The appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of the German Republic in January 1933 came as a shock to many Germans, yet it was widely believed that his government would not last longer than a few weeks and that he would be forced to resign just as the previous chancellors had been forced to do. The National Socialist Party had lost votes in the previous elections and the Communist and Socialist opposition were determined to defeat their archenemy. Hitler's appointment also stunned many in Czechoslovakia. Few could believe that this uneducated, opportunistic agitator and his unemployed adventurers could form the government of Germany. Most Czechs, however, had not read Mein Kampf, while demo-cratic Germans living in Czechoslovakia ridiculed the book. Yet in it, Hit-ler indicated that he despised democracy and when he came to power, despite promises to respect the Constitution, he had it changed to rule dic-tatorially and legalise a regime of terror and the persecution of his adversaries.