Hitler not elected by majority
Every so often, we read something about Germany in the Taipei Times where we just go: What the…? Twice before, we corrected misconceptions about German history and politics (Letters, March 17, 2011, and Sept. 16, 2012, page 8).
This happened again when China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) wrongly claimed that “the German people elected [Adolf] Hitler as their leader with a big majority,” apparently insinuating that a possible victory for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) might be a similar mistake (“Tsai urges discretion after Hitler talk,” Dec. 5, page 1). Given that we now have the Internet and Wikipedia, it is surprising that many people still spout ideas without some quick and simple fact checking.
For anybody interested in the complicated history which led to the rise of Adolf Hitler to power, read at least what is written in Wikipedia, or better, one of the countless academic tomes on the subject.
Here is an abbreviated version: Germany’s economy was doing really badly in the early 1930s, partly due to ongoing reparation payments resulting from World War I, and partly because of extreme laissez-faire economics favored by the ruling parties. Mental note to laissez-faire economists: Austerity politics often lead to a radicalization of the disenfranchised, for example, the current rise of fascist parties in Greece.
Second, an unfortunately large and influential part of the German population still favored a return to autocratic rule, although most of them did not want Hitler in power. While Hitler’s party received most votes during two elections in 1932 (37.3 percent and 33.1 percent of all votes respectively), it never won a majority. However, through widespread support among influential figures in the economic and political elite, Hitler was crowned German chancellor in early 1933.
After that, Hitler schemed to abolish democracy and installed an autocracy by pushing through various legal decrees which nullified many of the key civil liberties guaranteed during the now defunct democratic Weimar Republic. He and his numerous allies also quickly moved to harass, arrest and even kill opposition leaders, so that the elections on March. 5, 1933 were not free and democratic. However, even then, Hitler’s party only received 43.9 percent of votes, thus still not reaching an absolute majority. Nevertheless, the beast had been unleashed and the resulting global catastrophe needs no recounting here.
While this account does not free the German nation of its responsibility for the countless crimes committed during the Nazi regime, it should be emphasized that Hitler was never voted into power by the German people. Anybody asserting “a majority for Hitler” is distorting historical facts.
Bruno Walther, Kai Archal and Gunter Whittome
Taipei
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