Many factors combined to make the Nazi seizure of power possible including, it has to be said, a certain amount of luck. Obviously in considering how the Nazis came to power there is the traditional split between long term and short term factors. This split has been a particularly contentious area of historical research in relation to Nazi Germany. Some of the more ridiculous pieces of historical writing, have attempted to prove that defects in the German character which predisposed Germans to Nazi rule can be traced as far back as Luther and beyond. A more sensible starting point for examining the origins of the Nazi movement is 1918 however.

To say that the events of 1918 came as a great shock to Germans is probably an understatement. The war had been launched in a wave of patriotism, unity, and optimism in 1914, a moment Hitler regarded as one of the happiest of his life. In the East the war had gone particularly well for Germany, victory had seemed within her grasp. The defeat, armistice, and crushing terms of the Versailles settlement therefore left many Germans in a state of denial about the course of events. As a result many readily

The existence of the NSDAP and its continued survival through the many lean years, depended to a large extent upon the peculiar democratic constitution of the Weimar republic. The system of direct proportional representation allowed fringe parties to thrive with only a handful of representatives in the Reichstag. A simple change to the constitution stating 5% of the poll is required to be eligible for Reichstag representation, would have quickly resulted in the disillusionment of NSDAP supporters as they languished in the electoral wilderness. A second flaw in the Weimar constitution which is easy to identify with hindsight, is that there was no requirement for parties standing in elections to commit themselves to democratic methods. This situation is not unique to Weimar Germany, but Hitler could denounce the democratic system with impunity, and then field candidates, as could a number of other extremist parties such as the communists. This constant verbal assault upon democratic methods damaged democracy in Weimar.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Previously Nazis, Stresemann Locarno, Nazism Weimar, Adolf Hitler, Hall Putsch, Germany's Weimar's, Germans Nazi, Roosevelt Bruning, Fritz Tobins's, Nazism Nazi, nazi seizure, seizure power, nazi seizure power, weimar republic, weimar's professional politicians, bavarian corporal, support nazis, campaign hitler, enabling act, factor led nazi, establishment support, led nazi seizure, public speaking, russian communist party, nazi leadership,
Approximate Word count = 2857
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)