On January 30, 1933 President Paul von Hindenburg, an old man who hated Hitler and said he would never appoint him chancellor, did an about face and named Adolf Hitler Reichs Chancellor. Why? Because two of Hitler’s alliances with the right wing party, "Nationalist," and the military, Stahlhelm worked in the background and made it happen.

What happened after Hitler became chancellor? I use the words of Hitler’s propaganda minister, Paul Joseph Goebbels, to set it up:

"We come to the Reichstag (parliament) not as friends, not as neutrals, but as enemies. The National Socialists (Nazis) plan to use this arsenal of democracy to bring it down . . . we are committed to the legality of means, not of ends."

Hitler used democracy to bring democracy down. He had only been chancellor 5 hours when he held his first meeting of the cabinet and demanded new elections. The Reason? Even with the alliance with the right wing, the Nazis did not have a 2/3s majority in parliament. But if Hitler lost the last election why would he think he could win a new one? Because he now had all the apparatus of the government, plus control over radio and newspapers, more money from big business than he could count, and—he planned to use force.

Between Jan 31 and the election, March 5 the Nazis conducted the loudest, most expensive campaign of ten years. It was also the most brutal and deadly. Hermann Goering was Minister of the Interior to Prussia (2/3 of Germany) and controlled the Prussian police. He ordered them to ban meetings, rallies, and newspapers of all opposing political parties. When the police didn’t act with sufficient force, Goering sent in 50,000 Nazi thugs from the SA the SS and the Stahlhelm and gave them cart blanch to murder and pillage. Town hall meetings of apposing parties were disrupted and participants beaten or jailed. Newspaper offices were destroyed. Hundreds of Germans were beaten, jailed and murdered. The courts were not allowed to touch Nazis for any crime.

Joseph Goebbels believed this would cause a rebellion by the communists so the Nazis would have an excuse for martial law. However, the communist simply refused to rise to the bate. In fact most of them had left the country or gone underground. The SPD (Social Democrats,) believed in legal means and waited for the national government to acknowledge Hitler’s lawlessness and call their units of local militia to action. Disappointed, the Nazi’s needed something to stampede the public before the election. If the communist wouldn’t commit an act that would frighten the people, the Nazi’s would do it for them.

On Feb 27 the Reichstag (Parliament building) caught fire. This was immediately blamed on the communist, but it was actually started by the Nazis. Here is the part of this event that is the most important factor in Hitler’s seizure of power:

On February 28 Hitler announced an Emergency Decree, "for the Protection of the People and the State." The decree suspended all parts of the constitution that guaranteed legal and civil rights: free expression of opinion, freedom of the press, all rights of assembly and association, all privacy rights of postal, telegraphic and telephonic communications, suspended the need for warrants for house searches and confiscations. Does any of this sound familiar? It should. If not, take a look at the patriot act.

It also authorized the Reich to take over state governments, allowed the at-will arrest of anyone, including elected members of the Reichstag and suspension of all electoral parties except NSDAP. (Nazis) Then Hitler turned his Nazi thugs loose to terrorize the entire country.

But you know what? With all the Nazi promises, all the brown shirt terror, all the fear and threats of communist revolution, Hitler still did not get the 2/3 majority. The Nazis only got only 44% of the vote. Even with their right wing partners, they still didn’t have a 2/3s majority.

But Hitler was far from through with using democracy to bring democracy down. He forbid all elected communists from taking their seats in the Reichstag and then he arrested enough elected SPD members to get his 2/3s majority. Once he had it, he ask the Reichstag to pass an Enabling Act that would give Hitler and his cabinet exclusive legislative powers for four years. As William Shirer put it, the parliament was to "turn over its constitutional functions to Hitler and take a long vacation."

On March 31the Enabling act was used to dissolve the state governments and replace them with Nazis. On April 7 Hitler passed a law appointing Reich Governors in all states and empowering them to appoint and remove all local governments, all state officials, and all judges. After that there was no power but Hitler. No constitution, no legal or civil rights, no democratically elected representatives, no police or courts or judges or army not subject to Hitler’s will.