Hello, welcome to History here at Oak National Academy.

My name is Mr. Newton, and I'll be your teacher today, guiding you through the entire lesson.

Right, let's get started.

In this topic, we have been investigating our big inquiry question.

Why were the NSDAP so unsuccessful before 1929? This is the wider question we have used to guide our exploration of the early development of the Nazi Party.

The Nazis had gained some momentum in the early 1920s, but everything changed after the failed Munich Putsch in 1923, with Hitler in prison, and the party banned.

The movement was in disarray.

Meanwhile, Germany's economy was recovering and extremist ideas were losing their appeal.

The Nazis now faced a critical question.

How could they rebuild? Should they attempt another violent uprising, or was there another way to gain power? In today's lesson, we'll explore how Hitler transformed the Nazi Party during its so-called lean years, a period when they struggled for electoral success and how minimal influence in the Reichstag.

We'll see how Hitler reorganised the party structure, reshaped its ideology, and laid the groundwork for its future rise to power.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to describe how the NSDAP changed between 1924 and 1929.

Before we begin, there are a few keywords that we need to understand.

Ideological is related to a system of beliefs or ideas, often political or philosophical.

Führer, meaning leader is a concept used by Hitler to establish himself as the absolute authority of the Nazi Party, promoting total control by a single leader as a solution to political instability.

Today's lesson is split into three parts.

First, we'll explore the reorganisation of the Nazi Party, how Hitler rebuilt the movement after the failure of the Munich Putsch.

Then we'll examine the Bamberg Conference and ideological control where Hitler asserted his authority and clarified the ideas which would shape the party's direction.

Finally, we'll look at the Nazi Party's limited electoral success and why despite their reorganisation, they remained a minor political force before 1929.

Right, let's begin the lesson with the reorganisation of the Nazi Party.

In 1923, the Nazi's attempted Munich Putsch failed, leading to Hitler's imprisonment.

When he was released in December 1924, he returned to find the Nazi Party in chaos.

Let's take a closer look at the issues facing the Nazi Party in 1924.

So firstly, the party was banned.

In the aftermath of the Putsch, the Nazi Party was officially banned, preventing them from operating as a legitimate political group, and this meant that they couldn't hold meetings, publish propaganda, or openly recruit new members, and the future of the party looked uncertain.

Furthermore, paramilitary groups had been dissolved.

Many of the Nazi Party's paramilitary forces, including the SA, or the Storm Troopers, had been broken up.

And this was a major setback because the SA had played a key role in the party's early tactics of street violence and intimidation.

Without this force, the Nazis lacked the means to protect themselves or apply direct pressure on their opponents, and there were also internal factions.

So what this means was that within the party, there were serious divisions or factions, and different members had different ideas about the future direction of the movement.

Some wanted to maintain a revolutionary approach, while others believed that a more structured political strategy was needed.

Hitler needed to unite these factions if the party was to survive, and the central issue was whether to utilise parliament or paramilitary.

One of the biggest debates within the party was whether to continue relying on the strength of paramilitary force to seize power or to seek legitimacy by working within the democratic system through parliament.

Some radicals wanted another uprising, but Hitler realised that violent coups like the Munich Putsch were unlikely to succeed.

Instead, he began to explore a legal path to power.

And lastly, there was a decline of extremist politics.

Germany's economy was stabilising under Gustav Stresemann, with hyperinflation under control and the country receiving loans from the US through the Dawes Plan, extremist parties lost support.

People were beginning to trust the Weimar Republic again, making it harder for the Nazis to attract new followers.

The NSDAP had thrived on economic turmoil, rallying support by blame on Jews, communists, and the Weimar government for Germany's suffering.

So overall, all these challenges forced Hitler to rethink his approach and turn his attention to reorganising the party.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What issues did the Nazi Party face in December 1924? Select three correct answers.

a, Germany's economy was recovering, b, there were internal divisions over political strategy, c, the Nazis had won the majority in the Reichstag, d, the party was banned.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew the issues that the Nazi Party faced were a, Germany's economy was recovering, b, internal divisions over political strategy, and d, party was banned.

Okay, let's continue.

So despite the challenges facing the Nazi Party, Hitler focused on reorganising the Nazi movement, an efforts undoubtedly influenced by the core beliefs he had outlined in "My Struggle" or "Mein Kampf." "My Struggle" was the title of Hitler's book, which we can see in the photo on the left.

The title of "My Struggle" reflects both Hitler's personal hardships and his broader political fights to reshape Germany.

The word struggle seemed to be at the core of Hitler's outlook.

He believed that struggle, competition and survival of the fittest were a necessity of life.

He also saw perpetual struggle or competition as an essential part of nationhood.

Nations that were courageous and hardworking would prosper.

Those that did not would weaken and fade away.

Hitler believed Germany was in a competition of survival with other nations.

In his book, Hitler would detail his life and beliefs and would outline his vision for Germany's future.

He believed that racial conflict was the driving force of history and saw Jews as the ultimate enemy of the German race.

He viewed it as Germany's mission, under Nazi leadership, to destroy Jewish influence and expand eastward into communist Russia to gain Lebensraum, living space.

And this living space was to build strength.

And Hitler argued that Germany needed to overturn the Treaty of Versailles, restore its 1914 borders, and unite German-speaking people across Europe.

However, Hitler realised that paramilitary violence alone would not bring him to power.

Instead, he focused on winning mass public support.

The publicity from his trial after the failed Munich Putsch reinforced his belief that he was destined to implement these ideas.

"My Struggle" or "Mein Kampf" was significant because it outlined Hitler's ideological foundation, which reshaped the Nazi Party's organisation and later influenced Germany as a whole.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Why was "Mein Kampf" important? Select three correct answers.

a, it's argued that gaining power legally was more effective than paramilitary violence, b, it argued that Germany should abandon nationalism in favour of international cooperation, c, it outlined Hitler's ideological foundation of antisemitism and Lebensraum, d, the ideas in the book influenced the reorganisation of the Nazi Party.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct answers were that a, "Mein Kampf" argued that gaining power legally was more effective than paramilitary violence, c, it outlined Hitler's ideological foundation of antisemitism and Lebensraum, and d, the ideas in the book influenced the reorganisation of the Nazi Party.

By 1924, Hitler had fully embraced the idea of the Führer.

In other words, he believed that absolute power should rest in the hands of a single leader, a Führer.

But why did Hitler adopt this idea? The 1920s were a chaotic time in Europe.

Many political and economic institutions were failing, and democracy was often seen as weak and disorganised.

Some extreme right-wing thinkers, particularly fascists, believed they had found a solution to the instability that plagued Europe.

They argued that democracy was ineffective and that strong, all-powerful leadership was the best way to restore order and national strength.

The fascist leader, Benito Mussolini had seized power in Italy in 1922, establishing a dictatorship based on this principle.

His success in stabilising Italy and asserting control was seen as proof that strong leadership could work.

Inspired by Mussolini's success, Hitler positioned himself as the undisputed leader of the Nazi Party, ensuring that all decisions would flow from him alone.

This represents Hitler's vision for the Nazi Party's organisation under the leader principle or Führer Principle.

At the very top, we see Hitler himself laboured as the Führer, and this was a major shift in how the Nazi Party operated.

Unlike democratic systems, where leadership is debated and shared, the Nazi structure revolved entirely around Hitler's authority.

Below Hitler, we see various groups and factions that made up the Nazi Party.

At this stage, these groups were often disorganised and in conflict.

This lack of unity made the party weak and ineffective.

The Führer or leader principle aimed to fix this by imposing a strict hierarchy.

The structure branches out into different levels of leadership with each position responsible for controlling the ranks beneath them, every Nazi member was expected to follow the direct orders of their superior with ultimate loyalty, leading back to Hitler.

This system eliminated debate and ensured that all parts of the party worked towards the same goal under Hitler's absolute authority.

This created a highly centralised and disciplined organisation where all decisions were made at the top and carried out without question.

In a time when many viewed democratic debaters weakening the struggling Weimar Republic, the appeal of strong leadership grew.

So when Hitler insisted that the party's various factions unite under his absolute control, many people went along with this.

So why was this important? This strict hierarchy helped Hitler tighten his control over the party.

It also meant that ideological unity could be enforced.

There would be no more internal factions or disagreements over direction.

The Führer's word was final.

Hitler believed this kind of leadership was essential, not just for the Nazi Party, but for Germany as a whole.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What I want you to do here is complete the sentence with the correct missing word.

Believing that democratic debate weakened Germany and that the Nazi Party needed strong, unified leadership, Hitler fully embraced the idea that absolute power should rest in the hands of a single leader, a blank.

Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

So let's see how that sentence should have read.

Believing that democratic debate weakened Germany and that the Nazi Party needed strong, unified leadership, Hitler fully embraced the idea that absolute power should rest in the hands of a single leader, a Führer.

Okay, let's continue.

So to consolidate his power, Hitler sidelined potential rivals.

And this 1924 photograph shows key leaders of the Nazi Party at the time, however, not all of these men would remain in positions of influence.

One of the key figures that Hitler had to sideline was General Ludendorff.

Ludendorff had been a highly respected military leader during the First World War and still commanded respect among many nationalists.

Despite their past alliance, Hitler saw Ludendorff as a potential rival who could challenge his authority.

Furthermore, by the late 1920s, Ludendorff had faded from political relevance.

Another key figure Hitler had to sideline was SA leader Ernst Röhm.

Röhm wanted the SA Storm Troopers to remain a revolutionary paramilitary force, a violent direction that clashed with Hitler's new strategy of gaining power legally.

Seeking greater legitimacy, Hitler also brought the SA under party control, ensuring it served his political objectives rather than acting as an unruly paramilitary force.

While the SA remained a mass street-fighting force, Hitler created the Schutzstaffel or the SS, as a smaller, more elite unit personally loyal to him, an early step in securing total control over the movements.

At the same time, Hitler transformed the Nazi Party into a disciplined and structured organisation.

He established departments for propaganda, finance, and paramilitary activities, ensuring tighter central control.

The propaganda departments expanded Nazi ideology and attracted more supporters.

He also created women's and youth groups to broadened the party's reach.

To secure financial stability, he introduced membership fees and made friends with wealthy business owners who drawn to the party's staunch anti-communist stance provided crucial funding.

Despite this increased membership and efficient reorganisation, the Nazi Party struggled to gain widespread electoral support.

Between 1923 and 1929, these remained the lean years for the Nazis, as their presence in the Reichstag was minimal.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

How did Hitler consolidate his power within the Nazi Party after 1924? Select three correct answers.

a, he brought the SA under control, b, he created the SS, c, he formed an alliance with Ludendorff, d, he sidelined rivals.

Pause the video, select your three correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct way in which Hitler consolidated power was a, he bought the SA under control, b, he created the SS, and d, he sidelined rivals.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task A.

And the question I want you to tackle for this task is why did Hitler make changes to the Nazi Party? And what I want you to do is complete a bullet-point list or mind map for each of the following headings.

Organisational structure, funding, ideology, and control.

So you can create a bullet-point list or a mind map around those headings, all geared towards answering the question, why did Hitler make changes to the Nazi Party? Pause the video, have a go at a task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done for having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have answered that question, but check your answers with the ones I have here.

So let's first tackle the heading organisation or structure.

Under this heading, you might have described how Hitler wanted to make changes to an Nazi Party organisational structure because the party was in disarray, it had been banned after the Munich Putsch and paramilitary groups have been dissolved, and internal factions were divided over its future direction.

You might have also put that Hitler transformed the party into a disciplined and structured organisation, creating departments of propaganda, finance and paramilitary activities.

And you might have said, a central control of a Führer allowing power to rest in the hands of a single leader and the party's various factions to unite under his absolute control.

And finally, you might have said that Hitler made changes to the Nazi organisation by creating women's and youth groups to broaden the party's appeal.

Okay, let's have a look at the next heading.

Funding.

You might have said that Hitler introduced membership fees to secure financial stability.

And that wealthy business owners provided funding due to the party's strong anti-communist stance.

Okay, let's move to the next heading.

Ideology.

So the changes here were often driven by Hitler's ideological foundation, which he laid out in "My Struggle" or "Mein Kampf." And these ideas reshaped the Nazi Party's organisation and goals.

You might said that Hitler believed racial conflict drove history and blamed Jews for Germany's problems. And as he wanted to destroy Jewish influence and expand eastward into communist Russia.

And in German, this was called Lebensraum, meaning living space.

You might have also said that Hitler shifted towards a focus on winning mass public support instead of paramilitary violence.

And finally, that Nazi propaganda expanded to promote these ideas and attract supporters.

And now, for our final heading.

Control.

You must have put that Hitler positioned himself as the absolute leader, the Führer of the Nazi Party.

This is sometimes known as the Führer Principle.

You could have also talked about how Hitler sidelined his rivals like Ludendorff and the SA leader Ernst Röhm to prevent internal divisions.

And that Hitler ensure the SA served his political objectives rather than acting independently.

And that Hitler created the SS as a smaller, elite unit personally loyal to him.

Okay, great.

Now that we've explored how Hitler reorganised an Nazi Party, we can move on to the next key development, the Bamberg Conference and ideological control.

So with Ludendorff and Röhm sidelined, Hitler needed ideological unity within the party.

By now, there was a network of local Nazi parties across Germany.

However, there was a divide between northern and southern parties.

This map helps us understand the divide between the northern and southern branches of the party.

The dark green areas on the map represent rural areas or the countryside.

In rural southern Germany, local Nazi parties lean towards nationalism, which aligned with the Nazi Party's central aims. In these areas, local Nazi groups focused on strong leadership and restoring Germany's former power.

Many rural supporters were conservative and appealed to Hitler's message of traditional German values and opposition to communism.

However, local Nazi parties in the north faced a different political landscape and voter base.

The pink areas on the map represent large cities and industrial regions where the Nazi Party had a different appeal.

Local Nazi leaders in the north, such as Gregor Strasser and Joseph Goebbels, attempted to appeal to the working class in industrial areas, like the rural by emphasising their socialist side.

These northern Nazi leaders saw an opportunity to gain support from the working class.

They emphasised socialist elements of Nazi ideology, such as promises to help workers and limit the power of big businesses.

This created tension with the more traditional nationalists in the south.

So why was this a problem? This ideological divide created a serious issue for Hitler.

He wanted to present the Nazi Party as a unified movement, but northern and southern factions were pulling in different directions.

If these divisions continued, the party risked losing its identity and its ability to grow.

Sensing the need for unity, Hitler called a crucial meeting of Nazi leaders in February 1926.

Because the meeting took place in the Bavarian town of Bamberg, the meeting became known as the Bamberg Conference.

Officially, it was a party conference, but in reality, it was an opportunity for Hitler to reassert control over the ideological direction of the party.

At the Bamberg Conference, Hitler rejected the socialist-leaning aspects of the party, framing them as communist and Jewish ideas, and emphasising the party's commitment to nationalism, racial purity, and strong leadership.

He reminded his followers that national socialism was about the unity of the German race, not communist class struggle.

The confidence was a turning point.

Strasser and his supporters were forced to back down and Goebbels impressed by Hitler's charisma, fully committed himself to the Führer.

Hitler emerged as the undisputed leader of the party, solidifying his authority.

The conference also ensured that Nazi policy would prioritise the ideas he had detailed in "My Struggle" or "Mein Kampf." In effect, Hitler told the Nazi leadership, "From today, our party stands united under these principles and the leadership of one Führer!" Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Complete the sentence with the correct missing word.

Hitler called the blank Conference in 1926 to resolve the issue of some local Nazi leaders in northern Germany taking a more socialist direction than the rest of the party.

Pause the video, fill in the blank, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's see how that sentence should have read.

Hitler called the Bamberg Conference in 1926 to resolve the issue of some local Nazi leaders in northern Germany taking a more socialist direction than the rest of the party.

True or false? The Bamberg Conference was merely a routine party meeting with no significant impact on the Nazi Party's direction.

Is that true or false? Pause the video.

Have a think and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew that was false.

But why is that false? I want you to justify your answer.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the statement was false because while officially a party conference, the Bamberg Conference was actually a key moment for Hitler to reassert his control over the Nazi Party's ideology and leadership.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to Task B.

And what I want you to do is imagine you are a newspaper reporter attending the Bamberg Conference.

Your task is to write an article about the significance of the events.

And to help you to write or structure the article, your article should include the following, a headline that captures the importance of the conference, a summary of key events, including Hitler's role, the ideological disagreements, and the outcome of the conference, and finally, why you think the conference was significant.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done with having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have written your article, and I'm sure that you could have had a lot of fun thinking up different types of headlines.

However, compare your article with the one I have here.

So you can see, I've highlighted in green my headline.

"Hitler Seizes Control at Bamberg Conference!" So I've already ticked off the first bit of the task criteria with a strong headline summarising the significance of the event.

Adolf Hitler has solidified his leadership at a crucial Nazi Party conference, settling ideological disputes and uniting the party under his vision.

Tensions had emerged between northern Nazi Party members, who wanted to appeal to workers with socialist policies, and southern members who focused on nationalism.

Hitler dismissed socialist ideas as communist and Jewish, insisting that National Socialism must prioritise racial unity and strong leadership.

By the end of the conference, opposition figures like Gregor Strasser were forced to back down, while Joseph Goebbels shifted his loyalty to Hitler.

This meeting has strengthened Hitler's authority and given the Nazi Party a clear direction.

With the party now more united and disciplined, Hitler's leadership is unquestionable.

Nazi members call him the Führer.

This could mark the beginning of a more organised and influential Nazi movement in Germany.

So he can see then my article was given a detailed summary of the key events, and at the end, there we can see that have written why the Bamberg Conference was significant.

Okay, great.

Now that we've explored how Hitler reorganised a Nazi Party and asserted ideological control at the Bamberg Conference, we can move on to the final part of today's lesson.

The lean years, limited electoral success.

So support for the Nazi Party had risen during Weimar Germany's post-war struggles.

However, as the economy stabilised, Nazi support declined.

Let's take a look at this table.

The table shows the number of seats won by different political parties in German elections between 1920 and 1928.

And this data helps us understand why this period is often referred to as the Nazis' lean years.

And we can see the columns at the top showing the different election years 1920, May 1924, December 1924, and 1928.

And on the left, we can see the rows show the different political parties.

The Communists, the Social Democrats, other right-wing parties, and the NSDAP, the Nazis.

The numbers in each row represent the number of seats these parties won in the Reichstag during each election.

This allows us to track how their supports changed over time.

For example, in the first election column in 1920, we can see the Communists won 88 seats.

The Social Democrats won 102 seats.

And right-wing parties won 63 seats, with the Nazis having 0 seats.

However, if we look directly to the right in the next column, we can see that in May 1924, the Nazi Party achieved an initial success, winning 32 seats in the Reichstag.

This was 6.

5% of the votes.

Now, this was significant because it was their first electoral breakthrough, showing growing support in Germany.

This victory was achieved while the party was officially banned after the Munich Putsch.

And this forced them to run under a different name, managing to secure 32 seats.

However, Ernst Gustav Stresemann policies took effect, stabilising the economy and reducing extremism appeal, Nazi support declined.

The Dawes Plan, introducing 1924, helped to stabilise the economy, which meant fewer people turned to extreme parties like the Nazis.

If we continue looking through the Nazis row, we can see that in December 1924, they dropped down to 14 seats.

And by the 1928 Reichstag elections, the Nazis won only 12 seats, and this was only 2.

6% of the vote.

This means that, despite Hitler successfully reasserting control and restructuring the party, the Nazis remained a small fringe movements.

In other words, these were the lean years for the Nazis.

Their shift away from socialist ideas at the Bamberg Conference in 1926 lost in the support of many urban workers, who instead turned to the Social Democrats, SPD, and the Communists, the KPD.

Meanwhile, much of the middle class was content, benefiting from the relative prosperity of Weimar's so-called Golden Age.

As we can see, the Social Democrats, a more moderate, mainstream party, actually gained seats, increasing from 102 in 1920 to 153 in 1928.

Another important detail in this table is that other right-wing parties performed far better than the Nazis in this period.

In December 1924, these parties held 174 seats, compared to the Nazis' 14.

And this tells us that while nationalists ideas were popular, the Nazis had not yet become the dominant force within right-wing politics.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

What evidence suggests that the Nazi Party had a level of support in 1924? a, the Nazis secured the majority of votes in the Reichstag elections, b, the Nazis won seats in the Reichstag despite being officially banned, c, the Weimar government invited the Nazis to join a coalition.

Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

And well done if you knew the correct answer was b, the Nazis won seats in the Reichstag despite being officially banned.

Okay, let's have another check.

Which factors may have led to declining support for the Nazi Party between 1924 and 1928? Select two correct answers.

a, the economy had stabilised and people regained confidence in the Weimar Republic, b, the party's shift away from socialist ideas lost them the support of many urban workers, c, the Nazis gained strong support from the middle class, decreasing their vote share in rural areas, d, the Weimar government collapsed, leading to widespread political chaos.

Pause video, select your two correct answers, and then come right back.

Okay, great, welcome back.

And well done If you knew that the declining support for the Nazi Party was because a, the economy had stabilised and people regained confidence in the Weimar Republic.

And b, the party's shift away from socialist ideas lost them the support of many urban workers.

Okay, let's continue.

So the Nazi Party remained small, but there were signs of growth.

While Germany's economy had improved overall, rural communities continued to struggle.

This map highlights where the Nazi Party began to see support increased during their lean years.

As we've seen, the South had a large rural population, shown in dark green.

While pockets of industrial cities in pink remained difficult areas for the Nazis to gain support.

However, there was also a large rural area in the North where the Nazis started gaining traction and indicated a sign of their gradual growth.

Many farmers and small landowners, hit hard by agricultural decline, felt neglected by the Weimar government.

The Nazis recognised this discontent and shifted their propaganda strategy to focus on rural voters.

As a result, their vote share in farming regions increased and party membership began to rise.

This strategy helped them slowly increase their support in these areas, even though they remained a small party overall.

So what does this mean for the Nazis? Although the Nazis were not yet a major political force, this map shows that they were adapting their strategy by focusing on rural voters who felt ignored by mainstream parties, they were able to grow their base, even if only slightly.

This shift in support would later play a key role in their rise to power when Germany's economic and political situation worsened.

Furthermore, following Hitler's reorganisation, the Nazi Party had transformed into a dynamic movement with a strong structure at both regional and local levels.

It was run by dedicated and skilled members, bound by disciplined ideology and its propaganda was carefully tailored to appeal to different segments of the electorates.

In other words, the Nazi Party had become a finely tuned machine, wielded by its Führer, Adolf Hitler.

Okay, let's have a check for understanding.

Complete the sentence with the correct missing words.

Between 1924 and 1928, there were small signs of growth for the Nazi Party, including increased support in blank areas, and a well-organized movement with a strong blank at both regional and local levels, run by dedicated members with the discipline blank and carefully tailored blank.

Pause the video, fill in the blanks, and then come right back.

Okay, let's see how that sentence should have read.

Between 1924 to 1928, there were small signs of growth for the Nazi Party, including increased support in rural areas, and a well-organized movement with a strong structure at both regional and local levels, run by dedicated members with a disciplined ideology and carefully tailored propaganda.

Okay, great.

Let's move on to the final task, Task C.

And I've got a statement here for you.

The Nazi Party was unsuccessful before 1929 because of Germany's economic recovery.

How far do you agree with this statement? Now, anytime you see a question asking you how far you agree with something, this usually indicates that the question is asking you how far you agree with it and how far you disagree with it.

So I want you to do is write one paragraph which agrees with the statement and one paragraph which disagrees with the statement.

So use all the knowledge from today's lesson to write two detailed paragraphs about why the last party was unsuccessful, whether that be because of economic recovery or another reason.

Pause the video, have a go at the task and then come right back.

Okay, great.

Well done having a go at that task.

So there's many ways that you could have answered that question, but compare your answer with the one I have here.

So let's look at my agree paragraph.

One key reason the Nazi Party struggled before 1929 was Germany's economic recovery.

Under Gustav Stresemann, hyperinflation was resolved, and the Dawes Plan brought in American loans, stabilising the economy.

As life improved, fewer Germans turned to extremist parties like the Nazis, which had thrived on economic hardship.

The Golden Age of the Weimar Republic saw increased confidence in Weimar democracy, meaning extreme ideologies lost appeal.

The Nazis' vote share reflected this decline, dropping from 32 Reichstag seats in May 1924 to just 12 in 1928.

With fewer people desperate for change, Hitler's criticisms of the Weimar Republic failed to gain widespread support.

Therefore, economic recovery significantly weakened the Nazi Party's chances of success.

And hopefully, you can see there how I've used some detailed knowledge, i.

e.

, the election results to help back up my answer.

Okay, let's have a look at my disagree paragraph.

Although economic recovery reduced the appeal of extremism, the Nazis internal issues also contributed to their lack of success before 1929.

After Hitler's release from prison, the party was divided over whether to seek legitimacy through elections or rely on paramilitary force.

He reasserted control at the Bamberg Conference in 1926, establishing himself as Führer and enforcing ideological unity by rejecting socialist ideas, which alienated some working class supporters.

However, despite these being lean years, Hitler successfully reorganised the party.

He strengthened its structure, expanded propaganda and created women's and youth groups to broaden support.

The Nazis also gained traction in rural areas.

While economic stability limited their immediate success, Hitler's reformed prepared to capitalise on future events.

Okay, great.

Let's summarise today's lesson, the NSDAP's lean years.

Hitler restructured the Nazi Party under his Führer leadership, enforcing ideological unity at the Bamberg Conference and projecting socialist ideas.

He established departments for propaganda, finance and paramilitary activities.

Propaganda expanded Nazi ideology, while women's and youth groups broadened support.

To secure funding, Hitler introduced membership fees and gained backing from wealthy anti-communist business owners.

Despite these reforms, the Nazis struggled electorally due to Germany's economic recovery under Stresemann, which stabilised the Weimar Republic and reduced extremist appeal.

The Nazis' Reichstag seats fell from 32 in May 1924 to 12 in 1928.

However, Hitler's restructuring prepared the Nazi Party for future events.

So despite Hitler's efforts to reorganise and strengthen the Nazi Party, they remained a fringe movement throughout the 1920s.

However, these years of preparation would not be in vain.

The Nazis had built a disciplined organisation, waiting for the right moment to seize an opportunity.

Looking ahead, Germany's situation would change dramatically, creating the perfect conditions for the Nazis to rise from the political margins to the very centre of power.

See you next time!.