How should the roles of mass support and terror be understood in Hitler's rise?

Support gave legitimacy and terror weakened opposition

Hitler’s rise cannot be explained by only one method. The Nazi Party gained support from sections of society by promising national revival, order, employment, and protection from communism. Elections, propaganda, speeches, and political alliances helped give the movement public influence and a form of legitimacy. After gaining power, however, the Nazis used intimidation, arrests, violence, and restrictions to silence opponents and destroy democratic competition. Support and terror therefore worked together, though they were not identical processes.

Option A is correct because it recognises both sides: support helped Hitler appear politically legitimate, while terror weakened opponents and prevented open resistance. Options B, C, and D are incomplete because they deny one or both important factors. A balanced answer should not suggest that all Germans supported Nazism or that terror alone explains everything. The rise involved public support, political circumstances, elite cooperation, propaganda, and coercive control.

This is a Class 9 History question. Chapter: Nazism and the Rise of Hitler. Topic: Hitler’s Rise to Power.