Hitler's Strategy

 

https://www.rsn.org/001/how-hitler-dismantled-a-democracy-in-53-days.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/millenials/comments/1ig0vsz/how_hitler_dismantled_a_democracy_in_53_days/ 

Hitler's Strategy:

• Exploiting Legal Loopholes: Hitler, with the help of his legal strategist Hans Frank, understood how to exploit weaknesses within the Weimar Constitution to achieve his goals. He used the very framework of democracy to dismantle it.  
• "Legality Oath": Hitler publicly stated his intention to use legal means to gain power and then reshape the government as he saw fit. This was a brazen declaration of his true intentions, disguised within a veneer of legality.
• Political Maneuvering: Hitler was adept at manipulating the political landscape, forming and breaking coalitions, and using obstructionist tactics to weaken the existing government.  

Key Steps to Dictatorship:

• Reichstag Fire: The Reichstag fire, conveniently blamed on the Communists, was used as a pretext to enact emergency decrees that suspended civil liberties, suppressed opposition, and consolidated power in Hitler's hands.  
• Enabling Act: This crucial piece of legislation, passed with the support of a coerced Reichstag, granted Hitler dictatorial powers, allowing him to bypass the constitution and rule by decree. It effectively dismantled the separation of powers.  
• Consolidation of Power: Hitler and his allies systematically purged opposition from key positions in the government, the police, and the media. They centralized power in Berlin, undermining the autonomy of the federal states.  
• Propaganda and Control: Goebbels was appointed to control propaganda and manipulate public opinion, ensuring that the Nazi narrative dominated.  
• Intimidation and Violence: The Nazi regime used intimidation, violence, and imprisonment to silence dissent and crush any remaining opposition. The establishment of concentration camps marked a significant escalation of repression.  

Important Context:

• Weimar Republic's Weakness: The Weimar Republic was inherently unstable, with a complex and fragmented political system that was vulnerable to manipulation.  
• Economic Crisis: The economic crisis of the 1930s created widespread discontent and made the population more susceptible to extremist ideologies.  
• Hindenburg's Complicity: President Hindenburg, despite his initial reservations about Hitler, ultimately capitulated and enabled his rise to power. He failed to use his constitutional powers to check Hitler's actions.  

The article emphasizes the following:

• Contingency vs. Inevitability: The article challenges the notion that Hitler's rise to power was inevitable. It highlights the role of chance, political maneuvering, and individual decisions in shaping historical events.
• Gradualism: Hitler's takeover was a gradual process, a series of calculated steps that progressively eroded democratic institutions.
• The "Big Joke on Democracy": The article concludes with the observation that democracy can be exploited by its enemies to achieve its own destruction.

In short, the article provides a chilling account of how a democratically elected leader, through a combination of cunning strategy, exploitation of legal loopholes, and ruthless use of power, was able to transform a republic into a totalitarian dictatorship in a matter of weeks.