Why did many Germans support Hitler's rise to power?

Answer 1

Hitler's political ascent began during the difficult times Germany faced after the first Great War (WWI) and the Great Depression, which touched Germany in 1930.

Like many (mostly Fascist) politicians did before him, he employed hooligans and trouble makers to cause street violence and fear, even before he achieved his first successes in politics.

Hitler, who is said to have been a superb orator, used classic themes of nationalism, Aryan supremacy and anti-semitism. In the manner of Mussolini he presented himself as an anti-communist.

Finally, the burning of the Reichstag building, just before elections were to take place, was used to cement a fear of Communism and what was then called International Jewry. This event was used to suspend civil rights, and transformed a democratically elected chancellor into a dictator.

In short, the easiest way to make a populace compliant is produce, or take advantage of a disaster or act of terrorism, and then blame that action on a minority group.

After the Reichstag fire, Hitler blamed it on the Communists and the Jews. He exploited that tragedy for political gain to manipulate his people into believing they were in a great deal of danger and when he instituted policies that took away citizens' rights, he claimed he was doing it for their safety and everyone blindly went along with it. And that's when the Nazi's reign of terror began and they just started looking for enemies everywhere.

The Germans didn't see Hitler for what he was. He was an evil man who tried to cloak his misdeeds with the pretext of serving a greater good. Hitler didn't just tell his people "You don't have any rights." He couldn't do that. He needed an excuse to take away their rights. Create a terrifying enemy, make them seem worse than they really are, tell people they're in a great deal of danger and we must do whatever it takes to protect ourselves. "We must do this or we'll all die." And then eventually, the people just succumb to their government taking care of them and they blindly give up their freedoms for the sake of more safety. That's how dictatorships start. That's how the Germans allowed Hitler's rise to power.

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There's a very good book on the subject by Richard J. Evans entitled The Coming of the Third Reich, published by Penguin Books.