Hitler Took Advantage of Peoples Low Self Esteem :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Hitler Took Advantage of People's Low Self Esteem After World War I Germany fell to an all time low, economically and politically. The German people were unemployed, the government was broke and there was a feeling of helplessness all around. Hitler took advantage of the German people's low self esteem and saw it as a way he could use this feeling of hopelessness to better himself. Inflation played a huge role in Germany's problems. Germany had incurred an enormous debt from World War I. The government was under a great deal of pressure to repay the debt and thought they could solve their dilemma by printing more money. Too much of the international economy rested on the unproductive passing of paper from the United States to Germany as loans, from Germany to the Allies as reparations, and from the Allies to the United States as payment of war debts; and the United States raised tariffs in 1922 and again in 1930 to levels that made it nearly impossible for Europeans to earn dollars by selling to Americans. People from all classes were hungry, homeless and unemployed. Germany's welfare system could not handle all of the people needing help. The few soup kitchens available had long lines with no hope of feeding everyone in need. People were sleeping on sidewalks, in alleys or anywhere were they could find warmth. A German writer who experienced these conditions himself describes a day in 1932 after he was allowed a nights stay at the Berlin municipal lodging house...Now the men are standing in a long row, dressed in their plain nightshirts that reach to the ground, and the noise of their shuffling feet is like the noise of big wild animals walking up and down the stone floor of their cages before feeding time. The men lean far over the kettle so that the warm steam from the food envelops them and they hold out their bowls as if begging and whisper to the attendant, "Give me a real helping. Give me a little more." Hitler saw a way to take advantage of the countries depression and the people's feeling of hopelessness. He knew that the people of Germany were looking for any change to escape from their current way of life.