History

In Hitler’s eyes, the time had come to settle the struggle between the right and the left once and for all.

We must first gain complete power if we want to crush the other side completely.” Hitler argued that, in supporting his rise as führer, the moguls would in effect be supporting themselves, their firms, and their fortunes. “

Near the end of his speech, Hitler laid out how that would happen. In only two weeks, on March 5, the people of Germany would determine the country’s future by casting their votes in the national election—“the last election,” according to Hitler. One way or another, democracy would fall.

Germany’s new chancellor intended to dissolve it entirely and replace it with a dictatorship. “Regardless of the outcome,” he warned, “there would be no retreat.