The Change

The Nazi movement took the country by surprise and found ways to gain support through various techniques. After reading Allen’s book, it became clear that one of their most instrumental tools was fear. It wasn’t the fear of the Nazi’s violence as much as I first imagined it to be, but the fear of the result of The Great Depression. The Nazis consisted of groups of young men with ambitious dreams of rejuvenating Germany and leading it out of the depression that had befallen them. This was the message that resonated with all Germans and not one to be argued with. They preached about how Democracy was failing and in a time like the Great Depression, who could oppose them? But in a time where no one else seemed to be taking a stand, the Nazi’s were adamantly attempting to change the system with a set goal in mind. With the country in shambles, it’s not too hard to see why this could have been seen as appealing.

After the Reichstag fires, however, fear of the power of the Nazis started to play a large factor. In Allen’s book, he speaks of an occurrence that happened right after the fire: “The morning after the Reichstag fire the son of one of Northeim’s Socialists was overheard insisting to his classmates that the Nazis were responsible for the fire. Prompted soley by his awareness of the new atmosphere, the non-Nazi principle of the school suspended the boy.” This sends a clear message to the people of the town that the Nazis were in power now and any sign of disobedience wouldn’t go unpunished. Even a principal that was not a supporter of the Nazis knew that such talk should not be allowed to occur in a public setting. All the arrests occurring throughout the government and the nation against all Left-Wing supporters gave this decision some backing. Also with the violent nature of the Nazis that were well known throughout the country, there was no telling what would occur if a Nazi supporter were in charge of the situation. This also showed all the people in the town that the Nazis were to be taken more seriously then the Socialists were. The town that used to have a steady following of SPD and whose lower-class was held together by their ideals was feeling the power of the Nazis influence over the middle-class and their power over this new government.