My speech is about the life of a German corporal who fought in World War I, received 2 medals, joined the German Worker’s Party, led it, and participated in World War II, as the leader of Germany. In other words, my speech is about Adolf Hitler.
We all have an idea about the events of the 2nd World War, but how well do we know Adolf Hitler and his rise to power? I have always been interested in World War II in general, specifically in the events of Hitler’s life. I have read many books and articles and watched documentaries about Hitler, his life, his rise to power, and the 2nd World War.
Since none of us would be interested to be re-told the story of the 2nd World War, I will concentrate mainly on Hitler’s rise to power, which occurred between the 2 World Wars. I would like to share with you Hitler’s rise to power, from the end of World War I in 1919 till Hitler’s presidency in 1934.
Body:
Even though World War I ended badly for Germany, which sustained severe economic, military, and human losses, Hitler remained in the German Army and served as a police spy whose mission was to infiltrate a small party called the German Worker’s Party.
According to Richard Bessel in his book “Nazism and War”, it was then when Hitler was interested and fascinated in the anti-Semitic, anti-Marxist, and anti-capitalist ideas that this party endorsed.
As Hitler’s speeches grew more and more popular in the party gatherings, a founding member called Dietrich Eckhart found an interest in Hitler.
Hitler mentions him in his autobiography “My Struggle” as his mentor.
Eckhart helped Hitler dress elegantly, charm people to join the cause, and meet important people in the government
In March 1920, as Hitler grew more and more popular, he took charge of the party and had it renamed to the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, and was subsequently discharged from the military, according to “The Hitler Book”.
(Transition: Now that we know how Hitler gained popularity really fast, let’s see how he used it to his advantage.)
In 1924, Hitler was fed up from the weak German government and attempted a coup in Munich which he referred to as the Beer Putche in his 2nd book titled “The Secret Book”.
His attempt was foiled by the German military and Hitler was sentenced to 5 years of jail.
Ironically, the same man who caused to Jewish genocide got his sentence reduced to 9 months due to good behavior, but Hitler learned his lesson. As his biography on www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org stated, Hitler’s incarceration “transformed him from an incompetent adventurer into a shrewd political tactician”.
Later in 1925, after Hitler also managed to unban his party and regain authority to give public speeches, he successfully brought more people to join the Nazi party.
His oratory skills helped him bring Left and Right wing movements together, and Hitler was ready to go in the elections.
In 1928, Hitler started by having a mere 2% of the votes and 12 seats in the Reichstag.
Then, he shifted his tactics; Hitler won over the industrialists, the conservatives, and even the Army circles.
And in 1930, he managed 18% of the votes with 107 seats.
Two years later, Hitler got 37% of the votes with 230 seats.
(Transition: Now that Hitler formed a successful party with over 200 seats in the Reichstag, let us see his ultimate rise to power, the path to presidency.)
According to “The Hitler Book”, the Nazis started gaining key positions in the government, and Hitler was not satisfied.
In 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor.
And as chancellor, Hitler helped the Nazi party by eliminating its opponents, by banning the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party, and later by declaring the Nazi party as the only legal party in Germany.
Then in 1934, after President Hindenburg’s death, Hitler assumed command as the Leader and Chancellor of the Third Reich, having 85% of the votes.
After taking control politically, Hitler started forcing military leaders to resign their posts only to be filled by himself or other fellow Nazis so that all the country’s powers would be left in the hands of one man, himself.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, even though Hitler had lifted the country from the economic depression it was suffering, he got greedier and took his power hunger to a whole new level, a war on all of Europe, which led him to a downward spiral costing him the war, the country, and his life.
My purpose was not only to inform you of the details of Hitler’s rise to power, but also of the tactics behind that.
How could one man gain so much power so fast?
In his book “My Struggle”, Hitler said that the answer is in his power of persuasion by his inspiring speeches.
His oratory skills led the German people to trust him to run their country.
If a man, who later killed millions of Jews, was elected president due to his oral skills, what would people, possessing these same oral skills, but with good intentions, later do in life?
Cite This Work
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below: