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At the end of the First World War the German military Dictatorship and the monarchy were overthrown, and the new Weimar Republic government signed a humiliating armistice with the allied powers. The militaristic and right-wing elements in Germany soon started claiming they had not really lost the war, but they had been "stabbed in the back" by the leftists/centrists/Jews/politicians etc. As Germany was made to accept the blame for the war, lost territory and had to pay huge war reparations to the allies this meant that parties (such as the Nazis) that were hostile to the Armistice terms and promised to restore Germany gained electoral support.

In 1932 the Nazis became the largest party in the German parliament, but still did not have a majority, in January 1933 Hitler was appointed Chancellor (head of government) in the hope that he could be controlled, but he started acquiring more power than his non-Nazi supporters expected.

Because the parliament still had no clear majority Hitler asked President Hindenburg for new elections for March 1933. In February there was a convenient fire that destroyed the Reichstag (Parliament) - the Nazis blamed the communists, although it is widely believed that the fire was started by the Nazis to discredit the Communists who were arrested in large numbers. The Communists were still allowed to run in the March election (winning 81 seats) although the party was banned the next day meaning 81 votes disappeared from the parliament, giving the Nazis and their allies a majority.

Once the Nazis had gained political control they were quick to ensure they kept it; laws were passed to remove civil liberties and to allow the Nazi-led government to make laws without the parliament - and once they had total control they became a legal dictatorship.

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12y ago

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