“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

-Martin Niemöller

In 1919, Germany was recently defeated in World War I, leaving Germans frustrated and upset with the outcome. The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I and was not in favor of Germany. Germany was held responsible for starting the war, giving them punishments like loss of territory, demilitarization, and reparations. The Treaty of Versailles was detrimental to Germany, leaving the German people angry and in economic distress. This distress led to political parties basing their platform on nationalism, ultimately leading to Hitler’s rise to power and the Nazi Party (History.com 2009).

Adolf Hitler was an army veteran of World War I, later becoming a German politician and eventually the leader of the Nazi Party. Germany became unstable as a result of the outcome of World War I. Hitler joined the German Workers’ Party, frustrated by the instability that plagued the country.

The German’s Workers Party, founded in 1919 by a small group of men, promoted nationalism and anti-Semitism. This group believed that the Treaty of Versailles was unjust to Germany and quickly tried to spread their beliefs across the country to gain followers. Hitler became a public speaker and was seen as very charming and charismatic. His speeches blamed Jews and Marxists for Germany’s defeat in World War I and preached the idea of the Aryan “master race” (History.com 2009).

By 1921, he was named leader of the political party, renamed the Nazi Party. Once Hitler took leadership of the Nazi Party, he continued to make speeches explaining that Jews and communists were the reason for Germany’s failing economy, inflation, unemployment, and hunger. Hitler claimed that Jews and communists must be driven out of the country in order for Germany to thrive again. Young, economically struggling Germans fervently absorbed this message.

In 1923, Hitler and his followers attempted a failed coup, the Beer Hall Putsch. The plan was to kidnap the state commissioner of Bavaria, a state in southern Germany, to spark a more significant revolution against the national government. The coup failed, Hitler immediately fled the scene and went into hiding. Two days later, Hitler was found and convicted of treason, sentencing him to five years in prison (Discovery UK 2009). However, he spent less than a year in jail, and during this time, he wrote Mein Kampf, his autobiographical manifesto. In this book, he blamed Germany’s struggles on the Jewish population and stated he wanted Germany to regain its strength and seek new territories in the East.

The Beer Hall Putsch and Hitler’s trial gained a following and publicity, which by default gave Hitler a platform and made him a national figure. Even though it was a failed coup, it still showed that Hitler was an influential leader willing to fight for Germany. Once Hitler was released, he was determined to gain political power and grow the Nazi Party through Germany’s elections.

The Great Depression of 1929 caused a significant economic downturn in Germany. Unemployment jumped from 1.4 million to 2 million in mere months (BBC). The Nazi Party used these issues to critique the government and preach that they would change the country, which ultimately led the Nazi Party to win elections because people were angry and wanted change. In the 1932 German elections, the Nazi Party won 230 of the 608 seats in the German parliament, or the “Reichstag” (History.com 2009). By 1933, Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany, kick-starting the wave of the Nazi Revolution.

Once appointed chancellor, Hitler created the first concentration camp, which was first defined as a place to keep their political prisoners but transformed into a death camp. At this first concentration camp in Dachau, Germany, Jewish people were dying from malnutrition or overworking, killing thousands of Jews. Hitler started to expand his definition of “unfit” for Germany’s new image, including groups like members of the LGBTQ community, Jehovah’s Witness, and Gypsies (History.com 2009). Four weeks after Hitler was appointed chancellor, the German parliament, Reichstag, burned down. Hitler and the Nazi Party claimed that this act of arson was the doing of the Communist Party. They used the Reichstag fire to gain President von Hindenburg’s approval for implementing the Reichstag Fire Decree. This order took away German citizens’ rights, like the right to protest, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and removed all restraints on police investigations. This decree allowed police officers to arrest any person politically challenging the German government without any specific charge (History.com 2009). It also gave the central government power to override local laws and even overthrow local governments. The newfound power in the central government made it simple for Hitler to ban all political parties other than the Nazi Party. The Reichstag Fire Decree was in place until the end of Nazi Germany in 1945.

The Enabling Act of 1933 allowed Hitler, as chancellor, to enact laws without the laws having to go through the parliament first (History.com 2009). To make this happen, Hitler and the Nazi Party, again, used fear and intimidation to secure votes in parliament to make sure they could pass the Enabling Act. This act was the turning point of Hitler’s power, giving him full control of Germany’s government. Officially, Hitler named himself the Fürher of Germany’s Third Reich or the leader of Germany.

On August 2nd, 1934, President von Hindenburg died of lung cancer. The vacancy needed to be filled, and a plebiscite vote was held. A plebiscite vote is similar to a referendum but with an important distinction. Both are methods to ask the public’s opinion, but while a referendum makes concrete changes to a law or constitution, a plebiscite does not. Effectively a plebiscite asks the citizens if they agree with a decision the government is going to make. The German government held a vote of approval on August 19th, 1934. The Nazi Party’s use of intimidation, as well as a national fear of communist, led Hitler to win the vote, with 90% of voters saying “yes” (Birchall 1934).

He then becomes president and chancellor of Germany, giving him ultimate executive power in the country. By 1938, under Hitler’s rule, Jews were banned in most public places in Germany. Then, On September 1st, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. During this invasion, Germany killed thousands of Polish Jews or sent them to other death camps in Poland. This action began the Holocaust, a World War II mass genocide of European Jews led by Adolf Hitler (History.com, 2009).

Nazi Germany and the Nazi Party then commenced a systemic state-sponsored genocide (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 2020). Nazis used concentration camps, forced labor camps, prisoner of war camps, and killing centers to commit mass genocide. The Nazis deported thousands of Jews to death camps across Europe and were brutally executed by gas chambers and tortured. At the height of Auschwitz, a huge concentration camp complex in Poland, 6,000 Jews were being mass murdered by gas chambers each day. By the end of the Holocaust, there were over 44,000 camps around Europe and over 6 million Jewish people murdered (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 2020).

In April 1945, Hitler realized his defeat in World War II and committed suicide. Hitler’s death sent shockwaves through his patriotic supporters, leading them to realize that their time in power was over; they had been defeated (History.com 2009). The man they saw as utterly invincible had taken his own life. Nazi Germany officially fell after the Nuremberg trials, where prominent Nazi leaders were convicted of crimes against humanity and subsequently executed. The Nazi party no longer had representation in the German government and slowly faded back into society’s background. Anti-Semitic Nazi sentiments continued to linger, as they do today, but the Nazi party had been dismantled for all intents and purposes.

Great Man Theory

The Great Man Theory was developed in the 19th century by Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle to explain the impact of “heroic” men on society. This theory analyzes the unique psychology of influential leaders and how their leadership causes notable historical effects. A “Great Man” is a man who is intelligent, charismatic, and a persuasive leader, his courage sparks inspiration among his followers. He is born a natural leader, not bred to be one, giving his followers reason to believe he is destined to lead them.

Under this theory, it is believed that a Great Man’s leadership will lead their followers to safety and stability. This theory has been used to describe strong and successful leaders like George Washington and Mahatma Gandhi. However, it has also been used to describe the rise of dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Due to the extreme differences of men under this theory, there is debate and controversy surrounding it. The Great Man Theory is the foundation of Trait Leadership that emerged in the 1930s to 1940s (Cherry 2019). Unlike the Great Man Theory, Trait Leadership acknowledges that people can be successful leaders without impacting history (Cherry 2019). Carlyle’s Great Man Theory laid the basis for studying and analyzing future leadership traits and styles.

Adolf Hitler fits into the Great Man theory because he formulated his campaign to appeal to lower-class citizens’ wants and needs in Germany. The lower-class people of Germany idolized him, as he gave them a strong and resilient leader to look to that could help the country repair itself from its debt. Germany was left in a disadvantaged position after World War I. The country faced massive debt, which destroyed the economy due to the Treaty of Versailles that demanded Germany to pay 132 billion gold marks as financial restitution (Blakemore 2019). The Treaty of Versailles especially humiliated the country and German leaders because it disarmed their military. Because of this loss, Hitler gained the support of German patriots who wanted to bring the country back to its former greatness and revive the army. Patriots flocked to Hitler, finally feeling a sense of representation in the government. Hitler gave a new voice to the patriots who long felt ignored by the rest of the country. Through propaganda, symbolism, and speeches empowering the German patriots, Hitler gained the support of Germany. The patriots felt emboldened by the newfound recognition and representation of their social class. Many scholars, one being Howard Zinn, have debated whether his success was based on the psychology of his leadership techniques or his agenda (Carpentier 2016). This debate does not necessarily mean he was a strong leader, as he had no prior experience with the military or government leadership. He failed to make decisions that would benefit or provide resources for the citizens and he was dismissive of others’ decisions, which was entirely the fault of his neurotic personality. Being a man of instinct over logic, Hitler made his decisions meticulously, based on his personal beliefs of right and wrong. While this may be a deterrent for many, his supporters adored his flippant decision-making and clear decisiveness. He violated the Treaty of Versailles as he disregarded any beliefs or opinions that were not his own.

The Germans felt humiliated by their global status, and they created a “blame game” for the issues that plagued Germany. Hitler helped them find somewhere to place their anger and frustration. He used his power to direct their humiliation elsewhere, as he believed that the country’s greatest threat was through internal traitors. Hitler demonstrated the Great Man theory as he was able to direct a revolution under his leadership. His first demonstration of this theory was the Beer Hall Putsch. He declared a revolution during this event and established himself as a national leader (History.com 2019). He was able to gain this momentum through his platform with the German Workers Party. Through the Enabling Act, Hitler was able to single-handedly run the country without guidance or outsiders’ help. Under Hitler’s regime, the country used groups of people as scapegoats and tortured, belittled, and killed those deemed unworthy to gain back a sense of respect and power that they had lost from the war. By preying on those who felt the most attacked and vulnerable from the shifts in Germany’s political and economic sphere, Hitler incited one of the most immense revolutions in global history. The same “charismatic” person that the people had elected to office is the same man that brutally imprisoned and murdered millions of people.

This theory fails as while many men and women might have been born with the qualities of a “great leader,” that does not necessarily mean that they have the potential to be a leader. Although Hitler possessed the qualities of a strong and charismatic leader, he failed to be one for the people as his regime brought harm to the citizens of Germany. The Great Man Theory also fails to recognize the historical context in which the leader rose to power. The context surrounding Hitler’s rise to power is crucial to understanding how he became the political leader who greatly influenced history. Hitler is considered to be “great” in the interpretation that he was able to bring significant change to a country without much help. For example, would Hitler have been able to gain control of the Nazi Party if Germany had a more robust democracy? No, Hitler was able to take power when Germany was weak and vulnerable. He appealed to the country’s weaknesses. While Hitler was imprisoned, Germany recovered some of its economy and restored faith in the Weimar Republic (History.com 2019). Support for the Nazi party seemed to dwindle. During the short-lived span of German strength, Hitler spent his time building a small army of followers that would eventually help him grasp political control when the stock market crashed in 1929, causing Germany to appear in shambles once again.

A Great Man should be able to capture the hearts of the country and cause a profound change within without manipulation or propaganda. Thomas Carlyle recognized Great Men as heroes, something that is utterly controversial in regard to Adolf Hitler. Under this theory, Hitler can be described by how he exemplifies how dangerous a single man can be to the world. The actions of one ignited a revolution and an era of violence. The only understandable reason to explain Hitler’s political power is his displayed charisma and patriotism to Germany’s vulnerable citizens. The intentionalist perspective of Nazi Germany has an emphasis on Hitler’s intentions, long-term planning, and Hitler’s direct hands-on decision-making in Nazi actions.

The intentionalist perspective would be applicable if there were evidence of a “master plan” created by Hitler outlining the holocaust. Intentionalists would argue that Hitler’s hands-on decision-making within the Nazi party shows his apparent involvement in a predetermined end goal. The intentionalist perspective emphasizes the long-term planning of group action, as exhibited in Hitler’s planning of the holocaust (Schiöth 2018).

The functionalist perspective focuses on evolving and improvising developments. Functionalists believe that the driving factor behind Hitler’s decision-making was the Aryan race’s welfare rather than an extensive plan for the holocaust. The functionalist perspective believes that Hitler’s anti-Semitic actions came from lower-ranking officials and the German people (Schiöth 2018). They argue that Hitler’s plan was not initiating mass genocide, but instead, he did so out of necessity for pleasing the Nazi party. This argument would negate the idea of a “master plan” and instead show a pattern of evolving and improving developments to suit his followers’ demands. Overall, the functional perspective would be considered “haphazard” decision-making, whereas the intentionalist perspective would be described as having a “primary motivating factor” (Schiöth 2018).

Marxist scholars argue that fascism was used to formulate the Nazi Party, and one person, Hitler, decided to be the leader. Outside of Nazi sympathizers, no one would refer to Hitler’s travesties as “heroic.” Adolf Hitler could never objectively be considered a “Great Man” due to his manipulative tactics, violent actions, and evil beliefs. Referring to someone or something as “great” now does not necessarily mean that the person or thing is fundamentally good. It means that it is effective in achieving what is sought and can direct the revolution rather than the society being the director. Germany’s government was completely restructured during Hitler’s rule, and the people of Germany faced a tremendous shift in social stratification.

Theda Skocpol’s Theory of Revolution

Theda Skocpol is a political science professor at Harvard who studied under Barrington Moore when obtaining her Ph.D. at Harvard. Her theory of revolution builds upon Moore and Charles Tilly’s theories. Skocpol makes a distinction between social revolutions and political revolutions. A political revolution results in a change to a state’s structure but does not change the country’s social fabric. However, a social revolution produces both a change in the country’s political and social structure (Skocpol 1979: p. 4).

To demonstrate this point, one can compare the American Revolution to the French Revolution. Skocpol would classify the American Revolution as merely a political revolution because American society’s nature did not undergo a massive shift following the conclusion of the Revolutionary War. American society remained relatively unaltered after the American Revolution. However, the French Revolution can be classified as a social revolution. Not only did the structure of the French government change, but French society underwent a massive shift after the revolution. Social classes were recategorized, and democracy was introduced to the country. The French Revolution was a multi-tiered event that spread throughout all facets of French life.

Skocpol argues that there are two conditions necessary to produce a revolutionary situation and outcome. Both conditions rely heavily on class distinction. They also rely on the frustrations of one or more social and economic classes. The first condition needed to create a revolutionary situation is called a Crisis of State. A Crisis of State occurs when the government fails to meet their middle to lower class citizens’ needs, creating a divide between themselves and the elites (Skocpol 1979: p. 32). This divide also tends to include a division of the army from the lower class, unifying them with the elites. The second condition refers to a pattern of class dominance that will determine the leader of the revolution. This division tends to result in one socioeconomic class rising above their opposition and exploiting the revolutionary situation at hand. According to Skocpol, revolutionary outcomes are shaped by two different distinctions.

The first distinction refers to the obstacles and opportunities mentioned in the above conditions for a revolutionary situation. The lower class is faced with more economic obstacles and fewer opportunities to improve their lives than the elite class is. Anger arises among the lower class due to the increased number of obstacles they face, prompting them to rebel and create a revolution to fight for their equality.

The second revolutionary outcome proposed by Skocpol is the idea that socioeconomic and international constraints will affect how the new revolutionary regime will establish itself. As the French Revolution was occurring, capitalism was on the rise in the United States and England, which were the most powerful country globally (marxists.org). When a new government formed following the revolution, it was founded in liberal capitalism because there was international pressure for governments to adopt capitalism. Additionally, the revolutionaries fought for increased economic equality in the country, which pressured the new government to adopt liberal capitalism. This revolution demonstrated Skocpol’s theory that international and socioeconomic conditions greatly influence the post-revolution regime.

The Nazi revolution can be categorized as a social revolution because the rise of the Nazi party in Germany led to a fundamental shift of the country’s government and social fabric. Following the death of President Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler became president of Germany following the plebiscite vote, while he was also Chancellor. These events led to Hitler becoming the dictator of Germany. There was no other person with power in the government aside from Hitler, allowing him to rule the nation at his will.

At the same time, Germany suffered exceedingly from the Great Depression that began in the United States in 1929. Unemployment was extremely high, and hunger was pervasive across the country (BBC 2011). In a country where extremist political groups had not gained much traction, people were now looking to them for answers during a time of incredible suffering. It was believed that the extremist views, including those of the Nazi party, offered concrete solutions to the problems at hand. Because extremist parties were not in power as the country fell into economic distress, they evaded negative criticism during the time of suffering. Extremist parties blamed the moderate political parties in government and gained public support through these criticisms.

Aside from the failing economy, other changes to German society began to occur. Between 1930-1933, the Nazi Party promoted propaganda advertising Jewish people’s national hatred (Snell 1997: p. xiv). Through their propaganda, the Nazis made Jewish people a symbol of “evil” and the Aryan race to be a symbol of good (Snell 1997: p. xiv). Hateful rhetoric towards Jews took root in Germany. In 1933, the Nazi Party passed several laws limiting Jews and other minorities’ rights. It was illegal for Jews to hold public or civil office, they were denied employment in the press and radio, and they were excluded from the stock exchange and brokerages (Bradsher 2010). The SA began to target gay men, as well as Afro-Germans and other minority groups. In 1935, the Nazi Party passed the Nuremberg Laws. The Nuremberg laws were race-based legislation that deprived Jewish people of legal rights in Germany. It also created a legal distinction between Germans of different ethnicities, so that “Aryan” Germans were given full legal privileges, and Jews and other racial minorities were denied their legal rights.

A massive change in German society had occurred – the division between Jewish and minority Germans and Aryan Germans. Never before had such racist and anti-Semitic beliefs and practices been introduced and engrained into German society as they were during the Nazi revolution. Being Jewish, gay, or Afro-German was no longer just an aspect of one’s identity. It became their entire identity, and they were persecuted for it. The SA was also weaponized against the Jewish community in Germany and would cause lots of harm and physical intimidation. It was made clear that non-Jews would be putting themselves at a safety risk if they were to ally themselves with Germany’s Jewish people, and they were encouraged to see themselves as superior to the Jews. These race claims were the class dominance aspect of Skocpol’s theory. The Nazi government quite literally built antisemitism and racism into German society’s fabrics – a change that would alter German society for years to come (Bradsher 2010).

The Nazis began to grow in popularity, gaining much support from the Germans that were coming of age throughout these ten years and could now vote in elections (Snell 1997: p. xiii). For once, the Nazi party had many supporters from the younger generation of Germans, giving them more respect and power within the country. They also had the upper hand over the moderate political parties in power because the country’s citizens blamed those in charge for the economic suffering. These events were the crisis of the state that Skocpol believes is the beginning of a social revolution. The current government was unable to provide for its suffering citizens. It could not save the collapsing banks, could not pass policies that would offer more aid to the hungry and homeless, and the government could not solve the global economic crisis, the Great Depression.

Additionally, the Prussian Junkers played a massive role in the Nazi Party’s rise to power. The Prussian Junkers were the land-owning nobility class from the time of the Prussian kingdom. The Junkers were strong supporters of the Prussian royal family, which meant that it was the Junkers’ interests that were represented in government, not the interest of the kingdom as a whole. The power of the Junker class translated over into modern-day Germany. The Junkers were the “leaders of German industry” as well as leaders of “German militarism and the army” (Snell 1997: p. xiv). President Hindenburg was a Junker himself, and Hindenburg’s support of Hitler and the Nazi Party in the Reichstag echoed with the Junkers. Hitler, as he ascended to the position of Chancellor, destroyed political parties in the Reichstag and destroyed all forms of representative government (Snell 1997: p. xiv). The Junkers wanted to restore a German monarchy because that would give them back the firm grip on the government as they did in Prussia. The Junkers saw this as their opportunity to support a dictator who would be their key to restoring Prussian nobility.

The German patriots were searching for a leader to represent them and their beliefs on a larger scale. Hitler’s rise to power gave them confidence in their government that they had been lacking. In contrast, the Great Man Theory’s intentionalist perspective places the responsibility of the Nazi revolution and the events that ensued onto Hitler. The intentionalists believe that Hitler had a predetermined end goal of the holocaust; the events leading up to the holocaust were steppingstones. Theda Skocpol’s theory concludes that the Nazi revolution was a product of the German government’s structure. Hitler was able to rise to power because of the weakened state and lack of structure within Germany’s government and economy.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the Nazi Revolution is seminal example of a reactionary revolution. While the previous revolutions discussed involved progressive ideals, the Nazis’ goal was to strip away the reformation that occurred with the establishment of the Weimar Republic. Further this revolution is quite unique for its emphasis on individual leadership and its success in upending the established social norms of the Weimar Republic. That said, two theories that best suit the Nazi Revolution are the Great Man Theory and Theda Skocpol’s social revolution. The Great Man Theory explores the impact of a single individual’s ability to successfully lead a community toward their goal. In this revolution the focus falls on Adolf Hitler’s leadership. There are many historical and political scholars who claim that without Hitler the Nazis trajectory would have seen so much success in gaining power as it had. On the opposite side of the debate there are those like Theda Skocpol who take the analysis on broader scope and focus on the social and institutional aspects of the preclude to the Nazis that allowed them to thrive. This comes in a variety of events from international intervention to an all-out crisis of the state in the Weimar Republic. It was this environment that allowed the Nazis upend the social fabric of the state rather than a single human being. Overall, the claims for both theories and their strong points and flaws in explaining exactly why the Nazi reactionary revolution was able to go as far as it had.

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Image Attribution

Hitler at Reichstag by unknown in the public domain.