Methods for Rise to Power

1. IDEOLOGY
A. Strength / certainty
a. Kershaw describes as a “quasi-messianic commitment to his ideas”, which:
i. Drove Hitler himself forward;
ii. Swayed his inner circle to drive the movement;
iii. Held rhetoric force to sway the masses to support the movement.
b. Achieved through the reduction of ideology to ‘basic truths’ which cut through class difference,
and turned resentment for the Republic into support for the Nazis, for example:
i. Revisionism - he slammed Stresemann’s policy of détente; capitalised off of propagating the
‘Stab in the Back’ and ‘November Criminals’ myths.
ii. Jewish Bolshevism (negative cohesion) - he combined anti-semitism and anti-marxism;
propagated the idea that marxists were jews / controlled by jews, who were planning a
‘world conspiracy’ to undermine national unity. The ‘Eternal Jew’ was his universal
scapegoat, a simple explanation for all of Germany’s problems and offered an easy solution.
iii. Völkish Nationalism (postive cohesion) - propagated the utopian vision of a classless, pure,
Aryan society. Aryans were seen as the ‘bearers of culture’, while Jews/marxists as ‘inferior
people’.
c. This ideology translated into specific domestic and foreign policy goals:
i. The elimination of Jews and Marxists;
ii. Revision of the Treaty of Versailles;
iii. Lebensraum or ‘living space’ for the German Aryan race in Eastern Europe through a war of
conquest against the Soviet Union.
d. Overall, it was a “set of inter-related ideas which congealed into a cohesive ideology” (Kershaw)
B. Flexibility / pragmatism
a. Through Hitler’s convictions never wavered, he was prepared to be pragmatic about the
presentation of his ideas to the public; in other words, the focus was on political effectiveness,
for example:
i. Marginalised the ‘National Socialists’, i.e. the more radically socialist wing of the Nazi
Party, which was led by Gregor Strasser and argued for state control of economics and
resources of a nation, because such ideas alienated business and army support. He later also
purged these elements from the Nazi Party during the Night of the Long Knives 1934.
ii. Emphasised anti-marxism more so than radical anti-semitism (Hamilton) ; Kershaw also
finds that during the period of the NSDAP’s major electoral success, anti-semitism featured
less prominently in Hitler and his party’s rhetoric.
iii. Emphasised anti-marxism and anti-semitism in the propagation of Völkish ideals, unlike
other Völkish groups at the time who were anti-capitalism, anti-big business, and believed
that the modern industrial society should be dismantled and the Germans returned to the
land.
 b. Hitler and the party also made specific pledges to each class sector, based on recommendations
from the specialised department within the Nazi Party who was tasked with identifying sources
of public discontent, for example:
i. Rural - the Agricultural Affairs Bureau led by Richard Darre increased rural support by
promising land reform; was so effective that the support from rural communities for the Nazi
party rose from 22% in 1930 to 60% in 1933.
ii. Youth - the ‘Hitler’s Youth’ organisation worked to popularise the Party amongst the youth;
by 1932, the organisation had 100,000 members.
iii. Women - many were convinced by the Nazi rhetoric regarding strengthening the institution
of family.
iv. Upper class / big business - largely pragmatic support because of the Nazi Party’s anti-
communism + promise of a disciplined and constrained work force.
v. Working class - made up 40% of Nazi voters.
c. “The Nazis could speak the language of both national solidarity and sectarian special
interest” (T. Childers)
2. ORGANISATION
A. Centralised / hierarchical / very efficient
a. Führerprinzip or ‘leadership principal’:
i. “I alone lead the movement” - Hitler.
ii. Simple and strict structure; resembled an army more so than a political party.
iii. Power was devolved from the centre to regional Gauleiters or ‘regional officials’ who’s task
was to carry out the ‘Führer’s will’ (which provided essential goals) and were responsible to
him alone. Disputes between Gauleiters strengthened Hitler’s own power, as he arbitrated
them.
iv. A host of auxiliary organisations.
b. The obedience and discipline was exemplified through marches, rallies, uniform, paramilitary
drills, etc.
c. This organisational strength functioned to maintain mass belief in the Party because it
constructed with the “weak, divided Weimar parties” (Kershaw)
3. PROPAGANDA
A. Hitler’s speeches
a. His entrance was always delayed to build up tension.
b. His appearance was accompanied by a procession of flag-bearing, drum-beating supporters
c. The Nuremberg Rallies, held annually from 1927 onwards; became a quasi-religious event;
powerful display of Nazi passion.
B. Party-appointed public speakers
a. Required to undertake training, be approved by central office, and also submit all speeches to
party headquarters for approval.
b. Given detailed instructions on how to present issues to potential voters.
c. Active form of campaigning; not only during election period.
C. Flag
 a. The memorable Swastika logo was a key, potent symbol of party identity.
D. Posters
a. Memorable, e.g. ‘one people, one nation, one leader’; depiction of workers in favourable terms
and communists as bearded foreigners.
E. Use of modern technology
a. As asserted by Albert Speer, “Hitler was one of the first to avail himself to the means of
modern technology”.
b. ‘Airplane campaigns’ - flew into regions, showed face and then left; had effect of raising the
profile of the party.
4. HITLER HIMSELF
A. Ability
a. Strength & certainty - ‘the power of the ‘idea’ (Kershaw)