When Hitler first came to power, his grip on it was pretty insecure. The Nazi party was only one party in the three-party coalition that ruled the government. This meant that they did not have a majority in parliament, making it difficult for them to pass legislation without the support of other parties. Only two cabinet members were Nazis, further limiting their influence. Hitler was widely regarded as a joke, and conventional wisdom held that he wouldn’t last long in office. However, Hitler had a plan to change all that.

The first step was a series of staged attacks, such as the Reichstag fire, that Hitler blamed on communists. These attacks were used to push legislation, the Enabling Act, that would allow him to ignore parliament and rule by decree. Once the bill was passed, he essentially suspended all civil liberties. His second step was to destroy the trade unions.

Unions were the second on Hitler’s list because, at the time, Germany had some of the most powerful unions in the world, giving German workers significant power and influence. They could shut various industries down and use that as leverage to influence the course of the government. Hitler was not about to share power with anyone, however.

So he declared that trade unions were communist fronts, declared them all illegal, and arrested their leaders. In one stroke, Hitler destroyed a significant potential threat to his power. He then created the German Labor Front to extend government control over workers in all industries, effectively replacing the independent power of the unions with a state-controlled entity.

Then, after banning all political parties but the Nazi party, he hold on power in Germany was complete. It would take the combined efforts of half the world over several years to break that power.

Once Hitler solidified his grip, he never let go—until war and global resistance pried it from him.

It took:

• A world war.
• The combined force of the Allied nations.
• Millions of lives lost.

This story is more than just about Hitler—it’s a chilling example of how democracy can fall and tyranny can rise when fear, manipulation, and silence replace vigilance and resistance.