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Why Hitler Came into Power
In 1934 Abel went to Germany and offered a prize, under the auspices of Columbia University, for autobiographies of members of the National Socialist movement. The 600 essays he received constitute the best source on grassroots opinion in the Nazi Party, and they form the empirical foundation for this fascinating yet curiously neglected 1938 book.
345 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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June 17, 2016
UPDATE 6/17/16 ...
As I prepare to write Book 2 of A FLOOD OF EVIL, covering the years from 1934 to 1945, I have reviewed my notes from Abel's report. These are particularly revealing ...
... Hitler's followers submitted themselves to him willingly and unquestionably … to them he was a prophet whose pronouncements were taken as oracles … he was a hero whom they naïvely trusted to perform the impossible if it were necessary … he was seen as a man of superhuman power with a special star guiding his destiny
... Hitler personified all my desires for a new Germany … I accepted and internalized his fanaticism and his belief in ultimate victory
... I began to appreciate the danger of Jewish intelligence … when one considered that public opinion was created almost exclusively by Jews, one was filled with horror … from that evening on I occupied myself with the Jewish problem and the more I understood it greater opponent of the Jews did I become ... Through enlightening books I found confirmation of the fact that in Germany everything in politics and economics at that time depended on Jews ... There was only one conclusion: that I must fight against the Jew by all means as the embodiment of wickedness and evil ... It could not possibly be God's will that the Jews were intended to dominate the world
... We learned that our Fuehrer had stated that he would not take the state by force ... that he would proceed in a legal fashion
***
EARLIER COMMENTS ...
This is a fascinating report, drawn from essays written by Nazi members in 1934, in response to a contest organized by a Columbia University professor. The timing is just after Hitler took power and well before his intentions to murder the Jews of Europe were as clear as they later became.
As I enter the phase of my new book where my main German character is "drawn" into the Nazi world, these statements by others who decided to become Nazis are invaluable sources of understanding. One of the challenging aspects of my novel-in-progress ["Choosing Hitler"] is to write in a manner that accurately and honestly shows the enthusiasm of those who were drawn to Hitler when I myself am filled with repulsion and hatred for every aspect of Hitler and those who supported him.
UPDATE May 5 ...
Here are some of the hundreds of notes I have taken from this excellent but little known book ...
... the racial doctrine advocated by the NS was equally important to the principle of leadership in underpinning the ideology of the movement … there were three main tenets … one was the belief in the biological superiority of the "Germanic" race … Second was the opinion of that racial purity is the basis of national health and that intermixture of races is the source of all social decay ... Third is the claim that the Jews are an inferior race and that their influence on the economic, political, and cultural life of Germany, past and present, is responsible for everything that was and is evil
... The tendency to interpret personal experiences in a fashion that made Jews the culprit … the prevalence of anti-Semitic literature in Germany … the acts of violence perpetrated against Jews … have for their background a tradition which is at least 1000 years old
... The spread of the NS movement depended largely upon adequate promotion … modern advertising psychology was utilized to produce mass effect … the sheer bulk of the propaganda effort was remarkable … the party propaganda covered Germany with a thoroughness that made its doctrines known in almost every home in every city and throughout the countryside
... People who supported Hitler were primarily influenced by the belief that they were backing a winning contender … this confidence was supported by the superiority of the NS organization over that of all other parties … it was better coordinated and disciplined and show greater vitality and driving power ... its military aggressive nature appealed to many ...
Hitler had a twofold function … he was the chief executive, the planner, and organizer … he also played the role of prophet of the movement … he commanded unquestioned allegiance to his person and through this personal allegiance inspire members with loyalty and devotion to the movement
Hitler's followers submitted themselves to him willingly and unquestionably … to them he was a prophet whose pronouncements were taken as oracles … he was a hero whom they naïvely trusted to perform the impossible if it were necessary … he was seen as a man of superhuman power with a special star guiding his destiny
... If we won Germany was saved ... if we were defeated a gate would open in the East and Moscow's Red hordes would swarm in and plunge Europe into night and misery
As I prepare to write Book 2 of A FLOOD OF EVIL, covering the years from 1934 to 1945, I have reviewed my notes from Abel's report. These are particularly revealing ...
... Hitler's followers submitted themselves to him willingly and unquestionably … to them he was a prophet whose pronouncements were taken as oracles … he was a hero whom they naïvely trusted to perform the impossible if it were necessary … he was seen as a man of superhuman power with a special star guiding his destiny
... Hitler personified all my desires for a new Germany … I accepted and internalized his fanaticism and his belief in ultimate victory
... I began to appreciate the danger of Jewish intelligence … when one considered that public opinion was created almost exclusively by Jews, one was filled with horror … from that evening on I occupied myself with the Jewish problem and the more I understood it greater opponent of the Jews did I become ... Through enlightening books I found confirmation of the fact that in Germany everything in politics and economics at that time depended on Jews ... There was only one conclusion: that I must fight against the Jew by all means as the embodiment of wickedness and evil ... It could not possibly be God's will that the Jews were intended to dominate the world
... We learned that our Fuehrer had stated that he would not take the state by force ... that he would proceed in a legal fashion
***
EARLIER COMMENTS ...
This is a fascinating report, drawn from essays written by Nazi members in 1934, in response to a contest organized by a Columbia University professor. The timing is just after Hitler took power and well before his intentions to murder the Jews of Europe were as clear as they later became.
As I enter the phase of my new book where my main German character is "drawn" into the Nazi world, these statements by others who decided to become Nazis are invaluable sources of understanding. One of the challenging aspects of my novel-in-progress ["Choosing Hitler"] is to write in a manner that accurately and honestly shows the enthusiasm of those who were drawn to Hitler when I myself am filled with repulsion and hatred for every aspect of Hitler and those who supported him.
UPDATE May 5 ...
Here are some of the hundreds of notes I have taken from this excellent but little known book ...
... the racial doctrine advocated by the NS was equally important to the principle of leadership in underpinning the ideology of the movement … there were three main tenets … one was the belief in the biological superiority of the "Germanic" race … Second was the opinion of that racial purity is the basis of national health and that intermixture of races is the source of all social decay ... Third is the claim that the Jews are an inferior race and that their influence on the economic, political, and cultural life of Germany, past and present, is responsible for everything that was and is evil
... The tendency to interpret personal experiences in a fashion that made Jews the culprit … the prevalence of anti-Semitic literature in Germany … the acts of violence perpetrated against Jews … have for their background a tradition which is at least 1000 years old
... The spread of the NS movement depended largely upon adequate promotion … modern advertising psychology was utilized to produce mass effect … the sheer bulk of the propaganda effort was remarkable … the party propaganda covered Germany with a thoroughness that made its doctrines known in almost every home in every city and throughout the countryside
... People who supported Hitler were primarily influenced by the belief that they were backing a winning contender … this confidence was supported by the superiority of the NS organization over that of all other parties … it was better coordinated and disciplined and show greater vitality and driving power ... its military aggressive nature appealed to many ...
Hitler had a twofold function … he was the chief executive, the planner, and organizer … he also played the role of prophet of the movement … he commanded unquestioned allegiance to his person and through this personal allegiance inspire members with loyalty and devotion to the movement
Hitler's followers submitted themselves to him willingly and unquestionably … to them he was a prophet whose pronouncements were taken as oracles … he was a hero whom they naïvely trusted to perform the impossible if it were necessary … he was seen as a man of superhuman power with a special star guiding his destiny
... If we won Germany was saved ... if we were defeated a gate would open in the East and Moscow's Red hordes would swarm in and plunge Europe into night and misery
January 20, 2022
“One year after Hitler's appointment as chancellor, Theodore Abel, a Columbia University sociologist, went to Germany and offered small cash prizes for political autobiographies by Nazi party members. With the cooperation of the government, he was able to collect about seven hundred essays... It was on the basis of an analysis of these documents that Why Hitler Came into Power was written. Now, half a century later, this book is still very much worth reading….”
A tale of chance, deception and cross currents of History …..
What does the author point at?
Simply the fact that Hitler came to power not by using force but by using constitutional means...
He banked upon the desire of the German people to secure for themselves a place in the Sun.
The failure of the Weimar Republic to restore the prestige of Gennany was one of the chief causes of its downfall. Hitler merely voiced that desire. The anti-semetic policy of the Nazis also found easy response among the Junkers, militarists and industrialists of Germany. The Nazi theory of race-superiority appealed to the German mind.
The book proves that leaders of the German Republic did not exert themselves to nip the Nazi Movement in the bud. They were not willing to shed blood.
They were men without faith who could not inspire or organise.
They were theorists, elderly arm-chair doctrinaires who allowed power to slip from their hands into those of the Nazis. It has rightly been said that Germany under them was a Republic without republicans.
Although they had in their hands all the instruments of popular propaganda such as the radio, the press and the platform, they did not make use of them to educate the people to have faith in democracy and in Republic.
The workers of Germany did not rise in support of the Republic as they were themselves suffering from acute unemployment. From the very beginning, the German Republic worked under many handicaps. By accepting the Treaty of Versailles, the republican leaders were condemned as the “authors” of the national humiliation and thus lost all popular respect and sympathy.
The Allied Powers were also responsible for the fall of the German Republic as they treated the German Republic in a very shabby manner. They imposed very harsh terms on defeated Germany. They occupied the Ruhr which humiliated the Germans. They made the German Republic appear in the eyes of the German masses as totally unworthy of being vested with ruling power.
The Nazis took full advantage of the existing circumstances. They joined the masses in condemning the German Republic and promised everything to everybody. They used all the symbols of mass appeal—the Swastika badge, the uniform of brown and black shirts, the acclamation (Heil Hitler) and the salute. Millions of Germans secretly sympathised with the campaign of violence and terrorism resorted to by the Nazis.
Theirs was the only programme which seemed to offer a solution to the many problems facing Germany. The Nazis successfully befooled the people of Germany in believing that they alone were their saviours. The big land-owners and capitalists contributed huge funds to the Nazi Party.
The middle classes ranged themselves behind the Swastika banner. The people of Germany who worshipped power and authority, were ready and willing to be ruled by a party which professed to improve the intolerable living conditions in which the people of republican Germany were at that time.
The Weimar Constitution was worked by old civilians who were authoritarian in spirit and gave only lip-deep loyalty to the Republic. The failure of the workers of Germany against the Nazis is attributed to a fatal split in their ranks of which the Soviet Union was responsible.
The Communist Party of Germany undermined the solidarity of the working classes. It seduced younger members and sowed dissensions between the leaders and their followers. When one German Communist leader realised the needs of the situation in Germany, he was replaced by Stalin by another who was more orthodox in Communist theories. The result was that the workers failed to do anything to save the German Republic.
The character of Hitler himself helped him to come to power. Why so? The author mentions the following points –
1) He possessed great resourcefulness.
2) He was a great orator who could control and influence audiences of millions of people.
3) His technique of propaganda helped him to carry the audience with him.
4) He thundered. He asked for blood. He infused politics with religious fervour.
5) He was a fanatic in his views who was able to hypnotise all the who came to hear his speeches.
The result was that the number of his followers began to rise and ultimately he became Chancellor.
The character of the people of Germany also helped Hitler. Most of the people of Germany cared more for that party which could give them security and glory rather than freedom as such. They were sick of the treachery and cowardice of the republican politicians. They wanted a strong man who could take them out of the mess created by the republican politicians.
The declining fervour of Protestantism in Germany indirectly led to the rise of Hitler. Having lost their enthusiasm in religion, they were in search of some other object of devotion. The Republic in Germany was not able to win over their devotion and they found their object in the national socialism of Hitler. That added to the strength of Hitler’s party and his followers.
Hitler was most vocal about the injustice of the Treaty of Versailles. He denounced its provisions in the strongest possible terms. The more he did so, the greater became his popularity with the people who wanted somebody who could interpret their inner feelings to the world. They found in Hitler the man they wanted and that helped him to come to power.
Hitler gave to the Germans a high-sounding programme of 25 Points which was a catalogue of promises and promised something to every group of the German nation.
He promised protection of property from the Communists. He promised protection to labourers against their exploitation. He promised protection to the consumers against producers. He promised protection to small businessmen against corporations. As he promised something to everybody, he was able to secure an overwhelming support from the Germans.
Another cause of failure of the German Republic was that the army and the civil service were still supreme.
The author hints at the fact that although the social superiority of the aristocracy, the army and the officials was no longer aggressively proclaimed and there was less “ceremonious bowing and heel-clicking”, Germany never experienced that uprising of a great democratic majority which was the solid guarantee of the survival of democracy.
During the terms of the successive governments from 1919 to 1933, the army was slowly laying fresh foundation of military power.
The Free Corps and the Reichswehr became a real power against which the civil authorities were helpless. “There is indeed little doubt that the army was almost as responsible for the second counter-revolution under Hitler as it was for the first counterrevolution under Noske fourteen years earlier”.
Side by side with the army stood intact the structure of the bureaucracy, authoritative and authoritarian in temper, having utter contempt for democratic processes and pining for the old Prussian absolutist regime.
Thus, the rule of law always remained in Germany spasmodic and precarious.
The German tradition facilitated the rise of Hitler and fall of the Republic.
A tale of chance, deception and cross currents of History …..
What does the author point at?
Simply the fact that Hitler came to power not by using force but by using constitutional means...
He banked upon the desire of the German people to secure for themselves a place in the Sun.
The failure of the Weimar Republic to restore the prestige of Gennany was one of the chief causes of its downfall. Hitler merely voiced that desire. The anti-semetic policy of the Nazis also found easy response among the Junkers, militarists and industrialists of Germany. The Nazi theory of race-superiority appealed to the German mind.
The book proves that leaders of the German Republic did not exert themselves to nip the Nazi Movement in the bud. They were not willing to shed blood.
They were men without faith who could not inspire or organise.
They were theorists, elderly arm-chair doctrinaires who allowed power to slip from their hands into those of the Nazis. It has rightly been said that Germany under them was a Republic without republicans.
Although they had in their hands all the instruments of popular propaganda such as the radio, the press and the platform, they did not make use of them to educate the people to have faith in democracy and in Republic.
The workers of Germany did not rise in support of the Republic as they were themselves suffering from acute unemployment. From the very beginning, the German Republic worked under many handicaps. By accepting the Treaty of Versailles, the republican leaders were condemned as the “authors” of the national humiliation and thus lost all popular respect and sympathy.
The Allied Powers were also responsible for the fall of the German Republic as they treated the German Republic in a very shabby manner. They imposed very harsh terms on defeated Germany. They occupied the Ruhr which humiliated the Germans. They made the German Republic appear in the eyes of the German masses as totally unworthy of being vested with ruling power.
The Nazis took full advantage of the existing circumstances. They joined the masses in condemning the German Republic and promised everything to everybody. They used all the symbols of mass appeal—the Swastika badge, the uniform of brown and black shirts, the acclamation (Heil Hitler) and the salute. Millions of Germans secretly sympathised with the campaign of violence and terrorism resorted to by the Nazis.
Theirs was the only programme which seemed to offer a solution to the many problems facing Germany. The Nazis successfully befooled the people of Germany in believing that they alone were their saviours. The big land-owners and capitalists contributed huge funds to the Nazi Party.
The middle classes ranged themselves behind the Swastika banner. The people of Germany who worshipped power and authority, were ready and willing to be ruled by a party which professed to improve the intolerable living conditions in which the people of republican Germany were at that time.
The Weimar Constitution was worked by old civilians who were authoritarian in spirit and gave only lip-deep loyalty to the Republic. The failure of the workers of Germany against the Nazis is attributed to a fatal split in their ranks of which the Soviet Union was responsible.
The Communist Party of Germany undermined the solidarity of the working classes. It seduced younger members and sowed dissensions between the leaders and their followers. When one German Communist leader realised the needs of the situation in Germany, he was replaced by Stalin by another who was more orthodox in Communist theories. The result was that the workers failed to do anything to save the German Republic.
The character of Hitler himself helped him to come to power. Why so? The author mentions the following points –
1) He possessed great resourcefulness.
2) He was a great orator who could control and influence audiences of millions of people.
3) His technique of propaganda helped him to carry the audience with him.
4) He thundered. He asked for blood. He infused politics with religious fervour.
5) He was a fanatic in his views who was able to hypnotise all the who came to hear his speeches.
The result was that the number of his followers began to rise and ultimately he became Chancellor.
The character of the people of Germany also helped Hitler. Most of the people of Germany cared more for that party which could give them security and glory rather than freedom as such. They were sick of the treachery and cowardice of the republican politicians. They wanted a strong man who could take them out of the mess created by the republican politicians.
The declining fervour of Protestantism in Germany indirectly led to the rise of Hitler. Having lost their enthusiasm in religion, they were in search of some other object of devotion. The Republic in Germany was not able to win over their devotion and they found their object in the national socialism of Hitler. That added to the strength of Hitler’s party and his followers.
Hitler was most vocal about the injustice of the Treaty of Versailles. He denounced its provisions in the strongest possible terms. The more he did so, the greater became his popularity with the people who wanted somebody who could interpret their inner feelings to the world. They found in Hitler the man they wanted and that helped him to come to power.
Hitler gave to the Germans a high-sounding programme of 25 Points which was a catalogue of promises and promised something to every group of the German nation.
He promised protection of property from the Communists. He promised protection to labourers against their exploitation. He promised protection to the consumers against producers. He promised protection to small businessmen against corporations. As he promised something to everybody, he was able to secure an overwhelming support from the Germans.
Another cause of failure of the German Republic was that the army and the civil service were still supreme.
The author hints at the fact that although the social superiority of the aristocracy, the army and the officials was no longer aggressively proclaimed and there was less “ceremonious bowing and heel-clicking”, Germany never experienced that uprising of a great democratic majority which was the solid guarantee of the survival of democracy.
During the terms of the successive governments from 1919 to 1933, the army was slowly laying fresh foundation of military power.
The Free Corps and the Reichswehr became a real power against which the civil authorities were helpless. “There is indeed little doubt that the army was almost as responsible for the second counter-revolution under Hitler as it was for the first counterrevolution under Noske fourteen years earlier”.
Side by side with the army stood intact the structure of the bureaucracy, authoritative and authoritarian in temper, having utter contempt for democratic processes and pining for the old Prussian absolutist regime.
Thus, the rule of law always remained in Germany spasmodic and precarious.
The German tradition facilitated the rise of Hitler and fall of the Republic.
June 4, 2018
Fascinating, almost forgotten book that was first published in 1938. This is a re-print from 1986 that is also out of print now.
The premise is that Theodore Abel, a sociologist from Columbia University set out to Germany in 1934 with a fascinating idea to gather in-depth information why Germans had led Hitler and the Nazis seize power. With the support of German authorities, he ran an essay contest for "the best personal life history of an adherent of the Hitler movement". The contestants only qualified if they had been party members before the Nazis came to power in Jan 1933. He got 683 manuscripts and the book quotes extensively from these, while also analyzing the common thread along different dimensions, like "discontent" , "ideology", "anti-semitism".
One of the key findings is the broadness of the support the Nazi party got in the merely 1930's. Support came from more than one class of citizens.
One other frightening take-away in today's world is the parallel success of populist politics that seemingly addresses grievances and 'unfairness' of a majority of society. One direct quote from the chapter "The First Period: 1919-1923" :
"The outstanding feature of his propaganda. however, was the aggressive tone adopted by National Socialists in their speeches, pamphlets and newspapers. There was no mincing of words, no politeness, and little concern with facts and logic in these outpourings. Aimed at the emotions, they struck heavily but effectively. The rapier play of fine wit was as foreign to them as any attempt at fair play. .... The blunt, unadorned words of the speakers seemed to favor their interests, and pointed the way to fearless, uncompromising action".
Universe help us !
The premise is that Theodore Abel, a sociologist from Columbia University set out to Germany in 1934 with a fascinating idea to gather in-depth information why Germans had led Hitler and the Nazis seize power. With the support of German authorities, he ran an essay contest for "the best personal life history of an adherent of the Hitler movement". The contestants only qualified if they had been party members before the Nazis came to power in Jan 1933. He got 683 manuscripts and the book quotes extensively from these, while also analyzing the common thread along different dimensions, like "discontent" , "ideology", "anti-semitism".
One of the key findings is the broadness of the support the Nazi party got in the merely 1930's. Support came from more than one class of citizens.
One other frightening take-away in today's world is the parallel success of populist politics that seemingly addresses grievances and 'unfairness' of a majority of society. One direct quote from the chapter "The First Period: 1919-1923" :
"The outstanding feature of his propaganda. however, was the aggressive tone adopted by National Socialists in their speeches, pamphlets and newspapers. There was no mincing of words, no politeness, and little concern with facts and logic in these outpourings. Aimed at the emotions, they struck heavily but effectively. The rapier play of fine wit was as foreign to them as any attempt at fair play. .... The blunt, unadorned words of the speakers seemed to favor their interests, and pointed the way to fearless, uncompromising action".
Universe help us !
November 1, 2020
I inherited a hardback copy of this book, with dust cover, from my Grandfather who fought at the "First World War." It is spooky to see the same fascists now in the USA as were in Nazi Germany. Note the book is about "why," not "how," fascism took over parts of Europe.
November 25, 2018
This is an extraordinary examination and analysis of how Hitler used crowd response to propel his successful ascent to power. That it was written in 1938 continues to amaze me. Everything you need to know about the modern political machine in a two party system is in this book.
March 6, 2016
A really good resource that I used for a history paper.
January 6, 2021
A very interesting read. The book was based on a survey of Germans in 1934. It gives a glimpse into the early mindset of the German people during the Nazi era without the hindsight of World War II.
November 14, 2023
I didn’t read *all* of this book as I was primarily reading for coursework. However, I read the majority of this book and did find it informative and thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews