The Nazis › How the Nazis rose to power
How the Nazis rose to power
The Nazi Party did not seize power in a single coup. It exploited a weak democracy, an economic crisis and the fears of conservative elites, then used emergency powers to end democracy within months.
The Weimar Republic
Germany became a democratic republic in 1918 to 1919, after defeat in the First World War and the fall of the Kaiser. It is usually called the Weimar Republic, after the city where its constitution was drawn up. It had a modern constitution and a lively culture, but many Germans felt humiliated by the peace settlement, and its early years were marked by political violence and economic upheaval, including severe inflation in 1923.
Many in the army, civil service, courts and business world never accepted the republic. Some blamed it, and in particular Jews, socialists and others, for the defeat, a false claim that extremists spread.
Crisis and the rise of the Nazi vote
The Nazi Party was founded after the First World War and was a small extremist group for much of the 1920s. Its leader, Adolf Hitler, was jailed after a failed attempt to seize power in Bavaria in 1923, and afterwards decided to seek power through elections as well as intimidation. The Great Depression, which hit Germany from 1929, produced mass unemployment and made voters desperate. The Nazis offered simple answers, blamed scapegoats, and ran a relentless, modern propaganda campaign. By 1932 they were the largest party in the Reichstag, though they never won a majority in a free national election.
30 January 1933
On 30 January 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler chancellor, leading a coalition government with the German Nationalist People's Party. Conservative politicians believed they could control him. They were wrong.
Dismantling democracy in 1933
The key steps, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's timeline, came quickly:
| Date (1933) | Event |
|---|---|
| 27 February | The Reichstag building burns. The government blames a Communist plot. |
| 28 February | The Reichstag Fire Decree suspends civil rights and allows imprisonment without trial. |
| 22 March | The SS opens Dachau, the first SS-run concentration camp for political opponents. |
| 23 March | The Enabling Act lets Hitler pass laws without parliament's approval, creating a dictatorship in effect. |
| 1 April | A nationwide boycott of Jewish-owned businesses. |
| 10 May | Book burnings across Germany target works by Jewish, political and liberal authors. |
| 14 July | A law makes the Nazi Party the only legal party. |
The Enabling Act passed partly because many opponents had been arrested and could not vote. The Reichstag fire's cause is still debated by historians, but its political use is not: it gave the government a pretext for emergency powers.
Why did it happen?
Historians point to several causes that worked together: the legacy of defeat and resentment, economic collapse, a political system that left many voters feeling unrepresented, powerful people who underestimated the Nazis, violence and intimidation by Nazi paramilitaries, and propaganda that gave people someone to blame. There was nothing inevitable about it. At several points other choices were possible.
Lessons, carefully drawn
History does not repeat itself neatly, and comparisons with the present should be made with care. But the story shows that democracies can be undermined from within, step by step, using the law itself. What followed is described on the Nazi state and propaganda and persecution and the Holocaust.
Frequently asked questions
When did Hitler become chancellor?
Hitler was appointed chancellor by President Hindenburg on 30 January 1933.
What was the Enabling Act?
It was a law passed on 23 March 1933 that let Hitler's government pass laws without the approval of parliament, in effect creating a dictatorship.
Did the Nazis win a majority in a free election?
No. They became the largest party in 1932 but did not win a majority in a free national election before 1933.