Nazis

Nazis
source
Name	National Socialist German Workers' Party
Native name	Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP)
Leader	Anton Drexler (1920–1921), Adolf Hitler (1921–1945)
Foundation	24 February 1920
Dissolution	10 October 1945
Headquarters	Munich, Germany
Newspaper	Völkischer Beobachter
Ideology	Nazism, Fascism, Antisemitism, Pan-Germanism
Position	Far-right
International	None
Colours	Black, white, red (Imperial colours); brown

Nazis. The term refers to members of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), a far-right political movement led by Adolf Hitler that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. Its ideology, Nazism, was a form of fascism incorporating virulent antisemitism, anti-communism, scientific racism, and the pursuit of Lebensraum (living space) through aggressive territorial expansion. The regime was responsible for instigating World War II and perpetrating the Holocaust, the systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of other victims.

Origins and ideology

The party originated in the German Workers' Party (DAP), a small group founded in Munich in 1919, which Adolf Hitler joined that same year. It was formally renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party in 1920, with its core principles outlined in the 25-point programme. Key ideological influences included the völkisch movement, which promoted German ethnic nationalism, the anti-Semitic theories of figures like Houston Stewart Chamberlain, and the geopolitical concept of Lebensraum popularized by Karl Haushofer. The ideology synthesized extreme nationalism with a racial hierarchy that placed the so-called Aryan race, specifically Nordic peoples, at the apex, while designating Jews, Romani people, Slavs, and others as subhumans. This worldview was enforced through a totalitarian state, as theorized by figures like Carl Schmitt, and was vehemently opposed to liberal democracy, Marxism, and parliamentarism.

Rise to power

Capitalizing on the widespread discontent following World War I, the Treaty of Versailles, and the economic turmoil of the Great Depression, the party grew from a fringe movement into a major political force. The failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 in Munich resulted in Hitler's imprisonment, where he wrote Mein Kampf. Under the strategy of legal revolution advocated by Joseph Goebbels and Gregor Strasser, the NSDAP utilized electoral politics and street violence by the Sturmabteilung (SA) to gain influence. Following a series of unstable coalition governments, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on 30 January 1933. The party then consolidated power through the Reichstag Fire Decree, the Enabling Act of 1933, and the violent purge of opponents during the Night of the Long Knives, which neutralized the SA leadership under Ernst Röhm. The death of Hindenburg in 1934 allowed Hitler to merge the offices of chancellor and president, becoming Führer of the German Reich.

World War II and the Holocaust

The regime's aggressive foreign policy, seeking to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and conquer territory in Eastern Europe, directly precipitated World War II. Key events included the Anschluss with Austria, the annexation of the Sudetenland through the Munich Agreement, the invasion of Poland in 1939, and subsequent campaigns across Europe and North Africa. The war was fought as a racial-ideological crusade, particularly on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union, where Einsatzgruppen death squads operated. The systematic murder of Europe's Jewish population, known as the Holocaust, was coordinated by senior officials like Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Adolf Eichmann at the Wannsee Conference. Millions were killed in extermination camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor, alongside other victims including the Romani people, Slavs, disabled individuals, and political prisoners. The war concluded with the Battle of Berlin, Hitler's suicide in the Führerbunker, and Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies.

Post-war legacy and neo-Nazism

In the aftermath of the war, the leading surviving officials were prosecuted for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials. The party and its symbols were banned in Germany and Austria, and the process of denazification was implemented in the occupied zones. The legacy of the regime profoundly shaped international law, leading to the Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, neo-Nazi movements, which seek to revive the ideology, have persisted globally, often using coded language and symbols. Such groups include the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), The Order in the United States, and international networks like Blood & Honour. They are monitored by organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and are opposed by antifa activists. The memory of the Holocaust, preserved at sites like Yad Vashem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, remains a central bulwark against historical revisionism and Holocaust denial.

In popular culture

The era has been a frequent subject in film, literature, and other media, often exploring themes of tyranny, complicity, and resistance. Early seminal works include the documentary Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl and the satire The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin. Post-war examinations range from historical dramas like Schindler's List and Downfall to alternate-history narratives such as The Man in the High Castle. Television series like Band of Brothers and Hunters have also engaged with the subject. The regime and its imagery are frequently employed as a metaphor for ultimate evil in genres from science fiction, as in the Star Wars franchise's Galactic Empire, to superhero comics, featuring villains like Red Skull. This pervasive representation underscores the period's enduring impact on the global cultural consciousness.

Category:Defunct political parties in Germany Category:World War II political entities Category:Far-right politics in Germany