Aug 10 The Forgotten Coup That Helped Hitler Consolidate Power The Preußenschlag of 1932 One often disseminated myth is that Adolf Hitler achieved power through democratic means. This is partially true, since the Nazi Party won a plurality of votes and seats in Germany’s last free and fair federal election of November 1932. However, since the Nazis were unable to form a government on their own and refused to forge coalitions with any other political party, Hitler ordered his paramilitary forces to wreak havoc throughout the country. Convinced by political elites like Franz von Papen that putting Hitler in power...