The Great Depresssion (A Case Study) | The History Notes

The Great Depression was possibly the worst global economic period in History. At GCSE level, I studied the Roaring 20s and how speculation and increased economic spending caused the Wall Street Crash in America, but that's across the pond. We're focusing on Germany here, and how this strengthened the Nazi Party.

During 1929, the year of the crash, German unemployment was at 1,320,000, nationally, with Nazi seats at 107 within the Reichstag. In 1930, this rose to 3,000,000, in 1931 this was at 4,350,000. By July 1932 this rose to 5,102,000 with Nazi seats rising to 230. By 1933, the year of Hitler, there were 6,100,000 unemployed persons in Germany with 288 seats in the Reichstag. From 1929-33, the number of middle class on the dole rose to 17 million.

In the good times before the Great Depression the Nazi Party experienced slow growth, with problems persuading the people, barely reaching 100,000 members in a country of over sixty million. But the Party, despite its tiny size, was a tightly controlled, highly disciplined organization of fanatics poised to spring into action.

The crisis of the Great Depression brought disunity to the political parties in the Reichstag. Instead of forging an alliance to enact desperately need legislation, they broke up into squabbling, uncompromising groups.


The German people were tired of the political haggling in Berlin. They were tired of misery, tired of suffering, tired of weakness. These were desperate times and they were willing to listen to anyone, even Adolf Hitler.

NOTE: Chancellor Bruning cut benefits, increased tax and cut wages and imposed ARTICLE 4, allowing the president (at the time Hindenburg), to become a dictator, who could pass laws. Basically people lost faith in the regime, even politicians, they were no longer a 'great democracy'