but want to make one small correction.
Hitler wasn't elected. Germany had a parliamentary system where the Chancellor was appointed by the President (who was elected) to form a government. Generally speaking, the Chancellor was the leader of the party that got the largest number of seats in the Reichstag, which in early 1933 was the Nazi Party. However, the President, Hindenburg, could have refused to appoint Hitler and turned to other more liberal parties to form a majority coalition. The irony is the Nazis were beginning to lose support when Hindenburg--against his own better judgment--was persuaded by the conservative leaders to go with Hitler. They got less votes in 1932 than they did in 1930.
And though the Nazi Party got the largest number of votes, they never won a clear majority against the other parties, not until Hitler outlawed all opposition. He was able to do this by using the German equivalent of the Patriot Act, which was passed in a rush after the Reichstag building was burned.
The conservatives in Germany thought they could control Hitler. They thought if they appointed him head of government he would suddenly become responsible and work within the system--in support of conservative values (support for the military, patriotism and pride in country, anti-Semitism, capitalism, etc.). What happened instead was that he was able to dupe them and assume absolute power.
But your general point is correct: Hitler came to power "legally" and under a democratic system by duping millions of German voters. He then worked quickly to destroy that democracy, plunging Germany and then the whole world into a nightmare.
My family lived through this, and I grew up hearing about how it happened. I've always believed something like that could well happen here, which is why Trump scares the living hell out of me.
Best wishes.
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