As you may know, Hitler was a politically obsessed man. He desired to make Germany and Austria unite into a great country, along the side of Britain, planning to destroy communism in the USSR. Growing up as a very disturbed individual with a strong character, he turned the Jews into scapegoats and killed millions..Step 1 - Become a Dictator
After the wall street crash, that had started in the 1920s, there was a worldwide depression. Although the idea of dictatorship may be seen as extremely wrong today, countries during 1933 didn't mind the concept if their dictator had promised jobs and a better economy.
- For example.. by 1938, there had already been a large population of Nazi supporters based in Austria. They had aided Hitler in his annexing.
- The Austrians had seen German economy improve after Hitler had come into power (as he had broken the Treaty of Versailles, and introduced conscription). They wanted him to lead their country as well in order to help their economy improve!
- Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin were other dictators at the time. They had also become very powerful.
Step 2 - Come into power at the right time
Hitler had chosen the perfect times to do everything:- As mentioned in step 2, people had supported dictators at the time due to their economic crises. This gave Hitler an excuse, a sense of acceptance and more opportunities.
- Another reason as to why Hitler was able to annex Austria was because of his timing. The League of Nations was busy with trying to sort out the Abyssinian Crisis. This dispute had a higher priority, and therefore, Hitler wasn't taken as seriously as he should have been.
- His actions came after the Treaty of Versailles. This had earned him a few points: appeasement. Britain had began to think that the treaty was too harsh.. and they let him get away with a few things.
Step 3 - Propaganda! Propaganda! Propaganda!
Hitler was a big user of propaganda. He used it to gain many supporters.
However, on a more international level, he was a massive liar. For example..
- When he had introduced conscription (which was not allowed according to the Treaty of Versailles) he had lied and said that he was very reluctant to do so.. when actually, he did do it to go against the treaty - one of his main aims.
- To gain Czechoslovakia, he had lied to Italy, Britain & France about what he wanted. He kept increasing his demands.. and all of them were appeased.
Step 4 - Make Dictator Friends
Hitler became very good friends with Mussolini. Before they had been friends, invasion had been much more of a challenge for Hitler. In 1934, Mussolini had prevented his attempt to annex Austria, however after, he didn't do anything against him.
In fact, we can tell that he was very supportive of Hitler's actions. He had help Hitler organize the Munich Conference (which lead onto the invasion of Czechoslovakia). He had also destroyed Spain together with Hitler in the Spanish Civil War, and signed the Anti-Comintern Pact against the USSR (also with the Japanese dictator).
Making friends = doubling the power.
There.. That's it!
I hope this post will help you in world-denomination and your History GCSE exam!
