Second factor: The Great Depression

On October 29, 1929, the stock market collapse on Wall Street and it sent financial markets worldwide into a chaotic mess.

 Since the German economy was built upon foreign capital, it was very vulnerable. It was very dependent on foreign trade, too.

 As production levels fell, German workers were dismissed and fired. Along with this, banks failed throughout Germany. Savings accounts, from the result of years of hard work, were instantly wiped out. Inflation soon followed making it hard for families to purchase expensive necessities with devalued money. Overnight, the middle class standard of living that so many German families enjoyed was ruined by events outside of Germany, beyond their control. The Great Depression began and they were thrown into poverty and deep misery and began looking for a solution, any solution as they were desperate to get the good lives they once have.

Adolf Hitler knew his opportunity to rise to power had arrived and definitely, he had to take advantage of the whole situation.

 His main qualities were his speech making ability and being good at saying the speeches that are relevant to everyone’s liking.
By mid-1930, among the economic pressures of the Great Depression, the German democratic government was beginning to unravel.

Gustav Stresemann, the outstanding German Foreign Minister, had died in October 1929, just before the Wall Street crash. He had spent years working to try to restore the German economy and stabilize the republic and died, having exhausted himself in the process.

The crisis of the Great Depression brought disagreement to the political parties in the Reichstag. Instead of forging an alliance to enact desperately needed legislation, they broke up into squabbling, uncompromising groups. In March of 1930, Heinrich Bruening, a member of the Catholic Centre Party, became Chancellor.

Despite the overwhelming need for a financial program to help the German people, Chancellor Bruening encountered stubborn opposition to his plans. To break the bitter stalemate, he went to President Hindenburg and asked the Old Gentleman to invoke Article 48 of the German constitution which gave emergency powers to the president to rule by decree. This provoked a huge outcry from the opposition, demanding withdrawal of the decree.

As a measure of last resort, Bruening asked Hindenburg in July 1930 to dissolve the Reichstag according to parliamentary rules and call for new elections.

The elections were set for September 14th and this is when Hitler and the Nazis sprang into action. Their time for campaigning had arrived and the days of democracy was going to end.
The German people were tired of the political disputes in Berlin. They were tired of misery, tired of suffering, tired of weakness. These were desperate times and they were willing to listen to just anyone, even Adolf Hitler.

Hitler was a powerful speaker who attracted a wide following of Germans desperate for change. He promised the discontented a better life and a new and glorious Germany. The Nazis appealed especially to the unemployed, young people, and members of the lower middle class (small store owners, office employees, craftsmen, and farmers).
This appealed to the German people as they believed that Hitler would bring prosper, pride and change to Germany.

In conclusion, Hitler used the great depression to his advantage by attracting the support from the Germans so that he can rise to power. Germans were sick and tired of living in poverty due to the great depression so when Hitler came to their lives and gave them a promise that they are not going to live in poverty again, they believed him and supported him. This caused him to gain popularity and made him rise to power.
Citation:
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/begins.htm