The genesis of the idea for Silent Coup came from my search for an answer to this question: How did Hitler destroy Germany's democracy and seize absolute power? No, he was not elected. No, he did not seize power in a military coup. No, he was not so loved by the people that they swept him into power. So How?

For most of the 1920's the Nazis claimed only 5 or 6 percent of the vote. When the depression hit, fear of a communist revolution raised their percentage, but in the last free election in November 1932, they still got only 33 percent and Hitler's popularity was dropping at that time. In January 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg who hated Hitler. Why then did he appoint him Chancellor?

By the end of March 1933, just three months after his appointment, Hitler had gutted the constitutional freedom of the democracy, swept away all opposing politicians and given himself dictatorial powers. Sixty-six percent of the people voted against him. Courts, laws, elected leaders, legitimate police were all in place. Why couldn't he be stopped?

When my research revealed the answers it also exposed startling and frightening parallels in current day headlines. I knew at once I had to put Diana Hunter to work on this case, but I could see that she would need a lot of assistance from her Great Uncle Bennett who was actually in Germany to witness Hitler's seizure of power. I dropped them on the page and their stories came to life.

As you read Silent Coup, I hope you will be swept up in the stories of Diana and Bennett, but along the way you might also stumble upon some of the answers I found.