To what extent was the Great Depression the primary cause of the rise of the Nazis in 1933?

Whilst the Great Depression was a significant cause in the rise of the Nazis, with Adolf Hitler capitalising on dire economic conditions in Germany to advance his political position, there are other causes too that must be considered to have played a pivotal role. Among these are the weakness of the Weimar constitution, political scheming by von Schleicher, von Papen and President Hindenburg and the growth of political extremism in Germany in this period. The Great Depression was a major cause of the rise of the Nazis in 1933 because as the Weimar Government fell into chaos following the United State withdrawing their loans from Germany that was keeping their economy afloat and France was demanding its reparation payments. In the chaos of the Wall Street Crash, 1.5m Germans were instantly put out of work and this figure rose to 6m by 1933 - a third of Germany's working population. Along with this there was mass starvation of children as food shortages grew with thousands dying of malnutrition, and the poverty created by the Wall Street Crash created the exact environment of desperation in which people would listen to the promises made by Adolf Hitler in his bombastic speeches and turn away from the conventional wisdom espoused by former Weimar Government officials, and this could be seen with the rapidly growing turnout at Hitler's rallies.

Answered by Morgan P. History tutor

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