Who or what bore the responsibility for the rise of Hitler?

  Before World War II, Adolf Hitler emerged as a notorious leader of Germany. But who or what bore the ultimate responsibility for his rise?

The rise of Hitler could be attributed to three elements. It was Hitler himself,the citizens in Germany, and other countries’ decisions (such as Britain,France and America).

It could be traced back to before World War I. Otto Von Bismarck successfully defeated France and hence expanded Germany’s territory. Germany also wanted more colonies and territories like the Suez Canal. Bismarck industrialized Germany, making it a true member of the modern world. So, the citizens in Germany had a wealthy and harmonious life, and there was no concern over the economy.

However,Germany lost World War I, and signed the Treaty of Versailles which would restrict German military forces, and required heavy war payments, as well as surrendering large amounts of territory to the victorious countries. The Germans were outraged. Hitler entered into this period, he wrote ‘Mein Kampf’, a book that articulated his opinions about the world.

After the war, America faced the horrible Great Depression, which affected Germany aswell. Germany was under heavy pressure from the war payments and the Depression. Citizens were starving, and the numbers of unemployment were rising steadily every day. People needed help and supplements. Hitler gave some speeches to the people that promised a change in Germany’s poor economy.

Both the speeches and the book persuaded the citizens to vote for him in elections. Although Hitler did threaten some people to vote for his party, some people voted through their own free will. He ultimately became Chancellor of Germany.

Hitler himself actually played an important role in his rise. He was an ambitious and confident man, and had beliefs about human races. In ‘Mein Kampf’ he noted that the Aryans were the best race in the world, and should rule over other races. Also he wrote that Jews were the worst race in the world, so they should be destroyed. When he became dictator, he sent loads of Jews into concentration camps, and systematically killed them.

Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles. In the Treaty of Versailles, it read Germany could not have more than 100,000 land forces, and could not have heavy military machinery such as tanks and airplanes. However, Hitler began to rearm in secret, he hoped to be master of Europe. The Treaty of Versailles was like toilet paper to Hitler. Also Hitler greatly improved Germany’s economy by building highways and infrastructure.

Other countries did not stop Hitler’s aggressive moves, which was a tremendous boon for Hitler. Britain and France for instance, had no incling of Hitler’s wild ambitions. They thought if you feed the wolf, the wolf would never bite you.However Hitler kept taking more. When he successfully attached Austria to the German Reich, he demanded parts of Czechoslovakia next. Britain and Francestill did not realize that Hitler would not be satisfied until he controlled all of Europe. Soon, Hitler plotted to attack France.

Hitler was a cruel warmonger, but he could still be influential in our daily lives. When a talented and powerful person uses their talent in the right way, what a boon it could be for out history! And when a talented and powerful person used his orher talents in the wrong way like Hitler, what a dreadful disaster it could be!