What this lesson teaches
I can explain how authoritarian regimes rose and how they changed politics, the economy and society.
Syllabus K230, Rise of Authoritarian Regimes, Learning Outcomes. Explain the rise of authoritarian regimes and their impact on the political, economic and social context of countries.
Make a guess
Germany suffered two economic crises: hyperinflation in 1923 and the Depression from 1929. Which do you think did more to win the Nazis votes?
- Both equally, because prices rose very fast in each crisis and savings vanished.
- Hyperinflation, because savings became worthless and the Nazis took power that year.
- The Depression, because millions lost their jobs and gave up on the main parties.
Show the answer
The Depression, because millions lost their jobs and gave up on the main parties.
Mass unemployment after 1929 made Nazi promises of jobs and strong leadership attractive. Their vote grew sharply from 1930.
Money became worthless in 1923, and mass unemployment after 1929 turned many voters towards the Nazis.
Keep two crises apart. The first was hyperinflation in 1923, when prices rose extremely fast. German money lost so much value that savings and fixed incomes, such as pensions that did not rise with prices, became almost worthless. But people with debts could pay them off cheaply. So the same crisis hit people differently.
Hyperinflation grew out of wartime money problems. It got much worse when French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, an industrial region. The German government backed passive resistance: workers refused to cooperate with the occupiers. The government kept paying them while production stopped, and it printed more money to cover its spending. A new currency and financial reforms ended hyperinflation in late 1923, and recovery followed.
The second crisis was the Great Depression, from 1929. Germany's recovery had depended partly on foreign loans, especially from the USA. When lending and world trade fell, businesses were hit hard. Firms cut production or closed, and millions lost their jobs. This was a crisis of falling output and unemployment, not a return of the 1923 price rises.
People who lost work, or feared losing it, lost faith in the main parties. Nazi promises of jobs, strong leadership and national recovery became attractive to some voters. Others turned to the Communists or stayed with democratic parties. Hardship gave the Nazis a bigger audience; their campaigning turned that chance into votes.
- 1923
- Hyperinflation: money loses almost all value.
- 1929
- Great Depression brings mass unemployment.
- Nazi votes
- 2.6% in 1928; largest party by July 1932.
Real examples to use
Hyperinflation, November 1923
Before the war one US dollar bought about 4.2 marks. By 20 November 1923 it bought about 4.2 trillion marks.
Dawes Plan, 1924
American-led experts cut Germany's yearly reparation payments and arranged a loan of 800 million marks, so recovery depended on American money.
Unemployment, early 1933
About 6 million Germans were registered as unemployed when Hitler became chancellor.
Worked example: From hardship to votes
The Nazis won 2.6% of the vote in 1928. By July 1932, in the Depression, they were the largest party.
- A worker loses a job and doubts the government can help.
- The Nazis promise recovery under Hitler.
- Some voters switch. This shows a link, not that every jobless person voted Nazi.
Watch out for this
The Great Depression began in 1923 when money became worthless.
1923 was hyperinflation. The Depression began in 1929 and brought mass unemployment.
Check your understanding
Which crisis helped the Nazis most in elections?
- The Depression after 1929, which caused mass unemployment.
- Hyperinflation, which began in 1923 and lasted until the 1930s.
- The French occupation of the Ruhr in 1929, which closed factories.
Show the answer
The Depression after 1929, which caused mass unemployment.
Yes. Nazi votes rose sharply from 2.6% in 1928.