Germany: From Double Crisis to National Socialism

Abstract

Democracy did not survive in interwar Germany, the republican system broke down and was replaced by a fascist regime. How was it possible for the National Socialists to seize power in Germany and establish an all-pervasive totalitarian regime? Posing this question does not mean that all developments before 1933 can only be viewed from this perspective. This would amount to historical determinism, focussing all attention on the developments that took place and ignoring the fact that the future (and even an already past future) though influenced by the past is an open one. The moves of the relevant actors and groups have to be analysed with regard to their respective situations and perceptions. As Bracher writes: ‘a carefully differentiating and comparative perspective can avoid the temptation of a mono-causal interpretation of history and fulfil the demands of an empirically oriented and truly open analysis of contemporary history’ (1984: xv; our translation). It is clear that the reasons for the collapse of the Weimar regime are not just the world economic crisis but arise from additional historical factors. The rise of National Socialism cannot be separated from the political, economic, social and ideological context in which the National Socialists operated (Tyrell 1983: 98).