It's a common misconception that Hitler was elected to rule
Germany. His party did fairly well in elections but it was
ruthlessness & mendacity (a very cleverly directed publicity
campaign) that put him in the drivers seat.


Vito wrote:
I'm under that impression, Tell us more.


The German election(s) never produced a Nazi majority nor
did they elect Hitler as Chancellor. The National Socialists
(Nazis) did pull in enough votes that they could have been a
major player in a coalition gov't, but Hitler didn't have
the patience for that nor the temperament to work
productively with others. Instead he went to the duly
elected President (Von Hindenburg, an old-guard Prussian)
and made a back room deal to have himself appointed
Chancellor. This gave him the authority he needed to order
soldiers to prevent most of the anti-Nazi representatives
from voting against his measures grabbing further power.

Hitler took power in what amounted to a coup d'etat. He was
popular enough that people put up with it, and waged a
full-time public relations campaign to gain more popularity.

Same thing has been done before... Cromwell immediately
comes to mind.

DSK