Many workers ⇒ began to feel that WG ⇒ was not handling economic crisis well ⇒ and had let them down → political parties seemed to care more about their own positions. ⇒ were unable to get a majority in the parliament and get welfare measures passed.
Democracy itself ⇒ was hanging by a thread as Hindenburg was now running the country ⇒ and he supported Brunings harsh measures ⇒ which had a devastating impact on millions of Germans. Because of these measures ⇒ Bruning was called “Hungry Chancellor”
Several workers ⇒ turned to Hitler’s Nazi party ⇒ but many more turned to German Communist party Like Nazis ⇒ communists had also rebuilt their organization in the 1920s. They had local party branches + young movement + a very effective publicity machine which published poster and pamphlets + organized meetings.
Between 1929 and 1932 ⇒ around 1 million workers ⇒ began to look at communist KPD rather than moderate SPD. ⇒ KPD representation in Reichstag ⇒ rose from 10% to 15%
Rise in communism ⇒ frightened many Germans.
Business leaders ⇒ feared communists ⇒ because of their plans to introduce state control of businesses ⇒ just as communists had in USSR
⇒ were also worried about growing strength of Germany’s trade unions
Many in middle clas ⇒ also feared communists ⇒ because they knew communists were hostile toward people like them. Landowning farmers ⇒ also alarmed ⇒ as communist govt in USSR ⇒ had not only taken over all land ⇒ but also killed and imprisoned many in the process.
All these concerns about communists ⇒ created a climate of fear.
Many Germans⇒ also had little trust in the WGs ability ⇒ to deal with threat that communism seemed to pose.
As a result ⇒ many of them began to turn to the one party ⇒ that seemed capable and willing to take control of the situation and face the communists ⇒ Nazi party