2. 1. Left Wing – Crisis of capitalism
2. Anti German determinists
3. Ritter’s ‘moral crisis’ argument
4. The Structuralism approach
5. Intentionalists
6. Kershaw’s ‘miscalculations’ compromise
7. Our conclusions

3.  A crisis of capitalism:
 Left Wing Marxist interpretations. 1930s European
left wingers sought to explain the rise of fascism
in Italy and Germany.
 Concluded there was a connection to the capital
crisis of 29’-33.
 Big business lost faith in Weimar and supported
the Nazis who were seen as controllable and
therefore able to further their profits.
 Capital crisis precedes the rise of communism

4.  Anti-German determinists:
 Non German right wing interpretations.
 Post war academic view that portrayed Nazism as the
natural product of German history.
 A.J.P Taylor in The Course of German History wrote “It
was no more a mistake...than a river flows into the
sea...”
 Culminates with 1959 William Shirer’s Rise and Fall of
the Third Reich. He explained Nazism as a “logical
continuation of German History.”
 It concluded that Hitler was an inevitable given
Germany’s political, cultural and intellectual heritage.

5.  A moral crisis in Europe – Gerhard Ritter:
 Post war theory from Germany.
 Nazism was the product of a moral crisis in European
society. Context was all important.
 Germany’s great traditions, the power of Prussia and
its rich culture run counter to Hitler.
 WW1 was a shock to the traditional European state of
order. Enabling the conditions for Nazism to emerge.
 Decline in religious and moral standards. Corruption,
materialism and mass democracy were all exploited
by Hitler.

6.  Structuralists:
 Research led 60’s and 70’s.
 Martin Broszat and Hans Mommsen v.influential
 Emphasises Germany’s continuities from the
1850s through to 1945.
 Dominated by authoritarian forces in society and
the economy – the armed forces, bureaucracy.
 Failed to develop democratic institutions.
Conservative vested interests continued to
dominate Germany – during Weimar – and
supported Hitler post Weimar.

7.  Intentionalists:
 Emphasise the role of people in History. In this
case their interpretation is that Hitler is central.
 Klaus Hildebrand and Eberhard Jackel
 Personality and ideology of Hitler is so powerful it
cannot be distinguished from Nazism – Hitlerism.
 Accept the special circumstances created by
Germany’s history but emphasise over and above
this the role of the individual – Hitler.

8.  Miscalculation:
 Recent theory by British Historian Ian Kershaw.
 Attempts to balance structuralist and
intentionalist interpretations.
 Appointment as Chancellor not inevitable until
the last minute, 23:00 on 30/01/33.
 Series of miscalculations by Bruning, Papen,
Schleicher, Hindenburg etc during 1930-33.
 Kershaw argues that under this interpretation
“Hitler's path ought to have been blocked long
before the final drama”

9.  Great depression transformed the Nazi party
▪ Social and economic hardship resulted in an environment of discontent which they
exploited.
 Mixture of old and new ideas; nationalism, racism, anti-democracy. Led to a
broad spectrum appeal, especially the squeeze middle classes.
 Being right wing alone was not enough. Nazis used new media incredibly
effectively.
 The role of Hitler cannot be ignored. Though his rise comes amidst a
confluence of other events.
 No alternative, no left, no centre.
 30th of January was decisive (in hindsight)
 But dictatorship did not start till the ‘legal revolution’ in February March 1933.

10.  Impact of the Wall Street Crash
• Economic Impact
• Social Impact
• Political Impact
 The Collapse of Parliamentary Democracy
• End of Muller, rise of Bruning
• Bruning’s Government
• Von Papen’s Government