Once Hitler was appoined Chancellor, his main aim was to gain the full majority needed to change the constitution which was 75%.
He called the elections for 15th March 1933 and on 4th February he got Hindenburg to pass a decree to ensure 'free and peaceful elections'
This election was supposed to secure Hitler's grip on power
This election camaign, like many others, was extremely violent and there were around 70 deaths in the weeks leaving up to it
Hitler had access to the media and had received alot of money from leading industries
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Events of and After the Fire
On the night of 27th Feburary, the Reichstag building was set on fire (this was one week before the election
Inside the building, the police found Dutch communist, Van der Lubbe, who was arrested and charged with starting the fire
Hitler used this as a form of propaganda as evidence that the Comminists were plotting the revolution. That night Georing's police arrested 4000 Communists
The day after the fire, Hitler pursauded Hindenburg to sign the 'Decree for the protection of people and state'. this replaced the constitution by a constant state of emergency and suspended basic civil rights. It allowed the Nazis to imprison large numbers of their opponants; the SA also killed opponants and the police did nothing. Communist and Socialist newpapers were also banned (this decree remained in places for 12 years)
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