Why Support for the Nazis Grew, 1929–1933

The Great Depression hits Germany

The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 triggered a global economic depression. For Germany, with its economy built on American loans, the impact was immediate and catastrophic.

American banks began calling in their loans. German businesses that depended on that credit collapsed. Unemployment - already present during the "Golden Twenties" - exploded. By 1932, over 6 million Germans were officially unemployed - approximately one in three workers. The real figure, including those who had given up looking for work, was higher still.

The Weimar government's response made things worse. Following the economic orthodoxy of the time, the government cut spending and raised taxes - exactly the wrong medicine for a collapsing economy. Benefits were cut. Middle-class Germans who had survived 1923 now faced unemployment and poverty for the second time in a decade.

Who voted Nazi and why

The Nazis drew support from across German society, but they were especially successful with certain groups:

The middle classes (Mittelstand): Shopkeepers, artisans, white-collar workers, teachers, civil servants - people who had suffered in 1923 and feared a repeat. They were not the traditional constituency of either the Social Democrats (who appealed to industrial workers) or the Communists. The Nazis gave them somewhere to go.

Farmers and rural communities: Agriculture had been in depression since the mid-1920s, with falling food prices and heavy debt. Rural Germany turned to the Nazis earlier and more strongly than urban Germany.

Young people: The Nazis were the most dynamic, exciting, modern-seeming political movement in Germany. They used rallies, music, uniforms, and technology (radio, cinema) in ways that older parties did not. Young men in particular were drawn to the energy and the sense of purpose.

Protestant communities: There was a striking difference between Catholic and Protestant areas of Germany: Catholic regions remained much more resistant to the Nazis (Catholic voters tended to support the Centre Party). Protestant areas - particularly in rural northern Germany - swung strongly towards the NSDAP.

Nazi propaganda: how Goebbels built the movement

Joseph Goebbels, who became the Nazis' propaganda chief in Berlin in 1926, transformed Nazi communications. He understood modern mass media with almost unnerving skill.

Key propaganda techniques:

• Mass rallies: The Nuremberg rallies were spectacles of choreographed power - vast crowds, searchlights, music, flags, and Hitler's mesmerising speeches. They created a sense of unstoppable momentum.
• Radio: Hitler's speeches were broadcast nationally. By 1932, radio ownership in Germany was among the highest in the world.
• Posters and film: Striking visual imagery; the swastika as an instantly recognisable brand.
• The Hitler cult: The image of Hitler as a messianic leader - not a politician but a saviour - was carefully constructed. He was presented as above normal party politics, uniquely capable of rescuing Germany.
• Tailored messaging: Different groups received different messages - farmers heard about agricultural policy; workers heard about jobs; nationalists heard about reversing Versailles.

Why opponents failed to stop the Nazis

The Nazis' rise was not inevitable. At every stage, it could theoretically have been checked. That it was not reflects serious failures by their opponents.

The Social Democrats (SPD) were the largest party in the Reichstag for most of the Weimar period and the backbone of the Republic. But they were cautious, wedded to constitutional process, and unwilling to unite with the Communists (whom they regarded as mortal enemies).

The Communists (KPD) took their orders from Moscow, which instructed them that the Social Democrats were "social fascists" - more dangerous than Hitler - and that they should not cooperate with them. The two left-wing parties combined would have outvoted the Nazis in every election, but they spent as much energy fighting each other as fighting the Nazis.

Conservative elites - aristocrats, industrialists, military officers - thought they could use Hitler. They provided money and respectability, believing that once in power Hitler would be controllable by experienced conservative politicians. They were catastrophically wrong.

Revision checklist

Before moving on, make sure you can answer:

1. What was the Wall Street Crash? Why did it hit Germany so hard?
2. How many Germans were unemployed by 1932?
3. How did Nazi electoral support change between 1928 and July 1932?
4. Which groups of German society were most likely to vote for the Nazis? Why?
5. Who was Goebbels? What propaganda techniques did the Nazis use?
6. Why did the Social Democrats and Communists fail to stop the Nazis?
7. What did conservative politicians believe about Hitler, and why were they wrong?
8. What was the most important reason for the growth in Nazi support between 1929 and 1932?

What's New snippet

Article slug: gcse-history-germany-nazi-support-grew

Title: From 2.6% to 37.4% - how the Great Depression gave Hitler his chance

In 1928, the Nazi Party was a fringe movement with barely 3% of the vote. By July 1932, it was the largest party in the Reichstag. The Great Depression destroyed the Weimar Republic's legitimacy and left millions unemployed, frightened, and willing to listen to radical solutions. This page explains who voted Nazi, why, and how Goebbels turned anger into electoral support.