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

First factor: The Nazi Ideology

The Nazi Ideology was one of things that appealed the German people. National Socialism or commonly known as Nazism was the ideology and practice of the German Nazi Party. In 1919, Adolf Hitler joined a small right-wing group called the German Workers' Party. He took over as its leader, and changed its name to the National Socialists (Nazis). Unlike other political ideologies it was not articulated in much detail but was broadly defined in Mein Kampf and the NSDAP’s 25 points.

The Nazi Ideology:

Nationalism: The party was only interested to be included in Germany and German’s interests: reviving the German economy, achieving economic self-sustenance, rebuilding its military and providing for the German people. The Nazis had little interest in forming or improving international relationships, except to advance German interests. They did not like International groups like the League of Nations. Hitler had no intention of honouring or following existing foreign treaties
Expansionism: The Nazis and Hitler wanted to unify the German-speaking Aryan peoples of Europe into a German state. Additionally, there was claims that Germany was facing an overpopulation problem after World War I. Hence, Hitler believed that they need to acquire lebenbsraum or living space, to accommodate the needs of the new Germany by providing resources necessary to its people’s well-being. Expansion was needed to end the country’s overpopulation within existing confined territory.

Racialism: In its racial grouping, Nazism viewed what it called the Aryan race as the master race of the world, a race that was better than  all other races. According to Nazi racial theory Aryans were physically stronger, more intellectually advanced and more culturally gifted than other European races. The Nazis saw races like the Jews, Slavs and Romany to be untermensch (‘inferior men’).

Economic: Economic power, prosperity and self-sufficiency were priorities for the NSDAP. The Nazis sought the creation of jobs for unemployed Germans, the restoration of national prosperity, the recovery of industrial production and the rearming of the military. The Nazis promised that they would deal with the problem of unemployment. Additionally, Hitler believed that private ownership was useful in that it encouraged creative competition and technical innovation, but insisted that it had to conform to national interest.

Authoritarianism: The Nazis desired a strong government and extensive state power. They believed that government could not function effectively if it lacked the means to impose itself on society and enforce its policies. All decisions should be rested by the leader. Other political parties that is other than NSDAP is not allowed. Any groups that influence politically would be eliminated.

Militarism: Hitler and his followers believed that re-arming and expanding Germany’s armed forces was essential for the defence of the nation. Rearmament would be carried out in opposition of the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles.

Was Nazi Ideology the major factor that helped Hitler rise to power?

It is a partly a factor that helped Hitler gain popularity and also rise to power because Hitler promised to solve the problem of unemployment and unemployment was a huge problem since there was the Great Depression. His policies and ideologies also appeared to offer everyone something. His policies was also seen to be able to help the Germans as many of the Germans were in poverty after World War 1.

Mein Kampf is an autobiographical manifesto by National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler, in which he outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany

Citations;
http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/nazi-ideology/
http://www.nazism.net/about/nazi_ideology/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/nazibeliefsrev1.shtml

Introduction

Was it favorable circumstances or Hitler's leadership abilities that led to his rise in prominence in the late 1920s?

There were many factors leading to Hitler's rise in position in the late 1920s. There were favourable circumstances for Hitler to rise after the disastrous World War 1 for Germany that ended in 1918 however Hitler also showed exceptional leadership skills that made him got the support of the German people and made him rise to become the leader of Germany.

Look at following posts about the factors that helped Hitler rise to power and see our conclusion on whether it was the favourable circumstances or Hitler's leadership abilities that led to his rise in prominence in the late 1920s.

Hitler delivering one of his speeches to the German people