When Hitler rose to power in Germany in 1933, he was hindered by the Weimar constitution. However, the burning of the German parliament (Reichstag) building shortly thereafter was blamed on communists and radicals and this enabled Hitler to demand emergency powers by decree. This swept away any vestiges of parliamentary control. It was later determined that the fire most likely was set by the Nazis (Bahar and Kugel 2001). Hitler’s eugenic ideals, fueled by the writings and theories of Gobineau, Chamberlain, and Grant; the “science” of Davenport and Laughlin; and the German racial hygienists
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