The story begins at the end of World War I.

這要從第一次世界大戰的後期開始說起。

With the successful Allied advance in 1918, Germany realized the war was unwinnable and signed an armistice ending the fighting.

1918 年，眼看協約國一步步走向勝利，德國明白自己已經不可能扭轉情勢，就簽署了休戰書，結束了這場戰爭。

As its imperial government collapsed, civil unrest and worker strikes spread across the nation.

當德意志帝國在戰後瓦解後，民間動亂和罷工席捲全國。

Fearing a Communist revolution, major parties joined to suppress the uprisings, establishing the parliamentary Weimar Republic.

由於對共產革命的恐懼，為了避免共產分子有所動作，多數政黨同意合作，建立了以議會制度為基礎的威瑪共和政體。

One of the new government's first tasks was implementing the peace treaty imposed by the Allies.

這個新政府首要的挑戰，就是實踐協約國強加在他們身上的不平等條約。

In addition to losing over a tenth of its territory and dismantling its army, Germany had to accept full responsibility for the war and pay reparations, debilitating its already weakened economy.

除了失去 10 分之 1 的國土以及解散軍隊。德國必須負起全部的戰爭責任和賠款，使原本衰弱的經濟更是雪上加霜。

All this was seen as a humiliation by many nationalists and veterans.

許多民族主義者和退伍軍人認為這使德國蒙羞。

They wrongly believed the war could have been won if the army hadn't been betrayed by politicians and protesters.

他們誤以為如果政客和抗議者沒有背叛在前線作戰的軍人，德國一定能成為戰勝國。

For Hitler, these views became obsession, and his bigotry and paranoid delusions led him to pin the blame on Jews.

對希特勒來說，這些觀點深深令他著了魔，而他的偏執與妄想導致他歸咎於猶太人。

His words found resonance in a society with many anti-Semitic people.

他的說法引起社會上很多反猶太主義者的共鳴。

By this time, hundreds of thousands of Jews had integrated into German society, but many Germans continued to perceive them as outsiders.

當時，成千上萬的猶太人已經融入了德國社會，然而有很多德國人仍然將他們視為外人。

After World War I, Jewish success led to ungrounded accusations of subversion and war profiteering.

第一次世界大戰之後，猶太人因事業的成功，而遭遇顛覆、發戰爭財的不實指控。

It can not be stressed enough that these conspiracy theories were born out of fear, anger, and bigotry, not fact.

這裡必須再三強調，這些陰謀論是因為恐懼、憤怒與偏執而出現的，不是事實。

Nonetheless, Hitler found success with them.

然而，希特勒從這個社會氛圍中嗅到了成功的氣息。

When he joined a small nationalist political party, his manipulative public speaking launched him into its leadership and drew increasingly larger crowds.

他加入了一個由民族主義者成立的小黨，以操控性強烈的演講順利取得了政黨的領導權，也吸引了越來越多群眾的注目。

Combining anti-Semitism with populist resentment, the Nazis denounced both Communism and Capitalism as international Jewish conspiracies to destroy Germany.

融合了反猶主義和民粹的憎惡，納粹黨指責共產主義和資本主義都是猶太人想要摧毀德國的陰謀。

The Nazi party was not initially popular.

起初，納粹並不太受歡迎。

After they made an unsuccessful attempt at overthrowing the government, the party was banned, and Hitler jailed for treason.

在他們企圖推翻政府失敗之後，國家就禁止了納粹黨，希特勒因叛國罪入獄。

But upon his release about a year later, he immediately began to rebuild the movement.

然而，他一年後出了獄，便隨即開始重新籌備下一波行動。

And then, in 1929, the Great Depression happened.

接著，在 1929 年時經濟大蕭條開始了。

It led to American banks withdrawing their loans from Germany, and the already struggling German economy collapsed overnight.

這促使美國銀行撤回了對德國的貸款，讓原本就已經岌岌可危的德國經濟更是在一夜之間崩潰。

Hitler took advantage of the people's anger, offering them convenient scapegoats and a promise to restore Germany's former greatness.

希特勒順著局勢，利用人們的憤怒將猶太人作為代罪羔羊，並且承諾要恢復德國的昔日榮耀。

Mainstream parties proved unable to handle the crisis while left-wing opposition was too fragmented by internal squabbles.

主流政黨顯然沒有能力去處理這個危機，而左翼在野政黨則正因為內鬥而支離破碎。

And so some of the frustrated public flocked to the Nazis, increasing their parliamentary votes from under 3% to over 18% in just two years.

因此，一大群心灰意冷的人民轉而支持納粹，讓他們在國會得票率在兩年內，從 3% 增長到了 18%。

In 1932, Hitler ran for president, losing the election to decorated war hero General von Hindenburg.

1932 年，希特勒參加總統競選，但輸給了被塑造成一戰英雄的馮·興登堡將軍。

But with 36% of the vote, Hitler had demonstrated the extent of his support.

但 36% 的支持率已讓希特勒展現了他受到德國人民支持的程度。

The following year, advisors and business leaders convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor, hoping to channel his popularity for their own goals.

隔年，顧問和商界領袖建議興登堡指定希特勒為總理，希望能藉著希特勒的知名度達成他們自己自身的目的。

Though the Chancellor was only the administrative head of parliament, Hitler steadily expanded the power of his position while his supporters formed paramilitary groups and fought protestors in streets.

雖然總理只是國會的行政首長，但希特勒不斷擴張總理的權力，而他的支持者已組成了準軍事集團，在街道上打壓抗議者。

Hitler raised fears of a Communist uprising and argued that only he could restore law and order.

希特勒煽動社會上對共產主義崛起的恐懼，並宣稱只有他能夠恢復法律和秩序。

Then in 1933, a young worker was convicted of setting fire to the parliament building.

接著在 1933 年，一名年輕工人因在國會大廈縱火被定罪。

Hitler used the event to convince the government to grant him emergency powers.

希特勒利用了這個事件說服政府授予他緊急權力。

Within a matter of months, freedom of the press was abolished, other parties were disbanded, and anti-Jewish laws were passed.

短短幾個月內，新聞自由蕩然無存，其他政黨全被解散，反猶的法律通過了議會審查。

Many of Hitler's early radical supporters were arrested and executed, along with potential rivals, and when President Hindenburg died in August 1934, it was clear there would be no new election.

許多在初期支持希特勒的激進份子或是潛在的敵人都被逮捕，甚至遭到處決，而當興登堡總統在 1934 年八月逝世時，很明顯地，已經不會再有新一輪的總統大選了。

Disturbingly, many of Hitler's early measures didn't require mass repression.

令人不安的是，許多希特勒的早期措施並不需要大規模鎮壓。

His speeches exploited people's fear and ire to drive their support behind him and the Nazi party.

他的演講利用人民的恐懼和憤怒，促使他們支持他和納粹黨。

Meanwhile, businessmen and intellectuals, wanting to be on the right side of public opinion, endorsed Hitler.

同時，許多企業家和知識分子選擇站在輿論那一邊，擁護希特勒。

They assured themselves and each other that his more extreme rhetoric was only for show.

他們說服自己和彼此，希特勒使用的極端用詞只是為了作秀而已。

Decades later, Hitler's rise remains a warning of how fragile democratic institutions can be in the face of angry crowds and a leader willing to feed their anger and exploit their fears.

幾十年過去了，希特勒的崛起仍警告著我們，在憤怒的民眾以及擅於利用群眾的憤怒與恐懼情緒的領導人面前，民主制度是何等脆弱。