Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Dictatorship The Nazis used a number of tactics to seize power in Germany. First of all, Germany was put in a bad situation at the end of World War I. According to the Treaty of Versailles, which ended that war, Germany was forced to give up large amounts of territory, and pay billions of dollars in reparations to France and Britain. This caused panic in the German economy, and German money became virtually worthless. In addition, the democratic German government that came into power after the war—known as the “Weimar Republic”—was not particularly stable or popular. And when the Great Depression hit in 1929, things got even worse. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi allies exploited the unrest in the German population in a number of ways. They convinced a large number of people that Germany needed a strong leader to return the country to greatness, and that the problems Germany faced were all the fault of Communists, foreigners, and Jewish people. Hitler’s supporters used violence to intimidate their political opponents, and eventually attracted millions of followers. On January 30, 1933, Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany, the highest position in the German government. He only received about a third of the vote, but since many different parties ran in the election, Hitler’s share was more than his opponents’. Shortly after Hitler was elected, the German parliament building—called the Reichstag—burned down. History has proven that the fire was
