0:00:06.776,0:00:08.337 How did Adolf Hitler, 0:00:08.337,0:00:12.747 a tyrant who orchestrated one of the[br]largest genocides in human history, 0:00:12.747,0:00:16.506 rise to power in a democratic country? 0:00:16.506,0:00:19.738 The story begins at the end[br]of World War I. 0:00:19.738,0:00:22.798 With the successful [br]Allied advance in 1918, 0:00:22.798,0:00:26.256 Germany realized the war was unwinnable 0:00:26.256,0:00:29.566 and signed an armistice [br]ending the fighting. 0:00:29.566,0:00:31.698 As its imperial government collapsed, 0:00:31.698,0:00:36.006 civil unrest and worker strikes[br]spread across the nation. 0:00:36.006,0:00:37.896 Fearing a Communist revolution, 0:00:37.896,0:00:41.557 major parties joined [br]to suppress the uprisings, 0:00:41.557,0:00:45.348 establishing the parliamentary[br]Weimar Republic. 0:00:45.348,0:00:47.477 One of the new government's first tasks 0:00:47.477,0:00:51.617 was implementing the peace treaty[br]imposed by the Allies. 0:00:51.617,0:00:56.298 In addition to losing over a tenth[br]of its territory and dismantling its army, 0:00:56.298,0:01:02.258 Germany had to accept full responsibility[br]for the war and pay reparations, 0:01:02.258,0:01:06.017 debilitating its already weakened economy. 0:01:06.017,0:01:10.928 All this was seen as a humiliation[br]by many nationalists and veterans. 0:01:10.928,0:01:13.719 They wrongly believed the war [br]could have been won 0:01:13.719,0:01:19.407 if the army hadn't been betrayed[br]by politicians and protesters. 0:01:19.407,0:01:22.470 For Hitler, these views became obsession, 0:01:22.470,0:01:28.370 and his bigotry and paranoid delusions[br]lead him to pin the blame on Jews. 0:01:28.370,0:01:32.500 His words found resonance in a society[br]with many anti-semitic people. 0:01:32.500,0:01:35.310 By this time, hundreds [br]of thousands of jews 0:01:35.310,0:01:37.947 had integrated into German society, 0:01:37.947,0:01:42.620 but many Germans continued to perceive[br]them as outsiders. 0:01:42.620,0:01:47.582 After World War I, Jewish success lead[br]to ungrounded accusations 0:01:47.582,0:01:51.029 of subversion and war profiteering. 0:01:51.029,0:01:54.399 It can not be stressed enough that these[br]conspiracy theories 0:01:54.399,0:01:56.191 were born out of fear, 0:01:56.191,0:01:57.099 anger, 0:01:57.099,0:01:58.351 and bigotry, 0:01:58.351,0:01:59.960 not fact. 0:01:59.960,0:02:02.527 Nonetheless, Hitler found [br]success with them. 0:02:02.527,0:02:05.970 When he joined a small nationalist[br]political party, 0:02:05.970,0:02:09.839 his manipulative public speaking[br]launched him into its leadership 0:02:09.839,0:02:12.880 and drew increasingly larger crowds. 0:02:12.880,0:02:16.149 Combining anti-Semitism with [br]populist resentment, 0:02:16.149,0:02:19.749 the Nazis denounced both Communism[br]and Capitalism 0:02:19.749,0:02:24.820 as international Jewish conspiracies[br]to destroy Germany. 0:02:24.820,0:02:27.851 The Nazi party was not initially popular. 0:02:27.851,0:02:31.340 After they made an unsuccessful attempt[br]at overthrowing the government, 0:02:31.340,0:02:33.160 the party was banned, 0:02:33.160,0:02:35.680 and Hitler jailed for treason. 0:02:35.680,0:02:37.931 But upon his release about a year later, 0:02:37.931,0:02:41.201 he immediately began to rebuild[br]the movement. 0:02:41.201,0:02:45.380 And then, in 1929, [br]the Great Depression happened. 0:02:45.380,0:02:49.061 It led to American banks withdrawing[br]their loans from Germany, 0:02:49.061,0:02:54.010 and the already struggling German economy[br]collapsed overnight. 0:02:54.010,0:02:56.442 Hitler took advantage [br]of the people's anger, 0:02:56.442,0:02:58.343 offering them convenient scapegoats 0:02:58.343,0:03:02.221 and a promise to restore Germany's[br]former greatness. 0:03:02.221,0:03:06.042 Mainstream parties proved[br]unable to handle the crisis 0:03:06.042,0:03:11.131 while left-wing opposition was too[br]fragmented by internal squabbles. 0:03:11.131,0:03:15.431 And so some of the frustrated public[br]flocked to the Nazis, 0:03:15.431,0:03:22.652 increasing their parliamentary votes from[br]under 3% to over 18% in just two years. 0:03:22.652,0:03:25.485 In 1932, Hitler ran for President, 0:03:25.485,0:03:30.273 losing the election to decorated war hero[br]General von Hindenburg. 0:03:30.273,0:03:35.855 But with 36% of the vote, Hitler had[br]demonstrated the extent of his support. 0:03:35.855,0:03:38.856 The following year, advisors [br]and business leaders 0:03:38.856,0:03:42.882 convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler[br]as Chancellor, 0:03:42.882,0:03:46.783 hoping to channel his popularity[br]for their own goals. 0:03:46.783,0:03:50.132 Though the Chancellor was only[br]the administrative head of parliament, 0:03:50.132,0:03:54.082 Hitler steadily expanded the power[br]of his position. 0:03:54.082,0:03:56.932 While his supporters formed [br]paramilitary groups 0:03:56.932,0:03:59.323 and fought protestors in streets. 0:03:59.323,0:04:02.943 Hitler raised fears [br]of a Communist uprising 0:04:02.943,0:04:06.873 and argued that only he could restore[br]law and order. 0:04:06.873,0:04:08.824 Then in 1933, 0:04:08.824,0:04:13.843 a young worker was convicted of[br]setting fire to the parliament building. 0:04:13.843,0:04:16.663 Hitler used the event to convince[br]the government 0:04:16.663,0:04:19.383 to grant him emergency powers. 0:04:19.383,0:04:23.384 Within a matter of months,[br]Freedom of the Press was abolished, 0:04:23.384,0:04:25.245 other parties were disbanded, 0:04:25.245,0:04:28.775 and anti-Jewish laws were passed. 0:04:28.775,0:04:33.424 Many of Hitler's early radical supporters[br]were arrested and executed, 0:04:33.424,0:04:35.483 along with potential rivals, 0:04:35.483,0:04:38.975 and when President Hindenburg died[br]in August 1934, 0:04:38.975,0:04:42.304 it was clear there would be [br]no new election. 0:04:42.304,0:04:47.564 Disturbingly, many of Hitler's early [br]measures didn't require mass repression. 0:04:47.564,0:04:50.613 His speeches exploited [br]people's fear and ire 0:04:50.613,0:04:54.574 to drive their support behind him[br]and the Nazi party. 0:04:54.574,0:04:57.104 Meanwhile, businessmen and intellectuals, 0:04:57.104,0:04:59.745 wanting to be on the right side [br]of public opinion, 0:04:59.745,0:05:01.394 endorsed Hitler. 0:05:01.394,0:05:03.244 They assured themselves and each other 0:05:03.244,0:05:06.294 that his more extreme rhetoric [br]was only for show. 0:05:06.294,0:05:09.976 Decades later, Hitler's rise remains [br]a warning 0:05:09.976,0:05:15.096 of how fragile democratic institutions[br]can be in the face of angry crowds 0:05:15.096,0:05:19.167 and a leader willing to feed their anger[br]and exploit their fears.