Nazi Germany's Principal Enemy During Its Rise: The Weimar Republic

The Internal Enemy

During its rise to power (1919–1933), the Nazi Party's (NSDAP) principal enemy was the Weimar Republic itself—the democratic German state established after WWI.

Why the Nazis Hated Weimar

• "November Criminals" Myth: Blamed Weimar politicians for signing the Armistice (Nov 1918) and Treaty of Versailles (1919), calling them traitors who "stabbed the army in the back" (Dolchstoßlegende).
• Democratic System: Despised parliamentary democracy, proportional representation, and coalition governments as weak, chaotic, and "Jewish-Marxist."
• Economic Crises: Hyperinflation (1923) and Great Depression (1929+) were portrayed as Weimar's failures, not global phenomena.
• Cultural "Decadence": Attacked Weimar's modern art, gender norms, nightlife as symptoms of moral decay.
• Federal Structure: Opposed states' rights; wanted a centralized Führerstaat.

Tactics Against Weimar

• Propaganda: Goebbels' machine demonized "System Parties" (SPD, Centre, DDP).
• Street Violence: SA (Brownshirts) battled Communists (KPD) and Social Democrats (SPD/Reichsbanner) to create chaos, proving "Weimar can't keep order."
• Electoral Strategy: Used democracy to destroy it—campaigning on "Freedom and Bread" while planning dictatorship.
• Institutional Subversion: Frick (Thuringia, 1930) first Nazi minister; used state power to purge police/courts.

External Enemies Were Secondary (at this stage)

Versailles, France, Poland, USSR, "World Jewry" were ideological targets, but the immediate obstacle to power was the German state itself. Hitler's genius was turning Germans against their own republic.

Outcome

January 30, 1933: Hindenburg appoints Hitler Chancellor. The Weimar Republic was dismantled from within in months (Gleichschaltung). The external enemies came later.