The Holocaust and World War II may have their beginnings in this very act: On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), was appointed German chancellor by the 85-year-old president, Paul von Hindenburg. The Nazis seized the opportunity and managed to transform the democratic Weimar Republic (1918 – 1933) into a dictatorship within a few months. On this episode of History Stories we explore five surprising reasons why the Nazis succeeded in doing so:

00:00 Intro
00:16 Reason 1: Brutal minority
02:51 Reason 2: Hitler is underestimated
05:30 Reason 3: Sheer luck and ruthlessness
07:00 Reason 4: Democracy in Germany is already under threat.
08:27 Reason 5: Propaganda.