As Tom_L alludes to above, the conditions favorable to the rise of and the practices of Nazi Germany took place over many years.

Without drawing specific parallels between the politics, economic situations, increasing surveillance of citizens, control of media/use of propaganda, etc. between Germany from the Weimar Republic to Nazi rule and, say, more recent U.S.A., it is definitely instructive to consider how current situations might require a well-equipped person to think and plan for scenarios unfamiliar to most U.S. citizens.

Put another way, there comes a point where one wonders if he's not living large in a hot tub but slowly being boiled alive.