Hitler and the Rise of the Nazi Party, 2nd Edition

A concise introduction to the early years of the Nazi party in Germany, unusual in that it argues that the roots of its early success lay primarily in the personality and appeal of Hitler himself rather than in economic crisis and the failure of the Weimar Republic.

Publisher's acknowledgements

Chronology

Who’s who

Glossary of terms and organisations

PART ONE BACKGROUND

1 THE VULNERABILITIES OF WEIMAR DEMOCRACY, 1918–1933 3

Introduction

The Impact of War

The German Revolution of 1918

The Impact of Versailles

The Culture of Violence

The Constitution and the Emergency Powers of the President

The Political Parties

The Anti-Democratic Forces within the German State

Economic Difficulties

PART TWO ANALYSIS

2 ADOLF HITLER: PERSONALITY AND EARLY LIFE

Family Background

Parents

Childhood

Youth

The Death of his Mother

The Vienna Period (1908–1913)

Hitler’s Political Ideas in Vienna

Hitler’s Anti-Semitism in Vienna

Munich(1913–1914)

The First World War

3 THE EARLY GROWTH OF THE NAZI PARTY, 1918–1924

The Birth of the Nazi Party

The Early Programme of the Nazi Party

The Emergence of Hitler as Leader of the Nazi Party

The Growth of the ‘Führer Cult’

The Munich Beer Hall Putsch

4 THE IDEOLOGY OF HITLER AND THE NAZI PARTY

Links with Fascism and Totalitarianism

The Historical Roots of Nazism

The Philosophical Roots of National Socialism

Hitler’s Central Role in Nazi Ideology

The Importance of Foreign Policy

The Centrality of Race

The Function of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Marxism in Nazi Ideology

The Folk Community

The Function of Socialism in National Socialism

5 THE NAZI PARTY: ORGANISATION, PROPAGANDA AND MEMBERSHIP

Organisation

Propaganda

Membership

6 THE NAZI BREAKTHROUGH, 1925–1930

A New Direction

Rebuilding the Nazi Party

The Strange Mystery of Hitler and Geli Raubal

The Emergence of a New Nazi Party Election Strategy

The Impact of ‘The Great Depression’

The Emergence of Hitler on the National Stage

The Nazi Electoral Breakthrough in 1930

Why Did the Nazi Party Appeal to Voters?

The Psychological Attraction of Nazism to Voters

7 HITLER’S INTRIGUING ROAD TO POWER, 1930–1933

The Brüning Experiment, 1930–1932

Hitler Courts Big Business and the Army

Hitler Bids for the Presidency, 1932

Franz von Papen: A Nazi in a Pin-Striped Suit?

The July 1932 Election and its Aftermath

General von Schleicher’s Fifty-Seven Days in Office

Hitler Comes to Power, January 1933

PART THREE ASSESSMENT

8 WHY DID HITLER COME TO POWER?

PART FOUR DOCUMENTS

1 Hitler in Vienna

2 Hitler’s first appearance at a meeting of the German Workers’ Party

3 The twenty-five points of the Nazi Party programme

4 The demands of the Nazi Party

5 Hitler on the leadership principle

6 The Munich Beer Hall Putsch

7 Hitler on the key lesson of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch

8 Joseph Goebbels’ views on National Socialism

9 Hitler on the power of the spoken word

10 The Nazi Party and private property

11 Hitler debates the meaning of ‘socialism’ with Otto Strasser

12 Hitler defines National Socialism

13 The appeal of National Socialism: a pacifist view

14 The Nazi appeal to farmers

15 A schoolteacher describes the atmosphere at a Nazi Party meeting

16 Hitler’s speech to the Dusseldorf Industry Club

17 Edgar Jung on the ‘Conservative Revolution’

18 ‘How do we struggle against a Third Reich?’: the views of a German novelist

19 Joseph Goebbels instructs party workers to tone down ‘radical’ aspects of the Nazi programme

20 Countdown to Hitler coming to power

21 Hitler’s views on anti-Semitism

22 Hitler defines the difference between the Nazi Party and the traditional German Conservative Party

23 Meeting of Hitler and Hindenburg, 13 August 1932

24 The appeal of National Socialism to youth

REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

INDEX