How did the Depression Help the Nazis?

Read pages 152 - 155 of "The Depression & Rise of Nazis." Complete the four questions of the focus task at the bottom left of page 155.
NOTE: Gordon Craig is a historian. His view is expressed in the paragraph below 'Negative cohesion' at the bottom of page 154. Here is a modern example of negative cohesion: I don't support former president George W. Bush's view on restricted civil liberties, but I hate foreign terrorists, too, just like Bush, so he can't be that bad.
Do you agree with Goebbels' view that people rallied to support Hitler for positive reasons- or do you think that Gordon Craig was right that people supported the Nazis out of fear and disillusionment?
Look at sourced 37-41 and 43. For each source, write two sentences explaining whether you think it is evidence that:
-supports the view of Goebbels
-supports the view of Craig
-could be used to support either interpretation

1a. Source 37: I think that this graph supports Goebbels. There was a large rate of unemployment and it was going up, and the unemployed supported the Nazis because they provided an answer to this, suggesting that they would be able to join the army.

1b. Source 38: This supports Craig. This source shows that there were storm troopers parades that were on the streets, showing "discipline in a time of chaos," which scared the people into supporting the Nazis.

1c. Source 39: This supports Goebbels. The people are not happy with the Treaty of Versailles, so if the Nazis say they are against it and want to get rid of it, people will support them.

1d. Source 40: This supports Goebbels views because the people probably willingly went to the rally to show their support for the Nazis.

1e. Source 41: This supports Goebbels views because this poster is showing how the communists would not be a good party to put into power. This poster says that the communists would burn the farms, along with other horrible things.

1f. Source 43: This source also supports Goebbels views. The people see this poster and want to support the Nazis because they provide work, freedom and bread. It says that the other parties would use terror, corruption and lies for their basis of government.


2. Now look through the text and other sources on pages 152-155. Make a list of examples and evidence that seem to support either viewpoint.
-Source 42 could support either viewpoint. Hitler's tone is particularly cynical, saying that his only goal is to beat the other political parties. This could add to the fear or have people willingly support them.
-Source 44 and the idea of Negative Cohesion also support both sides. People might not have directly supported Nazi beliefs, but they shared the same fears and dislikes, and this is how the Nazi's gained more support.


Scale of 1-5 with 5 being you agree fully.
Score them and write a short paragraph explaining your score for each statement.
3a. Score: 4 Very few people fully supported the Nazis.
Explain your score:
At first, the Nazis didn't have much support. When the depression happened, they started proposing ideas that would fix the horrible conditions of Germany, and they started supporting them. But even the ones who supported the Nazis didn't support everything they were saying. Some people didn't support their ideas but had the same dislikes and fears and supported them through that.

3b. Score: 4 The key factor was the economic depression. Without it, the Nazis would have remained a minority fringe party.
Explain your score:
Before the depression, the Nazis didn't have much support. As unemployment rose and conditions worsened, there was more and more support for the Nazis. Perhaps if it hadn't happened, the next really bad situation in Germany would have given the Nazis the same sort of opportunity and end similarly.

3c. Score: 3 The politicians of the Weimar Republic were mainly responsible for the rise of the Nazis.
Explain your score:
They were not the main factor, although they did contribute to the rise of the Nazis. If the politicians of the Weimar Republic were good leaders and effectively dealt with the depression, then the Nazis wouldn't have had the same conditions to base their campaign off of.