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The Main reasons why Hitler rose to power in Germany are: 1. Due to the effects of first world war . 2. Treaty of Versailles . 3. Failure of Weimar Republic government to tackle the problems faced by the nation. 4. Rise of political radicalism . 5. Hyperinflation and Economic crisis . 6. Years of depression after 1929. This crisis in the economy, polity and society formed the background to Hitlers rise to power. Born in 1889 in Austria, Hitler spent his youth in poverty. When the First World War broke out, he enrolled for the army, acted as a messenger in the front, became a corporal, and earned medals for bravery. The German defeat horrified him and the Versailles Treaty made him furious. In 1919, he joined a small group called the German Workers Party. He subsequently took over the organisation and renamed it the National Socialist German Workers Party. This party came to be known as the Nazi Party. In 1923, Hitler planned to seize control of Bavaria, march to Berlin and capture pow...

The years between 1924 and 1928 saw some stability. Yet this stability was built on sand. German investments and industrial recovery were totally dependent on short-term loans, largely from the USA. This support was withdrawn when the Wall Street Exchange crashed in1929. Fearing a fall in prices, people made frantic efforts to sell their shares. On one single day, 24 October, 13 million shares were sold.This was the start of the Great Economic Depression. Over the next three years, between 1929 and 1932, the national income of the USA fell by half. Factories shut down, exports fell, farmers were badly hit and speculators withdrew their money from the market. The effectsof this recession in the US economy were felt worldwide. The German economy was the worst hit by the economic crisis. By 1932, industrial production was reduced to 40 per cent of the 1929 level. Workers lost their jobs or were paid reduced wages. The number of unemployed touched an unprecedented 6 million. On...

Germany had fought the First World war largely on loans and had to pay war  reparations  in gold. This  depleted  gold reserves at a time resources were scarce. In 1923 Germany refused to pay, and the French occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr, to claim their coal. Germany retaliated with passive resistance and printed paper currency recklessly. With too much  printed money in circulation, the value of the German mark fell. In April the US dollar was equal to 24,000 marks, in July 353,000 marks, in August 4,621,000 marks  and  at 98,860,000 marks by December, the figure had run into trillions.  single bread costs 4.6million in Germany during 1923 As the value of the mark collapsed, prices of goods soared. The image of Germans carrying cartloads of currency notes to buy a loaf of bread was widely publicised evoking worldwide sympathy. This crisis came to be known as hyperinflation , a situation when prices rise phenomenally ...

The birth of the Weimar Republic coincided with the revolutionary uprising of the Spartacist League on the pattern of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Soviets of workers and sailors were established in many cities. The political atmosphere in Berlin was charged with demands for Soviet-style governance.  this is a rally organised by the radical group known as the Spartacist League. In the winter of 1918-1919 the streets of Berlin were taken over by the people. Political demonstrations became common. Those opposed to this  such as the socialists, Democrats and Catholics  met in Weimar to give shape to the democratic republic. The Weimar Republic crushed the uprising with the help of a war veterans organisation called Free Corps .  The  anguished Spartacists later founded  the Communist Party of Germany.  Communists and Socialists henceforth became irreconcilable enemies and could not make common cause against Hitler.  Both revolutiona...

The war had a devastating impact on the entire continent both psychologically and financially. From a continent of creditors, Europe turned into one of debtors. Unfortunately, the infant Weimar Republic was being made to pay for the sins of the old empire. The republic carried the burden of war guilt and national humiliation and was financially crippled by being forced to pay compensation. Those who  supported the Weimar Republic, mainly Socialists, Catholics and Democrats,  became easy  targets  of  attack  in the conservative nationalist circles.  They  were  mockingly  called the  November criminals . This mindset had a major impact on the political developments of the early 1930s, as we will soon see. The  First World War left a deep imprint on European society and polity. "Soldiers came to be placed above civilians. Politicians and publicists laid great stress on the need for men to be aggressive, strong and masculine. The...

Germany, a powerful empire in the early years of the twentieth century,  fought the First World War (1914-1918) alongside the Austrian empire  and against the Allies (England, France and Russia). All joined the war enthusiastically hoping to gain from a quick victory. Little did they realise that the war would stretch on, eventually draining Europe of all its resources. Germany made initial gains by occupying France and Belgium. However the Allies, strengthened by the US entry in 1917, won , defeating Germany and the Central Powers in November 1918.The defeat of Imperial Germany and the abdication of the emperor gave an opportunity to parliamentary parties to recast German polity. A National Assembly met at Weimar and established a democratic constitution with a federal structure. Deputies were now elected tothe German Parliament or Reichstag, on the basis of equal and universal votes cast by all adults including women.This republic, however, was not received well by its own p...

In the spring of 1945, a little eleven-year-old German boy called Helmuth was lying in bed when he overheard his parents discussing something in serious tones. His father, a prominent physician, deliberated with his wife whether the time had come to kill the entire family, or if he should commit suicide alone. His father spoke about his fear of revenge, saying, Now the  Allies  will do to us what we did to the crippled and Jews. The  next day,  he took Helmuth to the woods, where  they spent their last happy  time together,  singing  old childrens songs.  Later,  Helmuths  father  shot  himself  in  his office.  Helmuth remembers  that he saw his fathers  bloody  uniform being burnt  in  the family fireplace. So traumatised was he by what he had overheard and what had happened, that he reacted by refusing to eat at home for the following nine years! He was afraid that his...

In 1920 the British imposed a harsh treaty on the Turkish Sultan or Khalifa. Muslims were keen that the Khalifa be allowed to retain control over Muslim sacred places in the erstwhile Ottoman Empire. The khilafat movement was launched by Muslims of British India led by  Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Abdul kalam Azad to restore the Khalifa of the Ottoman khalifat who was considered the leader of Sunni Muslims, as an effective political authority.     Ali brothers It was a protest against the sanctions placed on the Khalifa and the Ottoman empire after the First world war by the Treaty of Sevres. The leaders of the Khilafat agitation, Mohammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, initiated a full-fledged Non-Cooperation Movement against the Britishers, Indian National Congress (INC) also supported their cause and joined them. The movemen...