Over the course of human history, various crises have occurred that have affected humans globally.  Among these crises was the economic trouble experienced during the late 1920s and 1930s, popularly known as the Great Depression.  The Depression was a global economic problem that affected several countries across the planet, including Germany and the United States (U.S.).  However, even though the two aforementioned countries experienced the same problem, they responded to the crises in different ways.  Evidently, America’s response included a reaffirmation of traditional values like democracy and capitalism, while Germany adopted radicalism and destabilization path that prompted the rise of Hitler.  Ultimately, Germany and the U.S. responded to similar crises differently because of their different political leadership and the nature of the economic crises.

Germany and the U.S. responded differently because of their varying political leadership.  The two countries had political leaders with varying ideological orientations and leadership skills.  During the era, America had key leaders like Franklin Roosevelt, who adopted progressive values.  Roosevelt also adopted social reforms, and unlike the Weimer Republic, he addressed the root cause of the economic troubles through pragmatic policies.  Notably, the U.S adopted “the New Deal, designed to create work-relief programs to put the unemployed to work, increase the bargaining and consumer power of industrial workers, and provide an overall enhanced quality of life” (Kordas, Lynch, Nelson, & Tatlock, 2022).  Fundamentally, Roosevelt created an inclusive government and had good communication skills that gave the American people confidence in his initiatives.  On the contrary, the Weimer Republic did not have potent and unifying leaders and, hence, failed to lead the country out of the crisis.  The country had ineffective leaders and weak coalition governments oblivious to how to address the situation.  In addition, Germany saw the rise of Hitler, who adopted authoritarianism and demagoguery, which allowed him to implement his radical agenda; hence the difference (BBC, 2022).  Apparently, the two countries had distinct leaders with varying leadership skills and ideologies at the time, which influenced their distinct.

The nature of the economic crisis differed between the two countries, hence prompting a varying response from each country.  In the U.S., the economic troubles were mainly attributed to massive unemployment and financial instability.  Thus, even though these issues caused more hardship for the American people, they did not affect the foundational principle of America.  On the contrary, the crisis yielded a renewed strong commitment to traditional values like democracy.  Consequently, the New Deal was introduced, which exemplifies this response through its initiatives like enhancing more government intervention, creating employment, and protecting the liberties of workers (Kordas, Lynch, Nelson, & Tatlock, 2022).  On the other hand, Germany’s economic troubles intertwined with the nation’s existing problems, nationalist movements, and the view of political betrayal.  Evidently, the humiliation following the defeat in the Great War, the 1920s hyperinflation, and the economic Depression crashed the Germans’ confidence in their government.  This, in turn, prompted radicalism that led to the rise of Nazism (BBC, 2022).  Unlike Americans, Hitler exploited these pre-existing conditions by promising to restore the nation’s lost glory, advocating nationalism, and making minority groups scapegoats to respond to crises.  Generally, the nature of the Great Depression differed in America and Germany, which led to different responses.

To sum up, it is evident that the U.S. and Germany went through a devastating economic crisis in the aftermath of the Great War.  It is also clear that the two countries tried to guide their respective citizens out of the same dire situation, which led to the two nations responding to the same situation differently.  Clearly, the two countries reacted differently because they had different leaders with different ideologies.  For the U.S., it had Roosevelt who embraced progressive reforms and democracy.  On the other hand, Germany was led by leaders like Hitler, who advocated radicalism and authoritarianism, hence yielding varied responses.  In addition, the difference can be attributed to the different nature of the economic crisis experienced in the two countries.  Even though the crisis was similar, its nature varied in the two countries.  Therefore, the measures taken in response to the crises differed and were fueled by varying underlying political issues in both countries.