Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hitler, born evil or a product of his environment? We asked the public.
Who was really to blame for the Nazis’ rise to power? Was it all down to Hitler? The notorious propaganda machine? The economic chaos of the 1930s? Or something darker in human nature itself? Louise Quick takes these tough questions to the streets to find out what the public think.
Then, with the help of experts Prof. Nadine Rossol and Prof. Matthew Feldman, she digs deeper into one of history’s darkest chapters - to uncover who was truly responsible for the rise of the Nazis...
0:00 Introduction
3:09 Our WW2 Experts: Prof. Nadine Rossol and Prof. Matthew Feldman
4:50 Who was to blame for the rise of nazism?
5:20 The Treaty of Versailles: a humiliating peace?
9:40 How many votes did the Nazi Party get?
10:34 Economic collapse: the Great Depression & hyperinflation
12:55 The Hitler factor: charisma of a 'Saviour Figure'
17:53 The failed coup that made Hitler famous
19:56 Hitler's henchmen: the role of other top Nazis
24:16 The Nazi propaganda machine
27:19 Scapegoating & the people's vote
34:26 Anti-semitism: the tacist core of Nazism
38:32 Exhaustion, fear & a deal with the devil
41:03 The Verdict: Who was ultimately to blame?
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: youtube.com/channel/UCZwU2G-KVl-P-O-B35chZOQ/join
#HistoryHit #voxpops #ww2history
Hitler, born evil or a product of his environment? We asked the public.
Who was really to blame for the Nazis’ rise to power? Was it all down to Hitler? The notorious propaganda machine? The economic chaos of the 1930s? Or something darker in human nature itself? Louise Quick takes these tough questions to the streets to find out what the public think.
Then, with the help of experts Prof. Nadine Rossol and Prof. Matthew Feldman, she digs deeper into one of history’s darkest chapters - to uncover who was truly responsible for the rise of the Nazis...
0:00 Introduction
3:09 Our WW2 Experts: Prof. Nadine Rossol and Prof. Matthew Feldman
4:50 Who was to blame for the rise of nazism?
5:20 The Treaty of Versailles: a humiliating peace?
9:40 How many votes did the Nazi Party get?
10:34 Economic collapse: the Great Depression & hyperinflation
12:55 The Hitler factor: charisma of a 'Saviour Figure'
17:53 The failed coup that made Hitler famous
19:56 Hitler's henchmen: the role of other top Nazis
24:16 The Nazi propaganda machine
27:19 Scapegoating & the people's vote
34:26 Anti-semitism: the tacist core of Nazism
38:32 Exhaustion, fear & a deal with the devil
41:03 The Verdict: Who was ultimately to blame?
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: youtube.com/channel/UCZwU2G-KVl-P-O-B35chZOQ/join
#HistoryHit #voxpops #ww2history
