I imagine that the discipline and patriotism(?) would have drawn some praise or appreciation before the war and especially before the realization of the atrocities committed.
I realize this may be broad or over simplified but feel free to take what you want to explain or assumed perspective.
Yes. When Hitler rose to power in 1933, he was the head of an anti-establishment party, which had taken over enough of the Reichstag (~30%) to suppress the parliament's ability to run the country. Consequently, when the previous chancellors (von Papen and von Schleicher, though the latter is unimportant) failed to affect change due to their lack of popularity and the Nazi's refusal to work with them, von Hindenburg approached Hitler as a last choice. Well, this was a massive mistake (hindsight sucks). When the German Constitution was slapped together in Weimar (hence the name the Weimar Republic) in the aftermath of WWI, Article 48 was included, which granted the President emergency powers in times of a crisis. However, any Presidential decree made vis-a-vis Article 48 could be revoked with a simple majority in the Reichstag. Hitler's appointment as the chancellor granted him the leverage to form a coalition with the nationalists. Furthermore, a month after Hitler was named chancellor, an arsonist burned down part of the Reichstag giving Hitler the pretext to ask von Hindenburg to enact Article 48 and give Hitler emergency powers to deal with a possible communist uprising. Hindenburg being of the old aristocracy and an military/industrial elite agreed, which enabled Hitler to commit his initial atrocities and human rights abuses from 1933 to 1935.
The last use of Article 48 gave Hitler the means to establish his one-party dictatorship and completely Nazify Germany. The Reichstag Fire Decree basically put Germany under martial law (not exactly but it is the closest comparison) for the next 12 years.
So what's the point of that explanation? Well, after Hitler came to power, he imprisoned, exiled, or killed almost the entirety of his opposition. Within the first year, Hitler reorganized Germany, established the Gestapo, as well as others. As a result, he managed to abolish trade unions, political parties, and various organizations that had 'communist' leanings. When von Hindenburg died, there was nothing left to stop Hitler as the entirety of the opposition was gone. Thus, in 1934, Hitler declared himself Fuhrer, or the title of President, Chancellor, and Head of the Army.
Between 1933 and 1935, Hitler eliminated his vocal opposition and those that could potentially oppose him in the future. These positions were all replaced with Nazis. However, some areas, especially the Wehrmacht, were not completely Nazified, but that was soon to change. Hitler's blatant disregard of the Versailles Treaty won him the hearts and minds of both the people and country's elite. Hitler recaptured the Ruhr (giving a boon to German industry), remilitarized the army (thus getting the army's support and revitalizing the economy), etc.
By 1939, Hitler was not at the height of his popularity, but he had immense support from the people and the establishment. There were leaders who plotted Hitler's demise (the historical record clearly shows this), but the majority of the establishment had been replaced with Nazis or won over to the Nazi Party and converted.
Source: Mary Fullbrook, A History of Germany 1918-2008: The Divided Nation, 3rd ed.