Twenty fast facts about the conditions leading to Hitler's rise to power
- IB History examiner and educator
- May 8
- 2 min read
The time period relevant for Hitler’s rise to power is 1919 to 1933.
Germany was defeated in World War I in 1918 and forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
The Treaty of Versailles was a diktat (forced peace) and required Germany to accept war guilt as well as reparations payments of $33 billion.
The Treaty of Versailles shocked the German people as it was nothing like Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points, which they had expected the treaty to be based upon.
The German Kaiser abdicated in 1918 and was replaced by the Weimar Republic.
The politicians of the Weimar Republic signed the Treaty of Versailles and were blamed for ‘stabbing’ Germany in ‘the back’ (betraying Germany).
The Weimar Republic was weak from the start because the parliament, the Reichstag, was elected through proportional representation which usually led to the formation of weak coalition governments.
The Weimar Republic was also weak because of Article 48 of the constitution which gave considerable ‘emergency powers’ to the President in an ‘emergency situation’.
The Weimar Republic was threatened by the Spartacus League, an extreme left-wing socialist movement, who attempted to overthrow the Republic in 1919.
The Weimar Republic was also threatened by the Kapp Putsch in 1920, a right-wing attempt to overthrow the Republic.
From 1920 to 1922 the Weimar Republic was subject to ‘White Terror’ where the Freikorps, demobilized right-wing soldiers, committed 400 political murders.
In 1923, the Weimar Republic failed to pay the reparations due under the Treaty of Versailles and French and Belgian troops consequently occupied the Ruhr industrial region, triggering the Ruhr Crisis.
Following the invasion of the Ruhr, the Weimar government ordered workers in the Ruhr to take part in passive resistance and over-printed money to pay these workers leading to hyperinflation.
The Ruhr Crisis and hyperinflation were solved by Gustav Stresemann who formed a ‘Grand Coalition’ of political parties, abandoned passive resistance, renewed reparation payments, and introduced a new currency called the Rentenmark.
In 1924, Stresemann negotiated the Dawes Plan with the US which meant that the US would loan Germany money to help them pay for their reparations.
Between 1925 and 1929 the German economy was boosted by loans from the US.
In 1929, the Wall Street Crash happened in the US and the US recalled its loans to Germany.
As a result of the Wall Street Crash and the subsequent Great Depression, Germany had to close many factories and unemployment skyrocketed from 2 million in 1929 to 6 million in 1932.
The Grand Coalition government’s response to the economic depression seemed weak and the coalition broke down in March 1930.
The succeeding government, led by chancellor Bruning, also failed to deal effectively with the Great Depression.
If you found these 20 fast facts helpful, check out the IB History Essentials Study Notes which offer concise overviews for those feeling overwhelmed with content.
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