Hitler was the leader of the NSDAP, and was appointed Chancellor of Germany on 30th January 1933. He had many opponents, both internal; such as Von Papen, Schleicher, and Hindenburg; and external such as other political parties and groups like Industrialists and Big Business.

Between 1933 and 1934, the main groups opposing Hitler were more political, but by 1938, his only worries were elitist groups.

Hitler used violence with a great degree of success in order to deal with his political opponents. The Night of the Long Knives was probably the most important and most successful event, as it dealt with both internal and external opponents, for example those most threatening to Hitler, and the army. The SA, Röhm, Strasser and Schleicher were all eliminated. This meant that Hitler's biggest critics were dealt with in just one night, and this made it more difficult for Hitler to be removed. It was...