> small group of people decided to use it while they did a bunch of nasty stuff.
Try again. A genocidal regime that conquered western europe by force, almost succeeded in overthrowing world democracy and caused the deaths of tens of millions.
Try again. A genocidal regime that conquered western europe by force, almost succeeded in overthrowing world democracy and caused the deaths of tens of millions.
40-50 million in the war itself to be precise, but that doesn't account for all the millions of people who died in years directly after the war as a consequence of hunger, diseases, revenges, crime, political fights and persecution caused by the new division of powers... especially in Eastern Europe and Germany itself.
Yes there are instances where it wasn't above board but by and large Hitler gained his power democratically and/or within the constitution.
So I would say Hitler and Germany is a lesson in how not to set up a democracy. It basically enabled his rise to power.
And indeed, constitutions and electoral systems took these lessons into account afterwards. Nowadays it is hard to win an election with 1/3 of the vote:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_1932_German_federal_e...
The overcame supermajority obstacles. Pretending they didn't represent the majority is detached from history. Nazism resonated deeply in Germany. He truly got most Germans willing to follow him enthusiastically.