged on for 6 years, slowly snowballing other countries into the violent warfare. Hitler used the Treaty of Versailles against the Allies, but was defeated. Less than a month after the death of Hitler and his 48-hour wife, the war ended and Germany was divided. The Treaty of Versailles aided Hitler in his electoral success from 1919 to 1939.
