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He first attended a meeting in September 1919 as a spy for the army before joining. The party pushed for nationalism, and used anti-Semitic ideas (anti-Jewish).
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The Weimar government failed to respond effectively to the crisis. Eleven months after the start of the Great Depression, the NSDAP was able to increase its share of the Reichstag vote almost ninefold.
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Hitler used the Reichstag fire as a means of extending his power over Germany. The Nazi leader declared a state of emergency and asked President Hindenburg to invoke Article 48 of the Weimar constitution. This emergency power authorized the president to rule by decree, to ensure public safety and order.
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The Enabling Act allowed Hitler to govern without reference to the Reichstag. The chancellor and his ministers could rule by decree, bypass the constitution, initiate taxes, spending, and determine foreign policy, all without legislation or Reichstag approval.
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Hitler gained the support of the German Army by killing off several leaders of the uncontrollable SA (stormtoopers), his former Nazi enforcers.
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Hitler ordered German troops back into the Rhineland, in defiance of the treaty. France and Britain did nothing.
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Hitler laid out his concerns about Germany’s economic growth, stressing the need for self-sufficiency in food and raw materials.
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The Austrian chancellor held a vote on Austrian independence. Claiming the vote was rigged, Hitler told him to relinquish power to the Austrian Nazis or face invasion. The chancellor sought help from Britain and France but he was refused, so he resigned.
