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How did Adolf Hitler make the Nazi Party Germany’s only legal political party?

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Portrait of Adolf Hitler in a collared shirt and tie, facing forward with a serious expression, circa 1933. — Adolf Hitler Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, c. 1933.

Adolf Hitler established the Nazi Party as Germany’s only legal political party by systematically dismantling democratic structures and suppressing opposition through a process known as Gleichschaltung (coordination).12

Following his appointment as chancellor in January 1933, Hitler utilized the Reichstag fire to suspend constitutional guarantees of individual liberty and secure emergency powers. He then leveraged the Enabling Act of March 1933, passed by the Reichstag after excluding Communist deputies, to gain the authority to issue decrees independently of the legislature.132

Armed with these dictatorial powers, Hitler moved to eliminate all political competition:
* Suppression of Organizations: Trade unions were outlawed and merged into a state-controlled labor front in May 1933.14
* Dissolution of Parties: Throughout the summer of 1933, other political parties were either suppressed or forced into "voluntary" dissolution.12
* Formal Ban: On July 14, 1933, the government formally declared the Nazi Party to be the only legal political party in Germany.12

This process effectively ended the Weimar Republic and solidified the Third Reich as a dictatorship.13