Weimar moment definition8/13/2023 ![]() "It's not about relating a different version of history or even a so-called counterfactual history," said Diner. The exhibition, based on an idea by Dan Diner, is a backward journey that contemplates how a slight shift in events leading to 14 decisive historical moments from 1989 to 1848 might have transformed the past - and the future. Or: It could have turned out differently ," an exhibition in Berlin's German Historical Museum, reassesses January 30, 1933, among other dates that changed the course of German - and often world - history. Pivotal moments in German history could have been different In the midst of the Great Depression, nationalist-conservative politicians became the unintended architects of Hitler's rise, as they undermined both democracy and the threat of socialism to preserve their own economic interests.īut while German reactionaries were happy to facilitate authoritarian rule they badly underestimated Hitler's intentions, and his ability to weaponize the national humiliation of the World War I defeat in World War II, said Kershaw. Hitler was not the inevitable result of a German "Sonderweg," or "special path," in its chaotic leap from aristocracy to democracy, British historian Ian Kershaw has argued. Hitler struggled to consolidate power in 1932 Image: United Archives/IMAGO The nationalist-conservative elites believed Hitler could be controlled and used as a "tool" - but that plan backfired. Papen persuaded Hindenburg into appointing Hitler as chancellor so that he could become vice chancellor. ![]() ![]() A large number of people played sinister roles. Among them was German nationalist-conservative politician Franz von Papen, who had to resign as Reich chancellor in November 1932 and saw a chance to regain power. Hitler's appointment to chancellorship was the result of backstage politics and intrigues. The aging leader had resisted Hitler for a long time, refusing him the chancellorship despite good results at the ballot box in 1932. In the German language, January 30 has been marked by the term "Machtergreifung," or "seizure of power." But power was not seized by Hitler it was instead handed to him when Reich President Paul von Hindenburg appointed the Nazi leader Reich chancellor. As Diner noted, Januwent on to become one of the most "significant" dates in 20th-century German history. That really shouldn't have happened."īut it did happen, and the rest is history. "And it is precisely at this point that Hitler is appointed Reich chancellor. In the autumn of 1932 the Nazis were "on the downswing, the economy was on the upswing," said Diner. Adolf Hitler raised his right hand in the fascist salute during a 1932 meeting with Nazi delegates to the Reichstag Image: AP/picture alliance Did Hitler have to become chancellor? Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, along with several million Sinti and Roma, people with disabilities and homosexuals. By the time of his death in 1945, Hitler's devastating wars led to the death of 60 million people worldwide. The consequences of Hitler's dictatorship are well known. So few would have then predicted that Hitler would rise to the chancellorship on January 30, 1933, according to Dan Diner, a German-Israeli historian, author and emeritus professor of modern history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In the November 1932 federal election - the last free and fair vote held before the Nazis seized power - Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party won the most votes but failed to obtain a majority, which meant Hitler had to form a coalition amid ongoing political deadlock. In the early 1930s it looked as if Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party would be unlikely to ever take power.īy the autumn of 1932, the Nazis were losing support as the Depression-hit economy began to improve.
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