I believe it is peace for our time. After being released from prison, Hitler vowed to work within the parliamentary system to avoid a repeat of the Beer Hall Putsch setback. In the s, however, the Nazi Party was still a fringe group of ultraextremists with little political power. It received only 2. But the worldwide economic depression and the rising power of labor unions and communists convinced increasing numbers of Germans to turn to the Nazi Party.
The Nazis fed on bank failures and unemployment—proof, Hitler said, of the ineffectiveness of democratic government. Hitler pledged to restore prosperity, create civil order by crushing industrial strikes and street demonstrations by communists and socialists , eliminate the influence of Jewish financiers, and make the fatherland once again a world power.
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How Did Hitler Happen? Adolf Hitler. Like this article? Read more in our online classroom. European Theater of Operations.
He developed his political ideas in Vienna, a city with a large Jewish community, where he lived from to In those days, Vienna had a mayor who was very anti-Jewish, and hatred of Jews was very common in the city. At the end of the war he, and many other German soldiers like him, could not get over the defeat of the German Empire. The German army command spread the myth that the army had not lost the war on the battlefield, but because they had been betrayed.
Hitler bought into the myth: Jews and communists had betrayed the country and brought a left-wing government to power that had wanted to throw in the towel.
By blaming the Jews for the defeat, Hitler created a stereotypical enemy. Although he saw little action, he did receive an award for courage shown. When Germany surrendered in November , Hitler was in a military hospital. His eyes had been hurt in a poison gas attack in Belgium. Confined to his sickbed, he heard the news of the German surrender, which plunged him into a deep crisis. The German defeat was hard to swallow for many Germans, and for Hitler, too. According to this myth, Germany did not lose the war on the battlefield, but through betrayal at the home front.
The Jews, Social Democrats, and Communists were held responsible. The prejudices about the role of the Jews in the war were false. An investigation carried out by the German Government proved as much. Over one hundred thousand German and Austrian Jews had fought for their fatherland. After the First World War, Germany was in chaos. Once the German emperor had gone, rebellions erupted everywhere. Left-wing groups tried to seize power in many places.
In Munich, for instance, a 'People's Republic' of Bavaria was proclaimed during a brief revolution. It provoked a right-wing reaction, which in turn resulted in bloodshed. Hitler was very much impressed by these events. At that point, he was still in the army, and that was where he discovered his oratory talents. Before long, the army had him give training courses, intended to warn soldiers of the communist danger and to stir up feelings of nationalism.
It was the start of his political career. Against the backdrop of revolution and violence, Hitler's antisemitism was becoming increasingly radical.
It is noteworthy that he said he did not support uncontrolled 'emotional' pogroms outbursts of anti-Jewish violence. As early as August , Hitler compared the Jews to germs. He stated that diseases cannot be controlled unless you destroy their causes. The influence of the Jews would never disappear without removing its cause, the Jew, from our midst, he said.
These radical ideas paved the way for the mass murder of the Jews in the s. Hitler blamed the Jews for everything that was wrong with the world.
Germany was weak and in decline due to the 'Jewish influence'. According to Hitler, the Jews were after world dominance. And they would not hesitate to use all possible means, including capitalism.
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