What Extent Did the Existence of the Third Reich Depend on the One Person Adolf Hitler Essay Example for Free

What Extent Did the Existence of the Third Reich Depend on the One Person Adolf Hitler Essay After the First World War, in 1919 Hitler joined the gor strasser)National Socialist German Workers Party (NASPD) as a regular member and with the help of his personal qualities and great speaking skills he was then made its leader in 1921. In 1924 after his release from prison and his written work Mein Kampf his significance within the German politics rose as he attacked the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles and promised a Lebensraum for all the Germans. The Nazi party had anti-Semitic ideas, blaming the state of the country at the time on the Jews, with Hitler orating those thoughts to the public who wanted to have someone to blame for all the problems in Germany. Hitler had such a charisma that people believed whatever he said (Emil Klein, Nazi supporter, 1920s, BBC interview) so he soon became very popular with the population. He also appealed to the majority of the population as he considered racially pure Germans special and the people believed that and connected with him. In 1933 he was appointed the Chancellor of Germany and his ideas were accepted and supported all over the country. Later in 1934, after the death of the German president Paul von Hindenburg of that time, he became the absolute dictator of the Reich. After the First World War, with the approaching world crisis, Germany needed a strong leader to make a radical change. To aid the country, Hitler persuaded rich people to invest into a new kind of Germany, into a military regime with plans to conquer Europe. People’s belief in Hitler soon grew as there was less unemployment after he came to power just as he promised (Adolf Hitler, Appeal to the German People (January 31, 1933), p. 3) and he became the countrys central figure for the people. Hitler had a lot of power and was worshiped by Germany. He gathered thousands for his speeches, everyone wanted to see him and he was very welcomed everywhere in his Reich. He was involved in most decisions including the military ones, even though they were quite often questioned on whether the chances of success were all or nothing. Hitler was a very ambitious leader, and this is what put him in control of the Third Reich he shared the vision with those around him and then had others come up with ways of implementing them. He was infamous for being vague in detail. A good example of this is his meeting with the generals to discuss the future plans of action (Martin Bormanns Minutes of a Meeting at Hitlers Headquarters, (July 16, 1941)). Throughout the five hours of the meeting, there were no clear instructions that came from Hitler, he just outlined the aims and ideas and kept talking about them. From there it can be concluded that despite being the central figure, it wasn’t all completely up to him in the end. The Fuhrer made most of the decisions, especially the biggest ones, by himself and spent days alone waiting for the solution to come to him. However, although Hitler authorised the killings of the Holocaust, it was up to the others how this was to happen. He had trusted men around him, the generals that took over some of the responsibilities. Some of the people who made it all possible for the Third Reich’s existence were: Hermann Goring, who established the Geheime Staatspolizei ; Heinrich Himmler, who was head of the SS and Hitlers right hand, the person responsible for the Holocaust; Otto Eichmann, who is often portrayed as the mastermind, he did the administrative side of things he organised the transport for Jews to the concentration camps; and Paul Joseph Goebbels, who was the Reich’s Minister of Propaganda and was very close to Hitler all along. Those were the people close to Adolf Hitler, whom he in turn organised to do whatever he dictated. Propaganda of Hitler, with Joseph Goebbels in charge, was one of the most important factors that built the whole Third Reich around him. Films, which had political hints in them for the audience were created; films about Adolf Hitler were made like Triumph of the Will, creating the myth about The Munich Putsch, a photo shoot of Hitler in his charismatic poses and other forms of propaganda were in use. It helped the people connect with the leader, gave them hope and certainty for a good future. The popular ideas in the country were also a sort of propaganda. Hitler wanted to have all ethnic Germans together under his rule. It didn’t make people think about the ruthless and cold-hearted actions that were to follow, like the purification of the nation: something that Hitler alluded to in some of his speeches. Also organisations like the Hitler Youth were created to make future soldiers of Germany and to get the new ideas into the children, as that was easier to do with children than with adults. It was important to have the people believe in Hitler, that’s what made him the powerful leader he was for the country. He said that people at war didnt die, that they lived on in the hearts of the whole Germany. People then trusted him and followed him. Having looked at a few most important facts and some evidence, it can be concluded that the existence of the Thirdnce of 3disions entirely by himself. menting it. Reich was totally dependent on one person. Its established that the political, social and economic situations in the country were just perfect for someone with the right ideology, ambitions, and ruthlessness to become its leader. Finally, having the right set of skills, he was able to gather around a dedicated group of followers as ruthless as himself. He persuaded rich imperialists to invest into a bankrupt state with the view to conquer Europe and promises of even more riches for the rich and his propaganda promised ordinary people that they would become the greatest nation in the world.