The Nazis' rise to power: The 1930 election, a success for the Nazi party

Germany has recovered after the war and now the economy is almost as good as it was before the war broke out. The country has been rebuilt, mostly with money that Germany borrowed from the USA. There is less unemployment. In May 1928 there’s an election. It will be a failure for Hitler and the Nazi party.

They only get 2.6 percent of the votes. It gives them 12 out of 600 seats in parliament, and very little power. But Hitler and the Nazi party do not give up. The party grows. Local leaders organize meetings and spend a lot of money printing newsletters, pamphlets, and posters with simple messages.

They also have mass rallies, which are carefully arranged by Joseph Goebbels. Thousands of people attend the meetings, which are also broadcast on the radio. Goebbels works insistently to describe Hitler as a great leader, and the communists and Jews as Germany's enemies. Many listen and take on these beliefs, because Goebbels is adept at propaganda. In October 1929, the USA is plunged into deep economic crisis.

American workers and farmers can’t afford to buy the goods that are being produced. The banks and businesses now go bankrupt, and unemployment is increasing sharply. The economic crisis - the great depression - spreads from America to many countries around the world. The whole world is entering a recession. Germany is one of the countries most affected by the economic crisis.

They have borrowed a lot of money from the USA, but now the United States stops lending money. At the same time they demand that Germany must pay back the money it borrowed. Now the German economy crashes, and unemployment becomes enormous. After the loss of the war in 1918, Germany was forced by the Americans to form a democratic republic. Now there's a crisis, and the elected politicians don’t seem to be able to solve it.

The German people lose confidence in parliamentary democracy. The crisis and the dissatisfaction in Germany create fertile ground for Hitler and his Nazi party. More and more people come to his meetings. Hitler is clearer than ever that Germany should not comply with the Versailles Peace Treaty. Nor should they pay any debt to other countries.

He insists on halting what he calls the Jewish influence, and on replacing democracy with a strong government that puts Germany above all others! Hitler carefully avoids explaining exactly how he will actually solve the crisis. But he makes promises to everyone: • the workers will get jobs. • The farmers are the pride of Germany, and agriculture will flourish. • The young people will get a modern Germany, where technology will give them new jobs, roads, and factories. • The old people will be taken care of, and he will make sure that traditional German values govern the country! • Business owners should not be bothered by demands from rowdy communists and unions. And the German people listen! For the first time, Hitler and the Nazis succeed in getting members from all sections of the population.

They start to get a lot of money. The money is mostly from business owners who hope the Nazis will put an end to the communists. The party also gets members who are office workers, farmers, students, and unemployed. The Nazis' meetings are getting bigger and bigger. They are full of music, fluttering swastika flags, and people marching in military discipline style.

Hitler is hailed by thousands of people wherever he goes, and when he talks he is greeted by stretched arms and people shouting: Sieg Heil! The meetings are magnificent spectacles that impress many people. In the 1930 elections, the Nazis receive six and a half million votes and become the second largest party after the Social Democrats. But Hitler is not satisfied to be the leader of the second largest party. He wants to lead Germany!