The Appeal of Nazism & Communism (AQA A Level History: Component 2: Depth study): Revision Note

Summary

• The Nazis became a political party that stood in elections rather than a violent revolutionary group after the disaster of the Munich Putsch in 1923

  • At first, this was unsuccessful, and they struggled to win support

• However, the Great Depression led to the Nazis becoming the biggest party in the Reichstag by 1932

  • This was because they successfully broadened their appeal to many social and economic groups within German society

  • They did this with a very effective and well-funded propaganda campaign

• The German Communist Party, however, was not as successful at winning over new voters in the elections during the Great Depression

  • Although they increased their membership, they were not as well supported financially and struggled to broaden their appeal in the same way the Nazis had

The tactics and fortunes of the Nazi Party

• After the disastrous Munich Putsch in 1923, Hitler decided to completely change tactics and attempted to make the Nazi Party electable

  • This also involved changing the NSDAP into a nationwide organisation

"If we only wanted to become representatives, we would not be National Socialists, but German National Party members or Social Democrats. We do not beg for votes. We demand conviction, devotion, passion! A vote is only a tool for us as well as for you. We will march into the marble halls of parliament, bringing with us the revolutionary will of the broad masses from which we came, called by fate and forming fate. We do not want to join this pile of manure. We are coming to shovel it out.

Do not believe that parliament is our goal. We have shown the enemy our nature from the podiums of our mass meetings and in the enormous demonstrations of our brown army. We will show it as well in the leaden atmosphere of parliament. We are coming neither as friends or neutrals. We come as enemies! As the wolf attacks the sheep, so come we. You are not among your friends any longer! You will not enjoy having us among you!”

An extract from an article written in 1928 by Josef Goebbels in which he explains why the Nazis campaigned to be voted into the Reichstag

• Hitler divided Germany into 35 regions (called Gaue)

• Each Gau (single region) had a local Nazi Party leader called a Gauleiter

  • Gauleiters were not often appointed

  • Hitler left it to the Nazi members in the Gau to fight over who became the Gauleiter

    • Hitler strongly believed in the survival of the fittest mentality

    • Whoever wanted the position more would win it by any means necessary

• To fund a national party, Hitler persuaded business owners who shared his nationalist vision for Germany to contribute

  • Big corporations such as Thyssen, Krupp and Bosch funded the Nazi Party

  • The business owners believed Hitler’s influence over the workers would limit the power of trade unions

    • Business owners feared trade unions because they could make unreasonable demands for increased pay and benefits

    • Trade unions had strong links to communism

    • If communism became powerful, business owners would lose their ability to make lots of profit

• Initially, this change in tactics yielded very little in terms of election success

  • In the May 1928 elections, the Nazis won just 2.6% of the vote

• However, after the Wall Street Crash triggered the Great Depression, the fortunes of the Nazi Party improved dramatically

  • It won 18.3% of the vote in the September 1930 elections

  • In the July 1932 elections, it won 37.4% of the vote and became the biggest party in the Reichstag

The appeal of Nazism

• Initially, the Nazis had a very narrow support base that came from the lower middle class, or Mittelstand, of German society

  • The Nazis were able to maintain this support from shopkeepers and office workers, but also managed to broaden their appeal very successfully

Working-class support

• Policies such as redistribution of land and improved working conditions were targeted at working-class people

  • Although the Nazis never managed to gain the majority of the working-class vote, they convinced significant numbers to vote for them

  • The Nazi promise of 'Work and Bread' won many over, and the return to traditional German values appealed to others

Middle-class support

• The Nazis managed to extend their traditional support base in the middle-class

  • Many teachers, lawyers, and small business owners were afraid that a communist takeover would mean the loss of their property and savings

  • After the Great Depression began, many saw the Nazis as the only party capable of stopping the communists

  • The Great Depression also saw many middle-class people abandon the moderate parties in the belief that only a strong leader like Hitler could save the economy

Farmers

• Farmers did not do well during the Weimar Republic

  • High debt, low prices and increasing taxes damaged the standard of living in farming communities

  • By 1929, the income of agricultural workers was 44% below the national average

• Farmers initially did not like the NSDAP

  • The Twenty-Five Point Programme created a policy of confiscating all private land

    • Under this policy, farmers would lose their income

    • The Nazi Party amended their policy to say that, if the people voted for the NSDAP, it would only confiscate land owned by the Jewish people 

• In 1930, the Nazi Party gained 60% of the rural vote in some areas

Young people

• Young people suffered greatly from the economic crisis in the 1930s

  • By January 1933, unemployment hit 6.1 million people

  • Half of all 16 to 30-year-olds did not work

  • The Nazis seemed new and exciting and promised young people a brighter future

Women

• German women were specifically targeted by the Nazis

  • The promised return to traditional values and gender roles appealed to some women after the uncertainty and upheaval of the 1920s

Catholics and Protestants

• The Nazis enjoyed strong support in the Protestant rural areas in the north, east and central parts of Germany

  • The atheism of communism frightened many German Christians into supporting the Nazis

• However, the appeal of the Nazis was very limited amongst Germany's Catholics

  • The majority of the Catholic votes remained with the Catholic Centre Party

The tactics and fortunes of the Communists (KPD)

• The KPD had held a strong appeal for working-class voters in industrial areas throughout the Weimar period

  • It was supported by trade unions, and many trade union members voted for the KPD

• The KPD argued that the Great Depression was the final crisis of capitalism and saw it as an opportunity to bring about a communist revolution

  • Their membership more than doubled after the Wall Street Crash, rising from 117,000 in 1929 to 360,000 in 1932

• However, this enormous increase in membership did not translate to a dramatic increase in votes, despite a very effective propaganda operation

  • The KPD won 10.6% of the vote in the May 1928 elections

  • This increased to 13.1% in September 1930 and 14.5% in the July 1932 elections

• The KPD failed to broaden their appeal, particularly amongst women

  • They also targeted and attacked the SPD, who were also on the left-wing but more moderate

  • This divided the left-wing vote, which benefited the Nazis

  • The increase in KPD membership also benefited the Nazis, as it convinced many middle-class people that they had to vote for Hitler to prevent a communist revolution

The role of Nazi propaganda

• The NSDAP's political campaigns in 1930 and 1932 also increased its popularity

• Led by Josef Goebbels, the imaginative and innovative propaganda campaign was very well funded by big businesses

• Among other things, the campaign:

  • Flew Hitler around Germany

  • Organised impressive marches and rallies

  • Produced posters, radio broadcasts and pamphlets

• Goebbels realised that Hitler's ability as a public speaker was a very effective propaganda tool

  • The use of an aeroplane enabled Hitler to make several speeches across Germany

• Whatever the method, Nazi propaganda repeated the same messages:

  • Those who signed the Treaty of Versailles were traitors and criminals

  • Jewish people were the 'enemies of Germany'

  • The Nazis would return Germany to greatness and traditional values

“No other political movement has understood the art of propaganda as well as the National Socialists. From its beginnings, it has put heart and soul into propaganda.

What distinguishes it from all other political parties is the ability to see into the soul of the people and to speak the language of the man in the street. It uses all the means of modern technology. Leaflets, handbills, posters, mass demonstrations, the press, stage, film and radio – these are all tools of our propaganda. Whether or not they serve or harm the people depends on the use to which they are put.

In the long run, propaganda will reach the broad masses of the people only if at every stage it is uniform. Nothing confuses the people more than lack of clarity or aimlessness. The goal is not to present the common man with as many varied and contradictory theories as possible. The essence of propaganda is not in variety, but rather the forcefulness and persistence with which one selects ideas from the larger pool and hammers them into the masses using the most varied methods."

Doctor Josef Goebbels speaking about the importance of propaganda in 1931

Why did extremism grow in the years 1928–1932?

• The question of why extremism grew in Germany between 1928 and 1932 is debated by historians

• Some argue that it was down to the Great Depression

  • This argument points to the electoral results for extremist parties before and after the Wall Street Crash

• Others argue that right-wing extremists had always existed in large numbers in Weimar Germany, but it took Hitler and the Nazis to unite them

  • They argue that a large portion of the German population held right-wing beliefs throughout the 1920s but, until Hitler, their votes were too spread out to make an impact in elections