Hitler Was Able to Win

Hitler was able to win power and destroy German democracy not only because of Versailles, but because the German people did not see democracy, their Weimer constitution, as worth preserving.

WWI played a key role in history of modern Germany for the remainder of the twentieth century. Failure in war, which lea to deep economical crisis and abysmal casualties (2 millions dead and 4.5 million wounded) changed the whole political and social orientation of German society. The nation, once the most dynamically developing in Europe, was humiliated, depressed and impoverished. Taxes were abnormally high and salaries became miserly. Failure in war turned into prolonged social and physiological stagnation of the whole nation, which was disillusioned by horrors of war and absurdity of its aims. The attempt to reform Germany according to the principles of European democracy and parliamentarism failed, as Germans were not prepared for liberties and responsibilities of demilitarized democratic society. Crash of Weimar republic led to restoration of militarism and radical nationalism again.

By the end of the WWI it became obvious that the state was unable to control political and social tendencies in society with ruining economy. Militarist regime of production played the most dreadful role for German economy, which could not be aided or subsidized from abroad so that it did not recover until 1933. Absurdity of war was becoming clear by the end of 1916 and anti-war tendencies were quickly spreading among the most economically vulnerable classes. Imperial propaganda was becoming less convincing as even German commanders didn't believe in victory after the U.S.A. entered war. Fast social and economical changes of 1917-1918 led to inevitable processes inside the empire: strikes, inflation, stagnation. Inability to stand economical burden of the wartime led to chaos and resulted in November Revolution of 1918, close to Russian scenario. Revolution started in army and navy and quickly spread over the whole Kaiser Empire with demands of absolutism abolishment, establishment of democratic civil society in the form of republic.

Nevertheless, it became obvious several decades later that revolution and tendency towards democratic state had no ideological and political background and they were mainly dictated by economical hardships of wartime. Kaiser propaganda set a very firm basis for the idea of German superiority, chauvinism and radical nationalism. Same premises led to the victory of Bolsheviks in Russian empire as their political program was based on the principles of populism and had very little similar to real socialist ideas. Parties of socialist ideology (the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany) played a very important role in November revolution and they also were the initiators of wide democratic liberties in future German monarchy-free state. Nevertheless, Russian scenario failed to work in Germany due to cultural and ideological dependence of workers from ruling elite formed by centuries of regulated labor relations. Divergence issues in programs of these two parties led to failure of cooperative struggle and failure of revolution in January of 1919. None of the political parties of either conservative ideology similar to German imperialism or new leftist parties of socialist orientation had influence and control over the whole country, as the society was involved in after war chaos. Social and political schism inside the state was also proved by elections of 1919 to Reichstag (parliament) when rightist parties, which represented the interests of upper and middle classes, received 54.5% of votes and the SDP, together with the ISDP, received 45.5% of the votes.

Such coalition of conservatives and liberals in the parliament created one of the most liberal constitutions in Europe of that time. New German constitution was adopted at the town of Weimar on July 31, 1919 (German government was later referred to as the "Weimar Republic.") Weimar constitution was a turning point in German politicos and German history, as it marked quick transformation from militarized semi-absolutism monarchic state to a civil democratic republic. Made for the good of German nation, constitution became the source of fatal premises, which sentenced it to failure. Unlike other states, which initiated control over political life and activity of political parties in order to prevent society from unpredicted social changes, German constitution guaranteed wide political freedoms and freedom of political activity for all political parties. In society involved in economical stagnation and after war crisis of disillusionment it was a fatal decision, which quickly led to growth of revengist political ideologies.

Excessive political freedoms did not correlate with difficult economical situation and social depression caused by the failure in war. Such unbalanced amount of freedoms only led to the deepening of social and economical contradictions. The most ruining role was played by the results of Versailles treaty, as country was adversely impacted by reparations, which had to be pay to the victors of WWI. That's how Peter Gay described German delegation on Paris conference: "Members of delegation were greatly humiliated. The anguish of defeat and the sense of guilt had created a kind of inferiority complex from which most members of the delegation suffered..." Versailles treaty put an end to previous German economical power as it was deprived of its possessions in Africa and in Pacific, it lost strategic ports along the Baltic coast (for example Danzig) and provinces which were annexed from France: Alsace-Lorraine and region of Saar: "The French under Poincare occupied the Ruhr, the government announced passive resistance, and among the German masses the feeling of danger was set."

So the Weimar republic lost 75% of iron mining capacity, 25% of coal mining capacity and 35% of steel production capacity of Keiser Germany. For a country that had been an industrial leader in Europe before 1914 it was a serious blow.

Neither German society nor German economy was prepared for such changes. The policy of "iron and blood" proclaimed by German counselor Otto von Bismarck during the period of unification and which dominated the mindset even of the most progressive thinkers of the epoch had nothing similar to principles promoted by Weimar constitution and sudden cutting of heavy industry production on the hand with demilitarization. In many respects the principles set in Weimar constitution promoted further ruining of the country, which was unpardonable for German nation. These uncontrolled processes led to mass unemployment and rampant poverty. It's important to say that practices of investment into after war economies are integral components of development and restoration of any after war country, but in 1920's they were not applied to Germany at all from the side of either Allies or the United States. In any case, investment into German economy would have been vital for country's rehabilitation and would have been profitable for investors. But in the case of Weimar republic they did not take place.

No wonder, new government was unable to regulate economic and social processes. Germany lacked resources, fuel, goods and even foodstuffs, which it demanded to survive. Speculation was common everywhere and the exchange rate of Deutsch Mark was falling. Inflation caused by reparations to war victors turned into hyperinflation in some few years and government did nearly nothing to stop it:.".. What the salary was worth was difficult to estimate; its value changed from month to month. One month 100 million marks could be quite a substantial sum; a little while later 500 milliards would be small change."

An important role in preserving the state from stability was inability to create centralized system of government as lands (regions) preserved wide autonomies from central government. Such land as Prussia, due to its size and industrial potential remained a "state inside a state" and functioned independently. Inability to solve the issue of federalism in constitution led to economical disintegrity and only deepened chaos of early 1920's.

Understandably reparations cut Weimar republic's potential, by changes in territorial structure and losses in industry and economy sector. Germany was turned into depression; alcoholism and frustration became common practice: Peter Gay describes depression in Germany as following:

Stefan Zweig was one who projected his horror at later events onto his horror of Berlin in the time of inflation: "Berlin," he writes, "transformed itself into the Babel of the world. Bars, amusement parks, pubs shot up like mushrooms. What we had seen in Austria proved to be merely a mild and timid prelude to this witches' sabbath, for the Germans brought to perversion all their vehemence and love of system."

The crisis in Weimar republic was taking place at the same time when the rest of the western world was experiencing economic "prosperity" and after war growth. Such uneasy situation was the most terrible humiliation for German nation, which as a result created fertile soil for the development of revengeful attitudes and xenophobia among different social classes. Germany lost its sense of national dignity in just a few years, as there was nothing left from prior years of superiority and power of Keiser Empire.

Weimar constitution with its liberal ideas could not be applied for such state as Germany. Political freedoms guaranteed by constitution did not correlate with realities of after war, which was proved by Reichstag elections. Conservatives and socialists splitted society and failed to create a functioning coalition. After years of authoritarian monarchic control, proportional system of election led society to political chaos, as nearly 20 parties with different political programs from communist to right radicals were represented in Reichstag. None of country's politicians was successful either in diplomacy or in the art of achieving compromise. The experience of political pluralism led to political and economical disorientation in society, as in a period of 1919-1933 Germany witnessed several temporary coalitions in parliament and twelve governments, which were unable to stabilize country's economy.

Haffner describes that political crisis was a common attribute of Weimar republic's pluralism: "From 1914 to 1923 all governments had been weak" German parliamentarians of Weimar republic faced a common problem of all young political parties. Being one of the most popular parties in the country with wide support in society and even being the official party for several years, SDPG appeared to be ineffective state manager. Nearly all parties of socialist orientation lacked professionals in the sphere of economy, state administration and foreign politics. Their programs were mainly based on the critics of Kaiser Germany and on critics of conservatives, but they didn't want to accept that society lived according to those traditions and all spheres of life were based on centuries of such traditions.

A number of SDPG member betrayed ideals of their political program, which were directed on promoting social reforms and establishment of prototype of welfare state, as they too the side of big business. Often, national corporations used political influence of Social Democrats for lobbying their interests, which had nothing common with interests of German nation. Political disorientation of parliament and government led to the growth of working movement in 1919-1923, which culminated in a general strike and Hamburg revolt of workers on October 23, 1923. Social Democrats refused from office but the new counselor was neither successful:

the Bruning regime was the first essay and model of a form of government that has since been copied in many European countries: the semi-dictatorship in the name, and in defense, of democracy against fully fledged dictatorship... Anyone who takes the trouble to study Bruning's rule in depth will find all those factors that make this sort of government the inevitable forerunner of the very thing it is supposed to prevent: its discouragement of its own supporters; its lack of ideological weapons against enemy propaganda; the way it surrenders the initiative; and its collapse at the end... Bruning had nothing to offer the country but poverty, the curtailment of liberty, and the assurance that there was no alternative." number of government officials in judicial power were uncontrolled. Judicial power was the only branch of power, which avoided considerable reformation, a number of judges from Kaiser times saved their positions during Weimar republic. No wonder they were supporters of conservative ideas and right radical ideologies. In their actions they didn't promote the order of Weimar republic, but wanted restoration of "old iron order" instead. It's enough to tell that uncontrolled and unsupervised activity of judicial power led to the spread of Nazism in Germany as it did not take any measures to prevent the spread of nationalist and chauvinist ideologies. For example only one person went to prison out of 700 accused in Kapp Putsch, Hitler spent in prison only 9 months. (Under conditions of objective legislature Hitler would have spent some 10-15 years in prison).

Uneasy political and social climate did not fulfill the interests of national corporations and aristocracy who lost their traditional privileges, for they sought stability, economic freedom and stable taxation policies. The new government of Weimar republic didn't meet the demands of former soldiers and officers who lost their jobs and considered themselves to have been "betrayed' by the motherland. The working class, whose situation was becoming more and more untenable with each passing year, could not see their needs being met in any way, shape, manner or form. The spirit of militarism, nationalism, dignity and Junkerism (philosophy of Keiser Germany ruling classes) lived in the minds of millions. Those who saw hope for better in ideology of Social Democrats or in other liberal ideas of democrats still had deep sympathy and nostalgia for the "good old times" of "iron order," as" those committed to maintaining democracy and good relations with other countries were continually divided over reparation and rearmamentr issues" (Eyck, 1963 chs 5,6)

No wonder that, in such period of social and political crisis, favorable conditions were created for the spread of radical political ideology of extreme nationalism, which would defend national interests and revive nationalist ideas. This party appeared to be NSDAP or the National Socialist German Workers Party, led by Adolph Hitler. It had radical ideology based on militarism, authoritarianism, anti-Semitism and suppression of Communism. Moreover, the Weimar republic didn't have any immunity from fascism, as it was a very democratic state that guaranteed a set of political liberties for different ideologies and had fascism supporters in judicial branch of power. Weimar republic had no political power to resist the spread of radical nationalism and its government didn't have any support in society.