Germany wasn't even invited to the peace treaty, when the allies met in Paris these different aims

threatened to slow up he peace treaties, the terms were rather hastily worked out for a number of reasons. These include the fact that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was already breaking up; communism seemed to be sweeping across many parts of Europe; and, as the armistice was only a temporary truce, the Allied naval blockade on Germany was now causing German civilians to die of starvation. The biggest problem facing the peace negotiators was what to do with Germany, which before the war had been the most powerful nation on the European continent. The German Government expected the treaty to be based on Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points. Clearly agreement was going to be very difficult, as each country felt they knew best. For example: the USA didn't want Italy getting their territory, France wanted an industrial area called the Rhineland, but Great Britain felt it should only be a demilitarized zone (area where any military equipment or soldiers are banned). The final treaty was published in June 1919. Ordinary Germans were dismayed when they discovered the terms of the treaty. The Government had expected they would get fair treatment, based on Wilson's fourteen points. However, they were in no position to do anything and simply had to agree with the treaty. Life for the German people became very difficult after the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was forced to borrow vast sums of money from America in order to pay its war debt to England and France. In 1929, the United States experienced an economic depression. A depression is a time when business is bad and many people are out of work. America was unable to continue lending money to Germany during the depression. Without the income from American loans, Germany was unable to pay its war reparations to England and France. The result was a severe depression in Germany. German money became close to worthless. They German people were angry with the Treaty of Versailles; they felt the terms were unfair. Many Germans believed a strong leader could return their nation to greatness. In 1923, Adolf Hitler attempted to overthrow the German government. He was unsuccessful, and sent to prison for nine months. While in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, which means my struggle. Hitler suggested that there were easy solutions to the complex problems the German people faced in the 1920s. Hitler blamed Germanys problems on its weak government. He said Germany had lost the war because of a stab in the back. Hitler spoke in a charismatic style that impressed the German people. He blamed outsiders for causing problems in the nation. He argued that if pure Germans known as Aryans controlled the destiny of Germany, it would return to greatness. Hitler placed the blame for many of Germanys problems on one group: the Jews. The Right Wing leaders of the Bavarian Government, Kahr, Seisser and Lossow, planned an uprising to commence in mid November. The Nazi Party agreed to support this uprising and Hitler arranged for his Storm Troopers to participate in the revolt. However on November 4th, the Right Wing leaders decided to postpone the revolution. This infuriated Hitler. Sensing the weakness of the Weimar Government and seeing the turmoil that the country was in he decided to stage the uprising using supporters of the nazi Party. On November 8th, 1923, a group of Nazi's occupied the Beer Hall. Here, they forced Kahr, Seisser and Lossow to support their uprising - they were holding a meeting when the Nazi's occupied the building. Members of the SA moved to occupy the Army headquarters and nazi sympathisers rampaged through parts of Munich, targeting Jewish property. Having agreed to support the Nazi's, Kahr was released. He immediately contacted the Police and Army to inform them of the uprising. The following day, Nazi's marched on Munich. They were met by the Police and a gun battle followed. 16 Nazi supporters were killed and the uprising was easily suppressed. The Nazi leadership was arrested and put on trial for treason, leading sympathisers, including General Ludendorff, were also arrested. The attempted uprising in Munich was not an isolated incident at this time. There had been a right wing revolt in Berlin in October and the rhineland had declared its independence from the state on October 22nd. Germany was, at the time, in a State of Emergency.

The consequences of the Munich Putsch were probably of more significance than the uprising itself. At his trial, Hitler was allowed to make long speeches explaining his reasons. This transformed him from being a little known politician into a champion of the right wing. His imprisonment, for just 9 months, allowed him time to reappraise his methodology and provided an opportunity for him to write Mein Kampf. These combined to make Hitler an obvious leader of the Right Wing opponents of the Weimar Republic. Although Hitler's rise to power was due partly to his organizational and oratorical abilities, and resentment over the Versailles treaty, the depression made the real difference. While Germany was still prosperous, in 1928, the nazis made little headway; in fact one seldom heard of them, except as the but of jokes. Economic hard times, however, caused people to lose faith in the weimar republic, and, in desperation, turn to radical alternatives. The depression was Hitler's big opportunity and he made skillful use of it. Many of Hitlers speeches were made in beer halls such as the Hofbrauhaus where he first outlined the party policy to a crowd of 2000. Beer Hall speeches were a long-established tradition in German politics. Beer would flow freely and the mood of the audience might change considerably over the course of the evening. Hitler would use these conditions cleverly. He would often address a crowd for two hours, commencing in a calm, friendly manner, winning the crowds approval with his precise, logical arguments that took his opponents statements and cut them into shreds In 1921, Hitler became the leader of the Nazis. His political talents were too precious to lose, as were his contacts with the army. During 1920, Hitler had made over 30 speeches to audiences of up to 2000 people. By 1921, membership had risen to 3300.

Once in power, Hitler has the resources of the state at his disposal. He built impressive public domains, employed grand ritual, mythic symbolism, and displays of unity and power to boost the nations self-esteem and confidence and his own position as undisputed leader. His spectacular public appearances were orchestrated and his entrances carefully timed. Hitler was a master of self-presentation and audience manipulation . Far from being the spittle-flinging loony preserved on film, Hitler was a clinical strategist who used a range of devices, including his carefully designed speeches, to woo his audiences and intimidate his enemies. Hitler was, first and foremost, determined to command personally. According to his so-called Leader Principle (Fhrerprinzip), ultimate authority rested with him and extended downward. At each level, the superior was to give the orders, the subordinates to follow them to the letter. In practice the command relationships were more subtle and complex, especially at the lower levels, but Hitler did have the final say on any subject in which he took a direct interest, including the details of military operations, that is, the actual direction of armies in the field. Moreover, as time went on he took over positions that gave him ever more direct control. From leader (Fhrer) of the German state in 1934, he went on to become commander-in-chief of the armed forces in 1938, then commander-inchief of the army in 1941. Hitler wanted to be the Feldherr, the generalissimo, exercising direct control of the armies himself. The decision by Von Papen and Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor has a very strong argument as being the most important reason in Hitler's rise to power. This is because it was the one factor that made Hitler's power certain. The support Hitler gained in the 1920s and 30s was shown in the November 1932 elections to have dwindled, but being made Chancellor in 1933 meant that popularity from the electorate was now not so important. Hitler had the authority to be able to pass laws and strongly influence the way in which Germany was run, and he used this certainty to his full potential. This factor could be said to be more important than the others because without it Hitler would not have had the opportunity to secure his power. Hitler's ultimate aim was to become dictator, and becoming Chancellor was the only factor that enabled him to manipulate his power in such a way that he could achieve this.

However, Hitler's rise to power would have been unattainable without other factors. Hitler's oratory, personality and leadership also have a strong argument for being the most vital reason for Hitler's rise to power On March 1933, the newly elected members of the German Parliament (the Reichstag) met in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin to consider passing Hitler's Enabling Act. It was officially called the 'Law for Removing the Distress of the People and the Reich.' If passed, it would effectively mean the end of democracy in Germany and establish the legal dictatorship of Adolf Hitler. The 'distress' had been secretly caused by the Nazis themselves in order to create a crisis atmosphere that would make the law seem necessary to restore order. On February 27, 1933, they had burned the Reichstag building, seat of the German government, causing panic and outrage. The Nazis successfully blamed the fire on the Communists and claimed it marked the beginning of a widespread uprising. On the day of the vote, Nazi storm troopers gathered in a show of force around the opera house chanting, "Full powers - or else! We want the bill - or fire and murder!!" They also stood inside in the hallways, and even lined the aisles where the vote would take place, glaring menacingly at anyone who might oppose Hitler's will. He also promised an end to unemployment and pledged to promote peace with France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. But in order to do all this, Hitler said, he first needed the Enabling Act. A two thirds majority was needed, since the law would actually alter the German constitution. Hitler needed 31 nonNazi votes to pass it. He got those votes from the Center Party after making a false promise to restore some basic rights already taken away by decree. They achieved what Hitler had wanted for years - to tear down the German Democratic Republic legally and end democracy, thus paving the way for a complete Nazi takeover of Germany.