On Allen, Nazi Seizure of Power Essay

The great depression of the 1930s, and the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I had finished, led Germany towards the beginning of a horrific experience of political affairs and economic destruction. It was a period in which Germany was forced into becoming a democracy and to repair the damages caused during WWI. Germans were also furious and hurt because of the defeat of WWI, which placed Germany in a very vulnerable position.

Fear, economic decline and hunger, hunted Germany and drove the civilians to advance revolution. During the depression the workers were the only ones who were directly affected. They lost their jobs and lived just with what the government could give them. Despite the crisis they were facing, they remained faithful in support of the existing state (24). In the other hand the middle class were hardly touched by the depression, because even if their wages were reduced, they still had a job. More than that they were the ones who worried the most about the situation in Germany and turned to revolution (24,73).

When the middle class began to feel in trouble because of the increase in taxes, the rise in unemployment and the misperception of the government, they started to seek for answers (28). At this point the Nazis decided to take advantage and turned their propaganda not just for the working class but towards the middle class, primarily to small businessmen (26). Eventually a great majority of the middle class joined the NSDAP for answers to the economic problems. Even when they had little or no knowledge about what the Nazis planned to do once they were the ones in power (86).

Although I don’t disagree with Allen saying that the middle class turned to revolution; I would say that the middle class was not necessarily looking for a revolution, but in an attempt to

seek for a way to repair the situation in Germany, they were blinded by the greatness of the Nazis propaganda.

Nazis propaganda and campaigns efforts during 1932, were truly impressive. For instance, the “campaign contributions” in which they had tickets to the meetings for sale, and made the members pay fees (79). This funds were use to finance other activities of the NSDAP such as pamphlets, and stickers for the “door-to-door campaign” or to buy uniforms for the SA and even for radio broadcasts. As a propaganda technique they also used symbols such as the Swastika flag, that was placed on high points, to catch the attention of the people and convince them that they were the party of the future (75). By the end of October, the Nazis also began to work on the concern of economic matters, by opening a soup kitchen to provide food for those who were unemployed (74). In general, the Nazis campaigns mostly consisted of mass meetings, demonstrations by the SA men, speeches held by all kinds of speakers, lotteries, festivals and more. Campaigns that mostly consisted of mass meetings and demonstration were adopted by the name of “saturation campaign” (96).

It’s hard to tell from where did the votes came from. I believe a big percentage/majority of the votes received for the NSDAP, were because the Nazis were seen as organized, respectable and patriotic people. They seemed to be different and actually working to solve the issues, which gave the people hope and faith that things could be different and that the situation could improve. Even when great part of the people was disgust with the failure of the republic, I also believe that they voted for the NSDAP simply because they were tired from the corruption, which again comes from a certain hope that Hitler was the “ultimate solution”.

Over the course of the years the Nazis had encounter ups and downs in their political party. Since the very beginning when trying to boost up their party by gaining members and followers, all the way to gain recognition from the people and the rest of the political parties. It took time and a lot of smart strategies to try to take down the rest of the political parties and to finally gaining the absolute power over Germany.

Allen states in the preface of the first edition that “Nazi measures on the local level were a key to the establishment of the Third Reich” (xii). In the other hand, In the revise edition preface he discovers new sources and says that he “had previously neglected the upper end” (xvi). In my opinion, new sources can always have a major influence in the revise edition, since sometimes old information could have been proven to be wrong. In the other hand, new sources also give the revise edition a richer content. After reading The Nazi Seizure of power, including the preface of the first and the second edition. I can firmly say that there was no greater challenge between the first edition and the second one. By finalizing the chapters read, you can see that still from the first edition we arrive to the same conclusion of the local level being a main key for the establishment of the Third Reich.