The German Empire became the Weimar Republic after the disaster of World War One, as Germany embraced democracy. However, economic crisis led to Hitler’s dictatorship, and ultimately to World War Two. In 1929 as the Wall Street Crash led to a worldwide depression. Germany suffered more than any other nation as a result of the recall of US loans, which caused its economy to collapse. Unemployment rocketed, poverty soared and Germans became desperate. This led to a chain of events that ended in the destruction of German democracy: With the government unable to win a majority in the Reichstag, laws could only be passed by presidential decree. As a result, not enough action was taken to tackle the economic and social consequences of the Depression and Germans increasingly began to look to the political extremes for answers.
