Hitler's Rise To Power: 1918-1923
How a disaffected war veteran became post-war Germany's most radical politician.
Since the tragedy of WWII, Western historians have long wondered how Hitler could have rose to power in Germany. This is especially confusing, given that the recently formed Weimar Republic had been a democracy, and Hitler was democratically elected.
1918
To set the stage, let’s go back to the end of WWI. As the Great War drew to a close, Germany quickly realized that the war was not winnable. With the entry of the US in 1917, the scale tipped in favor of the Allies. The American Expeditionary Force, led by John Pershing, was sent to France to beat back the Germans.
The German government, led by Kaiser Wilhelm II, completely collapsed. The Kaiser was forced to abdicate, and a new leadership took over in Berlin. A republican regime came to power, and signed an armistice with the Allies.
Hitler was among many Germans in the military who were outraged by the armistice. To him and others, the armistice was a “stab in the back” done by “November Criminals,” betraying the hard-fought war effort and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Hitler was far from the only one to believe this. Many of German’s senior-most military officials concurred with this assessment, although there is little evidence to suggest that the Germans could have won.
Germany’s defeat in WWI was devastating to Hitler. A disillusioned man, he had once found his life’s meaning and purpose in the military.
1919
From the perceptive of Hitler, things only got worse for Germany. The Allies imposed the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was forced to formally accept guilt for the war. Reparations were imposed. A significant amount of territory was handed over the Allies. Under the treaty, Germany’s democratic government—called the Weimar Republic—was formally created. The new constitution was drafted in the town of Weimar, hence the name.
Germany was established as a parliamentary democracy, but it was not a typical one by any means. The chief executive enjoyed significant authority, especially in times of emergency. That would later be exploited by Hitler over a decade later.
Upset about the Great War’s conclusion, Hitler decided to nevertheless remain in the military. In chaotic post-war Germany, Hitler received the task of spying on the German Workers’ Party, or DAP. Ironically, as he became more acquainted with this tiny faction of revolutionaries, the aggrieved Hitler himself found resonance in their radicalism.
The Workers’ Party
Hitler derived many of his own beliefs from the DAP. First, they were ultra-nationalists. This meant that they saw Germans as racially superior to all other peoples. This was their defining dogma. The radicals were equally opposed to capitalism and communism alike. They did not believe in any class struggle or redistribution, but they always opposed laissez-faire capitalism. Ultimately, the foundation of their politics was an intense, fanatical hatred of racial minorities, notably the Jews, who were blamed for Germany’s downfall in WWI.
Hitler is sometimes regarded as a right-wing figure, given his opposition to communism and his nationalism. But this is inaccurate, because he was equally opposed to capitalism and free markets. Ultimately, Hitler’s politics privileged the concerns of ethnic Germans over and above all other peoples.
Impressed by these beliefs, Hitler decided to join the DAP. He became its 555th member, which demonstrates just how minuscule this party really was.
1920
Hitler founded his own party, but he made one small change. Instead of the Workers’ Party, he called his own group the National Socialists, or NSDAP. The Nazi Party was born.
Hitler actually designed the logo himself. Hitler and the other Nazis crafted a mythology about the Germans being the ethnic descendants of ancestral Aryans. The Aryans were believed to be the superior race who created all the civilizations of the past. Historically, the Aryan people came from ancient Persia and India. So the Nazis appropriated a Hindu symbol, the infamous swastika, which was an Indian symbol of good luck. For Hitler, the swastika represented the racial superiority of the Germans.
1921
Hitler’s new party continued to grow. By 1921, the charismatic Hitler became the chairman of the Nazi Party. His personality became so indispensable and irreplaceable, he effectively became the embodiment of the movement. He gained more and more followers through his public speeches.
The timing could not have been better for Hitler. Germany’s economy began to falter. To cope with the hyperinflation, the government continued to print currency uncontrollably. The economy was weakened beyond recognition by the reparations from WWI. The currency devalued from 1919 to 1920 by a factor of one trillion—with a “t”!
1922
In Italy, which had also been defeated in WWI, Mussolini led his successful March on Rome. He was a member of the Fascist Party. Mussolini’s ideology was very similar to Hitler’s. Fascism centered around ideas of racial superiority and totalitarian government. Hitler was impressed by Mussolini’s rise in Italy, and sought to implement his own usurpation of power in Germany.
1923
Germany’s economy continued into oblivion. Unable to pay up, the French occupied the industrial Ruhr region of Germany. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the Saar region of Germany was already under French occupation. The French were extracting Germany’s coal and steel supplies from the Saar. The French forced the Germans to work in the mines and factories, and to cede their natural resources.
It was a massive humiliation to Germany. This gave a propaganda boost for the Nazis. Membership in the Nazi Party swelled into the tens of thousands. Many more Germans grew sympathetic to Hitler’s movement.
With Mussolini in Italy, and Germany in tatters, the fruit was ripe for Hitler’s picking. Hitler attempted to usurp the German government, but was unsuccessful. But given this failed coup, how did the Fürher end up getting power? Why didn’t Hitler just fade away into obscurity? Because the conditions for the storm were already in place, and were much bigger than the ambitions of a single wannabe dictator.