How did Adolf Hitler rise to power?

Hitler was legally elected by the German people in a legitimate election on January 30, 1933. The Nazi Party won 43% of the vote, largest of any of the parties in the election. The German people had lost faith in the parties of the politican center because Germany had suffered great hardships during the 1920s and was hit even harder by the Great Depression which started in 1929. The German people had lost faith in the democratic process and wanted firm leadership. They knew full well that the Nazis wanted to establish a dictatorship (so did the communists). Thus, in the election of January 30, 1933, the German electorate polarized to the extreme right and extreme left (the communist and socialist had a strong showing during this election). Hitler obtained the support of the German Nationalist Party, another right-wing party, which had won about 15% of the vote and was able to form a coalition government. President Hindenberg approved the arrangement and Hitler became Chancellor. Franz von Papen, a former chancellor and a leader of the Nationalist Party, became Vice Chancellor. The cabinet posts were divided with the Nationalists getting more posts than the Nazis.