Why was Hitler so popular with the German people before WWII?

Question

Why did people follow him? What factors contributed to his rise as a world leader? Why were the Germans so willing to follow him? How can we prevent a psychopath like him from ever gaining power again?

Answer 1

You have to know how Germany situation was in the time Hitler became chancellor. After the WWI , the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and the depression in 1930, the german people suffered from high unemployment and poverty. But before explaining the rest it is important to make clear two points:

1. First of all Hitler did not show his true face at the beginning.

2. Second, Hitler was not elected by the people, he was appointed by the President Paul von Hindenburg as Chancellor of Germany. To be fair, he has done that because in one hand, he did not see a better solution and in the other he was pushed by right-wing advisors.

Now lets go to the History:

A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to convey a sense of offended national pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles imposed on the defeated German Empire by the Western Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory in Europe along with its colonies and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge reparations bill totaling 132 billion marks.

Most Germans bitterly resented these terms but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly successful with the electorate.

But the political turning point for Hitler came when the Great Depression hit Germany in 1930. It was usual to see people at the streets trying to get any job. As some people have already appointed, Hitler became very popular not only because he was carismastic but also because he promised a way to go out of the missery.

It is also very important to say, that many germans did not know (al least at the beginning) all the terrible things that Hitler did not only to Jews but also to Slavs, Roma, homosexuals, freemasons, political dissidents, priests, preachers, religious opponents, and the disabled, amongst others. By the moment the German people took knowledge about that it was just too late.

You also should take in consideration that like each dictator in the history, Hitler manipulated the information as it was convenient for him. He had a wonderful (I hate to admit that) Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda: Joseph Goebbels.

My husband's mother (she is german and was a 10 years old child in 1935) told me once, that also the germans were afraid of Hitler and his SS. . Some of them helped their jews neighbors but many of them were just afraid to do something about that. It was just enough that someone inform the SA or the SS that you were a traidor (mostly because your neighborn did not like you) and you receive a call from those people.

Many soldiers did not fight because they loved Hitler or agreed with him, the did it because they had to. The alternatives were: to go in the army or to die as a traidor (not really a great one). I was told once that many german solidiers were relieved when they became prissioner of the english or the american people. It was not exactly heaven, but they knew the could survive the war.

Answer 2

in the 1933 elections Hitler got 43.9 % of the Vote Not enough to be Chancellor but the president said it was enough so appointed it Chancellor 56% never wanted Hitler Despite achieving a much better result than in the November 1932 election, the Nazis did not do as well as Hitler had hoped. Notwithstanding massive violence and intimidation, the Nazis won only 43.9% of the vote, rather than the majority that he had expected. Therefore, he was forced to maintain his coalition with the DNVP to control a majority of seats. The Communists forfeited about a fourth of their votes, while the Social Democrats suffered only moderate losses. Shortly after the election, the KPD was banned and its 81 seats (12% of the Reichstag seats) were "annulled" for the purported communist role in the Reichstag Fire. Within a few days, all of the KPD's representatives were either under arrest or were in hiding. Although the Nazi-DNVP coalition had enough seats to conduct the basic business of government, Hitler needed a two-thirds majority to pass the Enabling Act, a law which allowed the Cabinet to enact laws without the approval of the Reichstag for a four-year period. He obtained this majority by persuading the Catholic Centre Party to vote with him with regard to the Reichskonkordat. The bill was passed on 23 March with 444 against 94 votes. Only the Social Democrats led by Otto Wels opposed the measure, which came into effect on 27 March. Leaving nothing to chance, the Nazis used the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to keep several SPD deputies from attending. However, even if all 120 Social Democrats had been present the measure would have still passed with the required supermajority. The provisions of the bill turned the Hitler government into a de facto legal dictatorship. Hitler got into Power legally but not with the support of the Majority of the People

Answer 3

After Germany lost WW 1 The nations of the world basically stripped the country of everything. This left the German people feeling that they were being treated like dirt. When Hitler was rising in power, He promised to restore the country to it's former glory and return their sense of pride.

By the time he got around to the whole world domination thing, They would have done anything he asked. And they did for the most part.

Answer 4

The main this Hitler was able to do was to play on the sense of natoinalism and patriotism. He understood what they needed to hear and was able to tell them just that in a way that made such sense that the people could not help but follow him. He had an unusual talent for public speaking and I have seen intervies with Jews that were there at the time and severl have commented on his speaking presence. One even said that after litsing to one of HItler's speeches he felt ashamed to be Jewish.

As for preventing sonelike that from gainin power again, I think it is a littel too late for that. We have already had several. Men like Mohamar Khadaffi, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden to name just a few.

Answer 5

Hitler rose to power because he inspired a nation of people, that where down trodden do to the economic claps of post WW1. People wanted answers to the problems that they had to endure from day to day; Hitler gave them answer to those problems.
If, the World wants to avoid another Hitler, it needs to avoid another social economic collapse, like the one in the 1930s.
Most of the industrialized and unindustrialized World, would like to see the U.S.A economically and socially humiliated, but if the U.S.A. suffers an economic social fall, it could cause World wide economic hardships, equal to the Great Depression. If the people of today’s world turn to someone like Hitler for answer, nuclear destruction could result.
To avoid more Hitler[s], Stalin[s], and the like, the world needs stability and if the U.S.A is reduced to third world statue, the World will be a far less stable place.

Answer 6

Hitler promised the German people jobs and economic stability, and freedom from the harsh treatment of the French. Many of his more extreme policies did not come to the surface until Hitler was already in power. He gave men jobs in his personal armies, building the German moterways and the Autobann, and he made the German car brand Volswagen. He also dug in his heels where the French were concerned. Although he did many evil things...he did restore the German peoples faith in their country.

Add to that the fact that he spent hours every day writing and practicing his speaches, and invested alot of time and money in propoganda.

Answer 7

Germany was weak from the Versailles Treaty after WWI, which aimed to make them so weak they never became powerful enough to menace the world again. All this did was make Germans angry at the treaty and Hitler promised them revenge.
I hate to say it, but he was charismatic and made people like him.
He was elected the Chancellor of Germany. In the futre, we have to be less woried about causing another war, which we did anyway.

Answer 8

they beleived him, he was a great speaker, and he was a war hero. why everyone was willing to follow him? well he was a leader, he turned a small movement into a political part, and an army, and eventually gained control of everything else. it shows how something small like a city movement can turn into a complete national movement. easiest way to stop it from happening, get more stupid leaders.

Answer 9

He made good on his campaign promises, the autobahn, industry etc and the invention of the tape recorder. People thought he was a superman because his speeches were played day and night on the radio....the tape recorder was a german invention.

Answer 10

he was able to commcate with the peope. If it wasn't him starting world war 2 he would have been the the second greatest leader in history.