It was a republic with a semi-presidential system. The Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation , political extremism including violence from left- and right-wing paramilitaries , contentious relationships with the Allied victors of World War I , and a series of failed attempts at coalition government by divided political parties. The government printed money to make the payments and to repay the country's war debt, but the resulting hyperinflation led to inflated prices for consumer goods, economic chaos, and food riots.
It was the renamed successor of the German Workers' Party DAP formed one year earlier, and one of several far-right political parties then active in Germany. They promised to strengthen the economy and provide jobs. Hitler therefore led a short-lived coalition government formed with the German National People's Party. This event is known as the Machtergreifung "seizure of power".
Marinus van der Lubbe , a Dutch communist, was found guilty of starting the blaze. Hitler proclaimed that the arson marked the start of a communist uprising. The Reichstag Fire Decree , imposed on 28 February , rescinded most civil liberties, including rights of assembly and freedom of the press.
The decree also allowed the police to detain people indefinitely without charges. The legislation was accompanied by a propaganda campaign that led to public support for the measure. Violent suppression of communists by the SA was undertaken nationwide and 4, members of the Communist Party of Germany were arrested. The remaining major political parties followed suit. The founding of new parties was also made illegal, and all remaining political parties which had not already been dissolved were banned.
Prussia was already under federal administration when Hitler came to power, providing a model for the process. The Hitler cabinet used the terms of the Reichstag Fire Decree and later the Enabling Act to initiate the process of Gleichschaltung "co-ordination" , which brought all aspects of life under party control.
