When and how did the Nazis come to power?When and how did the Nazis come to power?
Contrary to a common misconception, Hitler did not come to power through a terrorist coup against a democratically elected government. Although the Nazis had the support of many millions of German voters, owing largely to the continuing social, economic, and political crisis that had struck Germany especially after 1929, Hitler was never elected by a clear-cut decision of the absolute majority of the German electorate. Nor did such a majority ever give him a clear mandate to become the dictatorial ruler of Germany. In the last democratic elections—on November 6, 1932—the Nazi Party, though the strongest, actually declined from the 37.3 percent of the total vote that it had earned in the previous elections—on July 31, 1932—to 33.1 percent. Hitler attained power when President Hindenburg appointed him Chancellor on January 30, 1933. Once in power, Hitler and his accomplices lost no time in broadening their base of power and dismantling the democratic constitution piece by piece. A crucia
