(November 18, 2014 at 2:46 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Rare that Hitler is ever considered a step up.
Not necessarily. There was a popular vote planned to see if the people wanted Hitler or an independent state. That's why Hitler came there and then, because he feared people would vote in favor of Austria. Also many democrats had already left the country after the civil war of 1934.
Still doesn't change the fact that a considerable amount of people opened wide when he came.