Adolf Hitler: Proclamation to the German People

Audience

The audience for Hitler's proclamation was the German people. The address was broadcast by radio and attracted a huge audience. Many members of the middle class had regarded Hitler as a bumbler and rabble-rouser, but they were impressed by the speech. Hitler's appointment as chancellor was an enormously popular decision. Large crowds had gathered outside the chancellery building in Berlin the previous day when he was appointed chancellor. The German people had grown weary of the Weimar Republic, regarding it as responsible for Germany's weakness and the economic ills that beset the nation. They had also grown tired of the political intrigue and infighting that characterized the administration of Hindenburg. They saw the appointment of Hitler as a new beginning, as a step toward a more effective government. Hitler's address was his first official effort to rally the German people to greatness.