How?

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By studying the first few months of Adolf Hitler's tenure as German chancellor, beginning in 1934.

“What is amazing is the Republican Party that picked him. They had 330 million people to choose from, and they've decided that he is the best one to be the standard-bearer of one of the two major parties of the greatest nation on Earth,” Maddow told the magazine in an interview published Tuesday.

“Like, talk to me, Republican voters! What's the worst-case scenario for America if he wins? It can be pretty bad. You don't have to go back far in history to get to almost apocalyptic scenarios.”

“Is part of you worried we're living through the first few chapters of some dystopian science fiction novel?” interviewer Andy Greene asked.

Maddow responded: “Over the past year I've been reading a lot about what it was like when Hitler first became chancellor. I am gravitating toward moments in history for subliminal reference in terms of cultures that have unexpectedly veered into dark places, because I think that's possibly where we are.”

During his reign from 1934 to 1945, Hitler was responsible for the genocide of at least 5.5 million Jews and the deaths of almost 20 million more civilians and prisoners of war.

Maddow is the host of MSNBC's highest-rated program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," which airs weeknights at 9 p.m. Eastern.

She will be co-anchoring, along with Brian Williams, MSNBC's coverage of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland starting Monday.