People's National Party: a step towards fascism

We know very little about the Weimar Republic and its social life. Although throughout the decade of the existence of this state, the political arena has been full of organizations of various orientations. The study of the German National People's Party requires special attention.

How did it all start?

The history of the formation of the Nazi regime in Germany is not so simple as most people might imagine. The tendency to exaggerate the role of Hitler in the formation of such a regime does not allow to see that in reality specific historical conditions and demands of the elite pushed the future Fuhrer to power.

One of the pages of the history of the nationalist movement in Germany was the activities of the German National People's Party.

Reliance on financial capital

The history of Germany is in many respects tragic. The formation of new economic relations here went with great difficulty. The influence of the old feudal elite up to the collapse of the Third Reich was incredibly large. The old aristocracy was mainly nationalistic in its majority. Especially such sentiments increased after the defeat of Germany in the First World War. The elite, humiliated by the prevailing state of affairs, wished for the revival of the German nation, or, more accurately, for the return to the Golden Age.

This situation served as an impetus to the creation of many "patriotic" organizations. The German National People's Party appeared in November 1918. Its basis was monopoly and cadets.

Revival of the empire - the basis of the program

The backbone of the new party was immigrants from the German Conservative Party, the Imperial Party and other political trends oriented to the past.

One of the key requirements of a nostalgic elite is the installation of a monarchical system. The power of the emperor, as claimed by the nationalists, will be able to lift Germany from her knees.

Xenophobia as a clamp of society

The People's National Party successfully played on the feelings of the Germans, who, in the defeat of Kaiser Germany, saw a blow to their own vanity. As consistent Imperials, the organization's leaders opposed parliamentarism. However, this did not prevent them from participating in the elections.

The propaganda materials produced by the German People's National Party were distinguished by frenzied chauvinism and anti-Semitism. As we can see, on this path the National Socialists were by no means innovators.

Change orientation

Gradually, the rigid monarchist rhetoric was replaced only by the requirement to establish an authoritarian state. This turn is connected in many respects with the defeat in the elections, which the People's Party suffered. There was no national unity in a weakened Germany: conservatives, fascist organizations and communists fought for the votes. The NNP, headed by Hugenberg, moved from the demands for restoring the emperor's sole rule to rigid nationalism. Since 1928, the party began to cooperate with National Socialists, gaining popularity among the lower and middle layers.

Popularity among Germans

Populism of the Nazis allowed them to win support from the petty bourgeoisie, the peasants and partly the workers. This could not boast NNP. Her popularity fell and fell. In the parliamentary elections in 1924, the party received 21% of the vote. In 1928, this figure fell to 14%.

The NSDAP was less aristocratic, in its speeches its leaders appealed, first of all, to ordinary Germans, playing sympathy for socialism. The NNP became a party of mostly wealthy people. The decline in popularity played an important role in the organization's rapid self-dissolution.

Alfred Gougenberg is the leader of the NNP

The last and, perhaps, the most famous leader of the People's National Party was Alfred Gugenberg. Having received the education of a lawyer, the future chairman of the NNP defended the interests of the Germans in the courts. The goal of his life he considered the struggle against Poland.

Politics has always been interested in Hugenberg, and the People's National Party seemed to him the most correct ideological position. NNP he began to represent in parliament already from the moment of its foundation in 1918. He was appointed chairman of the party at the most difficult time for her - in 1928, when popularity fell sharply almost twofold.

The best way out, according to Hugenberg, was cooperation with the Nazis. Radical views of the leader of the NNP did not contradict the rhetoric of the NSDAP. After the dissolution of his native party, Hugenberg began to work in the government of Hitler.

Harzburg Front

In 1931, together with the militarized group "Steel Helmet", the Pan-German Union and the Nazis, the NNP formed the alliance of the Harzburg Front. The People's National Party tried to control the Nazi Party. This initiative, naturally, did not strengthen the power of weak NNP. The Nazis also gained access to even greater funding and increased their own respectability in the public eye.

The last days of the NNP

At the last parliamentary elections in the Weimar Republic, the NNP received a critically small number of votes. In a coalition with the Nazis, she played a secondary role.

The party supported the law, which transferred Hitler all power. In 1933, the People's National Party self-dissolved. Many of its members joined the Nazi Party.