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The Nazi state came out of the previous German government, the Weimar Republic. The Nazis were a minor political party that emerged in 1919. The party pushed for nationalism, and anti-Semitic ideas.
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Hitler declared himself the party’s leader. He ordered a group of enforcement to deal with opponents.
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The NSDAP was popular with farmers, small business owners. These people felt ignored by their government.
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Eleven months after the start of the Great Depression, the NSDAP was able to increase its share of the Reichstag vote almost ninefold. In the July 1932 elections, the Nazis won 230 seats (The most held by one party.
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Earlier in 1933, Hitler ordered the construction of concentration camps. These camps, at first, held political prisoners who disagreed with Nazi policies and ideas.
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Hindenburg offered the chancellorship to Adolf Hitler and invited him to form a government.
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When Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30th 1933, his grip on power was still weak. Hitler used the Reichstag fire as a way of extending power. Hitler asked President Hindenburg to invoke Article 48, which let the president to rule by decree, to ensure public safety and order.
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The Nazis introduced the Enabling Act into the Reichstag. The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to do whatever he wanted, all without legislation or Reichstag approval.
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President Hindenburg died and Hitler assumed control of the government.
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In 1935, Hitler reintroduced the draft. The following year Hitler unveiled his Four-Year Plan, a schedule to prepare the nation’s military for war.
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Hitler was concerned with Germany's economic growth. Stressing the need for self-sufficiency in food and raw materials, Hitler proposed to expand into Eastern Europe so Germany could access land and raw materials there.
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The Austrian chancellor held a March 1938 vote on Austrian independence. Claiming the vote was rigged, Hitler told him to resign or he would attack. The chancellor asked for help but was refused, so he resigned. Hitler joined Austria and Germany under one government.
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In September 1938. They signed an agreement allowing the Nazi to takeover Sudetenland, as long as Hitler wouldn’t go further into Czechoslovakia. German troops rolled into the Sudetenland two days later.
