Causes

	Germany found herself in a very weak position.
	She had been requested to pay huge reparations and the rich industrial area of the R�hr had been invaded by France (1923), after she failed to make these repayments.
	Germany's currency devalued and her monetary system collapsed - resulting in galloping inflation.
	In addition to these poor economic conditions, Germany was in turmoil politically.
	The political climate in Berlin was too volatile for the leaders, who had signed the Treaty of Versailles, to meet.
	They were forced to convene in Weimar. The Weimar government had been blamed for signing the Treaty of Versailles.
	The government had lasted so long, mainly because able leaders like Gustav Stresemann had managed to have the repayments on the war debt reduced to more manageable levels under the Dawes and Young Plans.
	Although Germany experienced an economic recovery at this time, she was still vulnerable politically. This was chiefly because no one party was strong enough to lead the Reichstag. Communism was popular under leaders like Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht.
	The Nazis attempted to take control of the Bavarian government in the Munich Putsch of 1923.
	The failure of this coup would lead to Hilter's imprisonment, where he wrote Mein Kampf - a book in which his Nazi philosophy was outlined.
	Hitler regrouped his followers into a new political party after being released from prison in 1924.
	The 1929 Wall Street crash and the Great Depression that followed had disastrous effects on the German economy.
	This economic crisis further weakened the Weimar Republic and drew more followers to the Nazi ranks.
	Hitler challenged von Hindenburg in the 1932 election and lost narrowly.
	Persuaded by von Papen, leader of the Nationalist Party, von Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor in January 1933.
	Hitler then formed a coalition with the Nationalist Party and dissolved the Reichstag.