The government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitler's favour. All power was centralised in Hitler's hands, and his word became above all laws. A national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader) of Germany.

Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powersand offices of the Chancellery and Presidency. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all political opposition and consolidate its power. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. Nazi Germany ceased to exist after the Allied Forces defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist totalitarian state which controlled nearly all aspects of life. Nazi Germany or the Third Reich was the period in the history of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP).