Weimar and Nazi Germany (1918-1939): Hitler and The Nazi Party - The Lean Years (1924-1928)

The “Lean Years” (also called the "wilderness" years) of Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany refer to the period between 1924 and 1928 when the Nazi party did not have high levels of support and still suffered from humiliation over the Munich Putsch. Why where these years “lean”?

There were three main reasons:

Improving confidence in the Weimar Republic

Confidence in the Weimar Republic increased due to the work of Stresemann who managed to improve Germany’s international standing which, in turn, improved the confidence that ordinary Germans had in the Republic. Successes such as the Locarno Pact, League of Nations membership and Kellogg-Briand Pact all helped improve that confidence.

Economic stability

With the introduction of the Rentenmark to replace the hyperinflated Reichsmark, stability in the economy returned and unemployment began to fall, thereby improving living standards. As a consequence, support for extremist parties fell away and more moderate parties increased their share of the vote in elections.

Humiliation in Munich

The failure of the Munich Putsch humiliated the Nazis and the party was banned. It had to reform under the name of the National Socialist Freedom Movement. With Hitler in prison, the party lost much of its direction.