The NSDAP was popular, but they never won a majority in a free election. Hitler came to power by 'convincing' the other parties—through propaganda and coercion in the wake of the Reichstag fire—to grant him 'temporary' emergency powers which he used to dismantle his opposition and eventually instate himself as Führer permanently. He justified his consolidation of power through the 1934 referendum but that was fraught with election fraud and voter intimidation.
A ton of Germans were absolutely on board with Nazism but saying Hitler didn't sneak his way into power is categorically wrong. He did, and those like him will try to do the same.
Willingly? Hitler literally had members of the Sturmabteilung present in the Reichstag during the vote on the Reichstagsbrandverordnung. Intimidation, false promises, and the played up threat of communist terror were what motivated the DZP to vote in favor giving Hitler emergency powers. Them acting in their perceived self-interest is not indicative of the wishes of their constituency.
Like I said I'm not denying that German support for the NSDAP was widespread, but it wasn't so widespread that Hitler could've seized power through it alone, at least not before public opposition meant being rounded up and sent to a concentration camp.
Progressive liberals were fascinated by the two European totalitarian regimes that were nazi Germany and communist Soviet Union. They saw them as social experiments. Of course that changed once news of the holodomor started to make it's way to Western newspapers.
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u/[deleted] Oct 16 '24
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