These last French regional elections will bring the recurrent argument, against the "infalibility" of democracy, that "Hitler won a democratic elections".
The way Hitler made his way into "winning" the elections was fairly irregular: "...in July and November 1932, the Nazis received 38% and 33% of the vote, respectively — a plurality but not enough to bring them into government. In the 1932 presidential election, Hitler lost to Hindenburg by a wide margin.
Hitler came to power not through elections, but because Hindenburg and the circle around Hindenburg ultimately decided to appoint him chancellor in January 1933. This was the result of backroom dealing and power politics, not any kind of popular vote." [LobeLog]
More about Hitler's appointment as Chancellor.
But in my opinion it is frequently forgotten the part played by the SA in Hitler's rise:
"The SA (Sturmabteilung or Storm Detachment) was better known as the Brownshirts or Storm Troopers. (...) From 1921 to 1933 the SA disrupted the meetings of Adolf Hitler’s political opponents as well as defended the halls where Hitler was making a speech in public." [historylearningsite.co.uk]
"Under [Ernst] Röhm SA membership, swelled from the ranks of the Great Depression’s unemployed, grew to 400,000 by 1932 and to perhaps 2,000,000—20 times the size of the regular army—by the time that Hitler came to power in 1933." [Britannica]
Imagine the power of this "parallel army" considering the importance of mass media on those times, when they were limited to newspapers and radio.
The way Hitler made his way into "winning" the elections was fairly irregular: "...in July and November 1932, the Nazis received 38% and 33% of the vote, respectively — a plurality but not enough to bring them into government. In the 1932 presidential election, Hitler lost to Hindenburg by a wide margin.
Hitler came to power not through elections, but because Hindenburg and the circle around Hindenburg ultimately decided to appoint him chancellor in January 1933. This was the result of backroom dealing and power politics, not any kind of popular vote." [LobeLog]
More about Hitler's appointment as Chancellor.
But in my opinion it is frequently forgotten the part played by the SA in Hitler's rise:
"The SA (Sturmabteilung or Storm Detachment) was better known as the Brownshirts or Storm Troopers. (...) From 1921 to 1933 the SA disrupted the meetings of Adolf Hitler’s political opponents as well as defended the halls where Hitler was making a speech in public." [historylearningsite.co.uk]
"Under [Ernst] Röhm SA membership, swelled from the ranks of the Great Depression’s unemployed, grew to 400,000 by 1932 and to perhaps 2,000,000—20 times the size of the regular army—by the time that Hitler came to power in 1933." [Britannica]
Imagine the power of this "parallel army" considering the importance of mass media on those times, when they were limited to newspapers and radio.
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