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How
did the economic depression help the Nazis?
The Wall Street
Crash in October 1929 led to a world economic depression. Germany
felt the impact of the Wall Street Crash earlier than many other
European countries because so much US money had been pumped into
the German economy since 1925 in the form of short-term loans. These
loans were rapidly called in by American banks, resulting in a sudden
fall in industrial output. Factories were forced to close or reduce
their workforce. The result was increasing unemployment which soon
brought millions of families to the brink of poverty and despair.
Some historians believe that without the world depression the Weimar
Republic would have survived and Hitler would not have gained power.
So what impact did the economic depression have on Germany's political
parties? To find out study the sources below and complete the task.
Source 1: A
table showing the number of seats won by the main parties in the
Reichstag in the elections of 1928-1932
|
Political
Party
|
Date
of Election
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May
1928
|
Sept
1930
|
July
1932
|
Nov
1932
|
|
NSDAP
(Nazis)
|
12
|
107
|
230
|
196
|
|
Nationalists
|
79
|
41
|
40
|
51
|
|
People's
Party
|
45
|
30
|
7
|
11
|
|
Centre
|
61
|
68
|
75
|
70
|
|
Democrats
|
25
|
14
|
4
|
2
|
|
Social
Democrats
|
152
|
143
|
133
|
121
|
|
KPD
(Communists)
|
54
|
77
|
89
|
100
|
Source 2: A
table showing unemployment figures in Germany, 1928-33
|
Year
|
Number
Unemployed
|
|
1928
|
1,862,000
|
|
1929
|
2,850,000
|
|
1930
|
3,217,000
|
|
1931
|
4,886,000
|
|
1932
|
6,042,000
|
|
|