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When Hitler became Chancellor on 30 January 1933, Nazis held only three of eleven cabinet posts. Within eighteen months, he had established a one-party dictatorship through legal manipulation, terror, and propaganda.
Key Definition: Gleichschaltung ('coordination') was the Nazi process of bringing all political, social, and cultural life under Nazi control.
On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag was set ablaze. Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, confessed. Most historians accept he acted alone.
The Reichstag Fire Decree (28 February 1933) suspended all civil liberties under Article 48: freedom of speech, press, assembly, privacy, and protection against arbitrary arrest. It remained in force throughout the Third Reich — the legal foundation of Nazi terror.
Exam Tip: The Reichstag Fire Decree is arguably more important than the Enabling Act — it provided the permanent legal basis for the police state.
Despite terror and propaganda, NSDAP won only 43.9%. The Enabling Act (23 March 1933) transferred legislative power to the Cabinet:
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