WWII IN EUROPE:  REVIEW II The Great Depression and Rebirth Hitler and the Nazis remained in obscurity until the Crash of 1929 threw the world into depression, reviving the appeal of National Socialism.  Having learned his lesson in 1923, Hitler now sought power through legal channels—by winning seats in the Reichstag.  In the 1930 elections, the Nazis gained the balance of power.  Without them, no one could rule Germany. In 1932, German political leaders persuaded elderly President Paul von Hindenberg , to name Hitler Chancellor of a coalition government.  These politicians assured Hindenberg that that they could easily control Hitler.   Hindenberg, a Prussian aristocrat and a former field marshal from World War I, despised Hitler, but reluctantly agreed to the plan.  "The Field Marshal and the Corporal," the posters said, attempting to link the unlikely pair in the common experience of World War I--and a subtle reminder to Germans of Hitler's promise to revenge Versailles. Night of the Long Knives Now that he was Chancellor of Germany, Hitler cultivated the bankers, businessmen, and Army officers whose support he needed to lead Germany.  The old street fighters of the S.A. (Sturmabteilung )—the Brown Shirts, led by Ernst Röhm —wanted to become part of the Army, but the aristocratic officers of the Wehrmacht would not accept these thugs and hoodlums.  The officers agreed to support Hitler only if he got rid of the S.A.  So in a bloody coup, Hitler assassinated Röhm and 200 other S.A. leaders,thus  removing the S. A. as a significant force within Germany and the Nazi Party.  It was a ruthless act characteristic of Hitler—the S. A. were no longer useful, so he abandoned them. With the disposal of the S. A., Army leaders now swore oaths of loyalty to the person of Adolf Hitler.  Now they were duty-bound to protect him above all else—even Germany itself. The Rise of the S. S. The S. S. (Schutzstaffel) was a leading force behind the coup.  Led by Heinrich Himmler, a former chicken farmer, assisted by Reinhard Heydrich , the Black Shirts now assumed their place as Hitler’s power base within the Third Reich. Absolute Power President Hindenberg died in 1933.  Shortly thereafter, a crisis occurred when someone set fire to the Reichstag.  Police arrested a mentally disabled Dutchman, Marius van der Lubbe—an alleged Communist—and charged him with starting the fire.  Hitler used the incident as a pretext for declaring a national emergency and assuming dictatorial powers.  Adolf Hitler had become Germany’s Führer.