by Timothy Hoarwood

Created on: July 21, 2009   Last Updated: August 06, 2011

Why was Hitler So Popular in 1933?

Over the space of 3 years, the percentage of votes held by the Nazi party since 1930 more than doubled, from 18 to 43 percent. How did the Nazi party become so incredibly popular?

It is worth first examining the circumstances that affected Hitler's rise to power. In 1930, the Great Depression, a worldwide economic downturn, hit Germany. The German economy had already been damaged by the cost of the Versailles treaty, which demanded huge payments to the Allies. When Germany could not pay, French troops seized mining and manufacturing areas, further damaging the economy. As the depression arrived, the already unpopular government, slow to make decisions due to its democratic nature, tightened budgets and cut public spending. This proved to be hugely unpopular with everyone. Discontent with the democracy was high and people began to turn to the Nazis, with their promises of a strong and efficient dictatorship.

This promise of strength was further reinforced by Hitler's strength of character. People saw what Hitler called 'the men in grey suits' (the members of the current Democratic Party) as weak and incapable of making the quick and radical decisions that would drive the country forward to greatness. Hitler came across as an individual who would efficiently do the things necessary to make Germany great again. This image was assisted by his skills as an orator - he could slowly add tension to his voice and thus the audience of his speeches, until he finally reached the climax of his speech and animatedly revealed the policies he would put in place. He came across as extremely committed to Germany's success.

Interestingly, Hitler's policies were not particularly good. His promises and ideas were standard for most right-wing parties of the time. His speeches could be extremely vague and lacking in detail and did little to distinguish him from other right-wing parties. One of, if not his only, distinguishing policies was his extreme anti-Semitism. Whilst the Jews made a useful scapegoat for the ills of the country, the whole concept was resoundingly unpopular and lost him a fair number of votes.

Several interesting pieces of information can be gleaned from looking at exactly who voted for Hitler. It seems that his votes came mainly from the middle classes, especially young, relatively prosperous men. It becomes apparent that many people voted for Hitler simply to vote in opposition to communism. The middle classes did not want their possessions to disappear into state ownership or to lose a large chunk of their wealth. They were extremely worried by the lower class, who, seeing how Communism could benefit for them, were likely to vote Communist in large numbers. Hitler was openly anti-communist, so whether they liked his anti-Semitic policies became less relevant - they voted for the man who promised to 'protect Germany from the Communists'.

A final factor that insured Hitler's success was his grasp of media and propaganda. The ceaseless marches, mass rallies and similar events assisted in demonstrating the 'strength' of the Nazi party. He also was the first politician to use film as part of his campaign. Carefully edited pieces of footage by prominent directors drove home the Nazi message. At a time when the effect of new types of media was little understood, the Nazis had mastered them.

In conclusion, Hitler was simply the right man, at the right time, with a good amount of propaganda behind him. He was the man to lead a broken Germany forward into an era of greatness. His actual policies were almost irrelevant - it was the general image his party projected that attracted so many people, rather than his exact aims.

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