begin quotes:
Hitler's Brownshirts (SA)
didn't "take over" Germany and Austria outright; rather, the Nazis,
with SA street violence paving the way, consolidated power after Hitler
became Chancellor in 1933, using emergency decrees to establish
dictatorship, then orchestrated the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria in March 1938, with the SA enforcing Nazi control during these transitions. In Germany (1933-1934):
- January 30, 1933: Hitler appointed Chancellor, but democracy still existed.
- February/March 1933: The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act allowed Nazis to suspend civil liberties and consolidate power, using the SA for terror and control.
- August 1934: Hitler merged the Presidency and Chancellorship after Hindenburg's death, becoming Führer and completing his dictatorship.
In Austria (1938):
- March 12, 1938: German troops invaded Austria (the Anschluss), unopposed by the Austrian military, as Hitler orchestrated the takeover with Austrian Nazi collaborators.
- March 15, 1938: Hitler proclaimed Austria part of the German Reich in Vienna, with enthusiastic support from many Germans and Austrians.
So,
the Brownshirts were instrumental in creating the atmosphere for the
Nazi rise in Germany and enforcing the takeover in Austria, but the
formal power shift involved legal maneuvers (Germany) and military
annexation (Anschluss in Austria) by the Nazi state, not just the SA seizing control.
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