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The Weimar Republic was created in the aftermath of World War I to govern a defeated Germany. Although its constitution was designed to make the state a liberal parliamentary democracy, certain inherent political and economic factors combined to make Germany a dictatorship within fifteen years. Several factors undermined popular support for the new republic, while within the constitution itself lay avenues for the seizure of absolute power. This essay was written 4/23/96 in my tenth grade …

…little. Hitler and the Nazis had exploited the insecurity arising from the economic crises of the last decade, and controlled a large portion of the popular vote; through his elected representatives and intimidation of other parties Hitler effectively controlled the Reichstag. By passing the Enabling Act, which allowed Hitler to rule by decree, and an emergency decree suspending civil liberties, Hitler had effectively replaced the constitution and turned the Weimar Republic into a Fascist dictatorship.