Why Hitler came to power 1. Economic problems Germany had a poor economic situation.

. After barely succeeding to improve its economy after the hyperinflation of 1923, they ere hit by the !all "treet #rash in 1929. $any people began to lose their %obs, and in fact by the time &itler came to po er ' million Germans ere unemployed. (n times of hardship people tended to vote for e)tremist parties such as the *a+is, as they thought the moderate parties ere failing to sort out the problems. 2. ,olitical problems -he political situation in Germany as dismal. .ue to proportional representation, !eimar governments ere all coalition governments. -his meant that they often struggled to come to decisions, as they ere formed out of a mi) of parties. As a result of this, many felt that the government as ea/, and loo/ed for a strong leader 0such as &itler1 to gain control. Also, 32' politicians ere murdered in !eimar Germany. -his meant that many felt that the government ere not in full control, and therefore anted a strong party such as the *a+is to gain po er. 3. &itler3s attraction &itler as a hugely charismatic character. &e as an outstanding public spea/er, and in his speeches he spo/e of things such as strength and po er, things hich many Germans felt Germany had lac/ed since losing !!( in 1919. 4. ,ropaganda -he *a+is had a hugely successful propaganda campaign. -hey used posters to portray &itler as po erful, and as a strong leader, leading Germany into glory. Also, they made simple promises on their posters, such as 56reedom and 7read3, and these simple messages attracted Germans, ho felt they needed an honest and straightfor ard government. (n addition to this, the *a+i party held mass rallies, such as the *uremburg 8allies, hich 0as a result of their huge si+e and obvious organisation1 made the *a+is loo/ strong and professional, as ell as hugely popular. 2. German traditions Autocracy is a tradition set deep ithin German history. Germany had been ruled by strong leaders for hundreds of year, and the sudden s itch bet een autocracy and democracy can be very difficult. -he sudden change brought on by the abdication of !ilhelm (( meant that many Germans struggled to accept the change. $any associated his abdication ith the loss of the ar, and believed that having one strong leader as the only ay to /eep Germany strong. $any anted a strong state run by a single, po erful individual, and they believed that &itler as perfect for the %ob. '. 6ear of communism As many people ere pushed to vote for the e)treme parties as a result of hardships in Germany, many people had to ma/e a choice ith the far9left and the far9right. !or/ers tended to vote for the far9left communist party, the :,., so they became a serious player in German politics. -he middle9class feared this, as they had the most to lose from the :,. coming to po er 0as they had savings and such to lose1, and therefore anted to vote for an anti9communist party that could ensure this ouldn3t happen. -he *a+i party as perfect for this, and due to the large number of middle9class in Germany at the time, it helped propel &itler to po er. ;. -reaty of <ersailles -he -reaty as hated throughout post9!!( Germany. $any blamed it for the economic and political problems, and they believed that the politicians ho signed it had committed 5dolchoss3, stabbing Germany in the bac/. $any anted to scrap the -reaty, in order to return Germany to its former glory, and many believed &itler and the *a+is could do %ust that.