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By: History.com Editors

Updated: October 17, 2023 | Original: November 9, 2009

Hitler during the parade of the Legion Condor.

The National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazi Party, grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany through totalitarian means from 1933 to 1945 under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Founded in 1919 as the German Workers’ Party, the group promoted German pride and anti-Semitism, and expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the 1919 peace settlement that ended World War I. Hitler joined the party the year it was founded and became its leader in 1921. In 1933, he became chancellor of Germany and his Nazi government soon assumed dictatorial powers. After Germany’s defeat in World War II, the Nazi Party was outlawed and many of its officials were convicted of war crimes related to the Holocaust.

Nazi Party Origins

In 1919, army veteran Adolf Hitler , frustrated by Germany’s defeat in World War I —which had left the nation economically depressed and politically unstable—joined a fledgling political organization called the German Workers’ Party.

Founded earlier that same year by a small group of men including locksmith Anton Drexler and journalist Karl Harrer, the party promoted German nationalism and anti-Semitism, and felt that the Treaty of Versailles , the peace settlement that ended the war, was extremely unjust to Germany by burdening it with reparations it could never pay.

Hitler soon emerged as a charismatic public speaker and began attracting new members with speeches blaming Jews and Marxists for Germany’s problems and espousing extreme nationalism and the concept of an Aryan “master race.” In July 1921, he assumed leadership of the organization , which by then had been renamed the Nationalist Socialist German Workers’ (abbreviated to Nazi) Party.

Did you know? Sales of Hitler's political autobiography “Mein Kampf,” sometimes referred to as the bible of the Nazi Party, made him a millionaire. From 1933 to 1945, free copies were given to every newlywed German couple. But after World War II, the publication of “Mein Kampf” in Germany became illegal.

Through the 1920s, Hitler gave speech after speech in which he stated that unemployment, rampant inflation, hunger and economic stagnation in postwar Germany would continue until there was a total revolution in German life. Most problems could be solved, he explained, if communists and Jews were driven from the nation. His fiery speeches swelled the ranks of the Nazi Party, especially among young, economically disadvantaged Germans.

Many dissatisfied former army officers in Munich also joined the Nazis, including Ernst Röhm , the man responsible for recruiting the Sturmabteilung (SA) “strong arm” squads that Hitler used to protect party meetings and attack opponents.

Beer Hall Putsch

In 1923, Hitler and his followers staged the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, a failed takeover of the government in Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. Hitler had hoped that the “putsch,” or coup d’etat, would spark a larger revolution against the national government.

In the aftermath of the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was convicted of treason and sentenced to five years in prison but spent less than a year behind bars (during which time he dictated the first volume of Mein Kampf , or My Struggle, his political autobiography).

The publicity surrounding the Beer Hall Putsch and Hitler’s subsequent trial turned him into a national figure. After his release from prison, he set about rebuilding the Nazi Party and attempting to gain power through the election process.

Nazi Rise to Power

In 1929, Germany’s Weimar Republic entered a period of severe economic depression and widespread unemployment. The Nazis capitalized on the situation by criticizing the ruling government and began to win elections. In the July 1932 elections, they captured 230 out of 608 seats in the “ Reichstag ,” or German parliament.

In January 1933, Hitler was appointed German chancellor and his Nazi government soon came to control every aspect of German life. Under Nazi rule, all other political parties were banned.

In 1933, after coming to power, the Nazis established the Dachau concentration camp in Germany to detain political prisoners. Dachau evolved into a death camp where countless thousands of Jews died from malnutrition, disease and overwork—or were executed.

In addition to Jews, the camp’s prisoners included members of other groups Hitler considered unfit for the new Germany, including artists, intellectuals, Roma , the physically and mentally handicapped and homosexuals.

Nazi Foreign Policy

Once Hitler gained control of the government, he directed Nazi Germany’s foreign policy toward undoing the Treaty of Versailles and restoring Germany’s standing in the world. He railed against the treaty’s redrawn map of Europe and argued it denied Germany—Europe’s most populous state—“living space” for its growing population.

Although the Treaty of Versailles was explicitly based on the principle of the self-determination of peoples, he pointed out that it had separated Germans from Germans by creating such new postwar states as Austria and Czechoslovakia, where many Germans lived.

Germany Invades Poland

From the mid- to late 1930s, Hitler undermined the postwar international order step by step. He withdrew Germany from the League of Nations in 1933, rebuilt German armed forces beyond what was permitted by the Treaty of Versailles, reoccupied the German Rhineland in 1936, annexed Austria in 1938 and invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939 .

When Nazi Germany moved toward Poland, Great Britain and France countered further aggression by guaranteeing Polish security. Nevertheless, Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Six years of Nazi Party foreign policy had ignited World War II .

Nazis Fight to Dominate Europe

After conquering Poland, Hitler focused on defeating Britain and France. As the war expanded, the Nazi Party formed alliances with Japan and Italy in the Tripartite Pact of 1940, and honored its 1939 Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact with the Soviet Union until 1941, when Germany launched a massive blitzkrieg invasion of the Soviet Union.

In the brutal fighting that followed, Nazi troops tried to realize the long-held goal of crushing the world’s major communist power. After the United States entered the war in 1941, Germany found itself fighting in North Africa, Italy, France, the Balkans and a counterattacking Soviet Union.

At the beginning of the war in 1939, Hitler and his Nazi Party were fighting to dominate Europe; five years later they were fighting to survive.

The Holocaust

When Hitler and the Nazis came to power in 1933, they instituted a series of measures aimed at persecuting Germany’s Jewish citizens. By late 1938, Jews were banned from most public places in Germany.

During the war, the Nazis’ anti-Jewish campaigns increased in scale and ferocity. In the invasion and occupation of Poland, German troops shot thousands of Polish Jews, confined many to ghettoes where they starved to death and began sending others to death camps in various parts of Poland, where they were either killed immediately or forced into slave labor.

In 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Nazi death squads machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews in the western regions of Soviet Russia.

In early 1942, at the Wannsee Conference near Berlin, the Nazi Party decided on the last phase of what it called the “ Final Solution ” of the “Jewish problem” and spelled out plans for the systematic murder of all European Jews in the Holocaust .

In 1942 and 1943, Jews in the western occupied countries including France and Belgium were deported by the thousands to the death camps mushrooming across Europe. In Poland, huge death camps such as Auschwitz began operating with ruthless efficiency.

The murder of Jews, communists, homosexuals, political prisoners and other people in German-occupied lands stopped only in last months of the war, as the German armies were retreating toward Berlin. By the time Hitler committed suicide in April 1945, some 6 million Jews had been killed.

Denazification

After the war ended in 1945, the Allies occupied Germany, outlawed the Nazi Party and worked to purge its influence from every aspect of German life. The party’s swastika flag quickly became a symbol of evil in modern postwar culture.

Although Hitler killed himself before he could be brought to justice, a number of Nazi officials were convicted of war crimes in the Nuremberg trials , which took place in Nuremberg, Germany, from 1945 to 1949.

The Nazi Party. Holocaust Encyclopedia . The Rise of the Nazi Party. College of Education, University of South Florida . Rise of the Nazi Party. Holocaust Memorial Day Trust .

nazi party essay questions

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nazi party essay questions

Frequently Asked Questions about the Holocaust for Educators

Students have questions while learning about the Holocaust. These short answers are meant to help educators address these questions. This page includes additional resources for educators and students, labeled with Teach and Learn.

Teach: Explore lesson plans and educational resources for Educators . 

Learn: Read articles on the people, places, and events of the Holocaust in the Holocaust Encyclopedia .

What was the Holocaust?

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The Museum’s guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust recommend educators define the term “Holocaust” for students.

The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored, persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945 across Europe and North Africa. The height of the persecution and murder occurred during World War II. By the end of the war in 1945, the Germans and their collaborators had killed nearly two out of every three European Jews.

The Nazis believed that Germans were racially superior. They believed Jews were a threat to the so-called German racial community. While Jews were the primary victims, the Nazis also targeted other groups for persecution and murder. The Nazis claimed that Roma , people with disabilities , some Slavic peoples (especially Poles and Russians ), and Black people were biologically inferior. 

The regime persecuted other groups because of politics, ideology, or behavior. These groups included Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, gay men, and people the Nazis called “asocials” and “professional criminals.” 

Teach: The Museum’s timeline activity  allows students to read about the experiences of people targeted by the Nazi regime. 

Learn: Read the “ Introduction to the Holocaust ” in the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

Antisemitism , the fear or hatred of Jews, existed in Europe for centuries before the Holocaust. The early Christian church portrayed Jews as unwilling to accept the word of God, as agents of the devil, and as murderers of Jesus. (The Vatican renounced these accusations in the 1960s.) 

During the Middle Ages, laws restricted Jews and prevented them from owning land or holding public office. Jews were excluded from most occupations. This forced them to make a living through money-lending, trade, and commerce. Jews were accused of causing plagues, of murdering children for religious rituals, and of secretly conspiring to dominate the world. None of these accusations were true. 

A new kind of antisemitism emerged in the second half of the 19th century. At its core was the theory that Jews were not merely a religious group but a separate “race.” Antisemites believed Jews were dangerous and threatening because of their “Jewish blood.” They believed that Jews would still be a threat even if a Jewish person converted to Christianity. Antisemitic racism united these new racial theories with older anti-Jewish stereotypes. These ideas gained wide acceptance. 

After World War I, the new Nazi Party and its leader, Adolf Hitler, blamed Jews for Germany’s defeat. They claimed that German Jews, a small minority of Germany’s population, had “stabbed Germany in the back.” This was untrue—German Jews fought and died for Germany during the war. Historians cannot trace Hitler’s antisemitism to any specific event or incident. When the Nazi Party took power in Germany in 1933, their antisemitic racism became official government policy. 

Teach: Educators can use the History of Antisemitism and the Holocaust  and Nazi Racism lesson plans to explore this question with students. It is important to emphasize that Jews were not to blame for the Holocaust, and did not do anything to “cause” antisemitism. 

Learn: Read “ Antisemitism ” in the Holocaust Enyclopedia.

The Holocaust was caused by many factors, including millions of individual decisions made by ordinary people who chose to actively participate in—or at least tolerate—the persecution and murder of their neighbors.

Teach: Educators can use The Path to Nazi Genocide , a 37-minute Museum-produced film to help students explore the causes of the Holocaust. It is available in multiple languages and includes a worksheet.

Learn: Read “ What Conditions, Ideologies, and Ideas Made the Holocaust Possible? ” in the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

The following factors contributed to the Holocaust: 

Racial Antisemitism

Antisemitism , the fear or hatred of Jews, existed in Europe for centuries before the Holocaust. In the late 19th century, eugenics became popular. Eugenics was the theory that humans can be categorized in specific races. Each “race” had its own unchangeable traits. Some “races” were biologically, culturally, and morally superior to others. Eugenics has now been proven false.

The Nazis promoted racial antisemitism . It did not matter whether a person practiced the Jewish faith. The Nazis believed Jews belonged to a separate race and had distinct “Jewish blood.” This belief was false: there is no biological difference between Jews and non-Jews. The Nazis attributed many negative stereotypes to Jews and “Jewish” behavior. The Nazis saw Jews as the source of all evil: disease, social injustice, cultural decline, capitalism, and communism. 

Teach: Educators can use the History of Antisemitism and the Holocaust lesson plan to explore these concepts with students.

Political Instability

Many Germans were willing to tolerate Nazi antisemitism. Germany suffered a humiliating defeat in World War I (1914–1918). Many believed the Nazi Party was restoring Germany’s status as a world power. The Nazis also promised to restore Germany’s economy. They vowed to end political instability and violence. 

Hitler was a strong and popular leader. He blamed Jews for all of Germany’s problems. The Nazi regime economically, politically, and socially marginalized the Jewish community. They tried to force Jews to leave German territory. German Jews made up less than one percent of Germany’s population. The Nazi regime was able to marginalize such a small community with virtually no public protest. 

In defiance of the Treaty of Versailles , Germany remilitarized and prepared for war. The United States and other countries, still suffering under the Great Depression and remembering the horror of World War I, did not meaningfully intervene to protest until Germany invaded Poland in 1939. 

Even then, the United States remained neutral in World War II until December 1941. It prioritized the defeat of Nazi Germany over the rescue of Jews. 

During World War II, as the German military invaded and conquered territories, millions of European Jews came under Nazi control. Nazi policy moved from forced emigration to mass murder. By 1945, when the Allied nations defeated Germany in World War II, the Nazis and their collaborators had murdered six million European Jews. 

Learn: Read “ What Does War Make Possible? ” in the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

Collaboration

The Holocaust could not have happened without the active or passive participation of millions of people. Some people recognized that they could personally benefit from the persecution and murder of Jews. They acquired the property or homes of Jews who were deported and murdered. Some took over the businesses of Jews forced to emigrate or sent to concentration camps. Other people found jobs in the Nazi regime. These jobs gave them money, political power, and influence. In countries that Germany invaded, many collaborators saw the benefit of assisting their new leaders. They chose to denounce their Jewish neighbors. 

Teach: Educators can download a poster set related to the Museum’s exhibition Some Were Neighbors: Collaboration and Complicity in the Holocaust  to explore these themes in your classroom. The poster set is available in multiple languages.

Propaganda and Societal Pressure

There was a great deal of pressure to conform. Even if people were not antisemitic to begin with, Nazi leaders and propaganda urged people to hate Jews. Nazi ideas about “race” and the supposed inferiority of Jews were taught in schools. The government arrested political opponents or members of the press who criticized Hitler or the Nazi Party. They were put in jails and concentration camps. Few people were brave enough to publicly speak out or to help Jews, especially when they could be arrested or killed for doing so. 

Teach: Explore lesson plans related to Nazi propaganda —including a meme analysis lesson . 

The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored, persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. In January 1933, Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi Party, was appointed the chancellor of Germany. The Nazi Party quickly turned Germany from a weak new democracy into a one-party dictatorship. It began persecuting German Jews almost immediately. By 1935, Jews were stripped of their German citizenship. In 1938, Jewish men began to be arrested and sent to concentration camps just for being Jewish. 

Nazi Germany also annexed, invaded, and occupied neighboring countries to obtain what they called Lebensraum (living space). In September 1939, the German invasion of Poland led Great Britain and France to declare war, and World War II began. As Germany’s territory grew, millions of Jews came under Nazi control. German authorities rounded up Jews and forced many of them into ghettos . 

By the summer of 1941, Nazi Germany and its collaborators began to systematically murder European Jews. The Nazis referred to this plan as the “Final Solution.” Sometimes Jews were killed outright—entire villages rounded up and shot, or murdered in killing centers . In other areas, Jews were forced to labor for the German war effort until they died of overwork or starvation. 

The Allies defeated Nazi Germany in World War II in May 1945. By that time, the Nazis and their collaborators had murdered approximately six million Jews. 

Teach: The Museum’s timeline activity allows students to explore Nazi laws and decrees, as well as important events related to the Holocaust. The timeline also includes profile cards for individuals targeted by the Nazi regime. Educators can request a free set of timeline cards here . 

Museum educators can connect you with classroom resources and answer questions about teaching the Holocaust.

The National Socialist German Workers’ Party —also known as the Nazi Party—was a far-right racist and antisemitic political party. The Nazi Party was founded in 1920. It sought to lure German workers away from socialism and communism and commit them to its antisemitic and anti-Marxist ideology. Adolf Hitler became the Führer (or Leader) of the Nazi Party and turned it into a mass movement. The Nazi Party grew steadily under Hitler’s leadership. It attracted support from influential people in the military, big business, and society. It absorbed other radical right-wing groups. 

The Nazis attracted attention and interest by using propaganda . The Party staged many meetings, parades, and rallies. It created stirring slogans that appeared in the press and on posters. It displayed eye-catching emblems and uniforms. In addition, it created auxiliary organizations to appeal to specific groups. For example, there were groups for youth, women, teachers, and doctors. The Nazi Party became especially popular with German youth and university students . 

Teach: Explore lesson plans related to Nazi propaganda , including a meme analysis lesson . 

Political instability in Germany after World War I meant that Germany was a weak new democracy . Other politicians thought they could control Hitler and his followers. The Nazis used emergency decrees, violence, and intimidation to quickly seize control. The Nazis abolished all other political parties and ruled the country as a one-party, totalitarian dictatorship from 1933 to 1945. The Party used its power to persecute Jews. It controlled all aspects of German life. The Nazis waged a war of territorial conquest in Europe from 1939-1945 (World War II). During that time, it also carried out a genocide now known as the Holocaust. The Nazis’ power only ended when Germany lost World War II. 

Hitler and other Nazi Party leaders played a central role in the Holocaust. Nazi propaganda demonized Jews , but the German people were not brainwashed, nor were any of the Nazis’ collaborators. In countries across Europe, tens of thousands of ordinary people actively collaborated with German perpetrators of the Holocaust, each for their own reasons. Many more supported or tolerated the crimes. Millions of ordinary people witnessed the crimes of the Holocaust—in the countryside and city squares, in stores and schools, in homes and workplaces. The Holocaust happened because of millions of individual choices. 

Teach: The Museum’s four-day Overview of the Holocaust lesson plan encourages students to explore Holocaust history with a special emphasis on the role of ordinary people. 

Some people were motivated by antisemitism —the hatred of Jews—or at least tolerated their neighbors’ antisemitism. As early as the Middle Ages, religious hatred led to anti-Jewish legislation, expulsions, and violence. In much of Europe, government policies, customs, and laws segregated Jews from the rest of the population. They were only allowed to perform specific jobs and were prohibited from owning land. In the century prior to the Holocaust, life for Jews improved in many parts of Europe, but these prejudices remained. When the Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933, many Germans tolerated Nazi antisemitic policies because they supported Nazi economic improvements. Hitler was a strong and popular leader, and many Germans believed the Nazi Party was restoring Germany’s status as an international power after its humiliating defeat in World War I (1914–1918).

Some people recognized that they could personally benefit from the persecution and murder of Jews. They acquired the property or homes of Jews who were deported and murdered. Some took over the businesses of Jews forced to emigrate or sent to concentration camps. Other people found jobs in the Nazi regime. These jobs gave them money, political power, and influence. In countries that Germany invaded, many collaborators saw the benefit of assisting their new leaders. They chose to denounce their Jewish neighbors. 

Teach: Educators can explore lesson plans related to Nazi propaganda , including a meme analysis lesson .

The Nazis considered Jews to be a separate race with dangerous “Jewish blood.” Since the Nazis believed in a biological difference between Jews and Germans, Jews could not just convert to Christianity to escape Nazi persecution. The Germans and their collaborators used paper records and local knowledge to identify Jews to be rounded up or killed. These records included Jewish community member lists, parish records of Protestant and Catholic churches (for converted Jews), government tax records, and police records.

In both Germany and occupied countries, Nazi officials required Jews to identify themselves as Jewish. Many complied, fearing the consequences if they refused. Some were forced to wear markings, like stars on their clothing , or to add the new middle names of “Israel” or “Sara” to their identification documents. In many of these countries, local citizens often showed authorities where their Jewish neighbors lived. Some even helped in rounding up Jews. 

Jews in hiding lived in constant fear of being identified and denounced to officials by individuals in exchange for money or other rewards. Some Jews in larger cities tried to “pass” as non-Jews, particularly if they had lighter hair or eyes. German propaganda highlighted blonde hair and blue eyes as markers of the superior “Aryan” race . Of course, Hitler and many Nazis leaders did not have blonde hair or blue eyes, but as with all racists, their prejudices were not consistent or logical. 

Some Jews openly “hid” with documents identifying them as Christians. This was very dangerous. If they were recognized by someone who knew them, they could be killed. This was especially true for Jewish men. Circumcision is a Jewish ritual, but was uncommon for non-Jews at the time. Jewish men knew they could be physically identified as Jewish. 

Learn: Read the Holocaust Encyclopedia article “ Locating the Victims .”

There is no credible evidence that Hitler had any Jewish ancestors. Hitler’s rivals in the early days of the Nazi Party (1919–1921) spread this rumor, and Hitler refused to talk about his own ancestors. Hitler’s father, Alois, was born to an unwed mother, and historians have not been able to confirm the identity of Alois’s father. However, there is no evidence that Alois’s mother had any contact with anyone who was Jewish. 

Learn: Read “ Adolf Hitler: Early Years 1889–1913 ” in the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

Many students ask this question, and the simple answer is that it was very difficult to leave, and very difficult to find a place to go. 

The longer answer is that German Jews were patriotic citizens. More than 10,000 had died fighting for Germany in World War I, and many others were wounded. German Jews received medals for their wartime valor and military service. Many German Jewish families had lived in Germany for centuries and were well assimilated by the early 20th century. At first, Nazi Germany targeted the 525,000 Jews in Germany gradually, attempting to make life so difficult that they would be forced to leave their country . Up until 1938 and the nationwide anti-Jewish violence known as Kristallnacht , many Jews in Germany expected to be able to hold out against Nazi-sponsored persecution. They did not think the Nazi Party would remain in power for very long and hoped for positive change in German politics. Before World War II, few could imagine or predict mass murder.

Those who tried to leave had difficulty finding countries willing to take them in, especially since the Nazi regime did not allow them to take their assets out of the country. Many tried to go to the United States but American immigration law limited the number of immigrants who could enter the country. The ongoing Great Depression meant that Jews attempting to go to the United States or elsewhere had to prove they could financially support themselves. This was very difficult since Jews were being robbed by the Germans before they could leave. Even when a new country could be found, a great deal of time, paperwork, and money was needed to get there. In many cases, these obstacles could not be overcome.

By 1938, however, about 150,000 German Jews had already managed to leave their homeland. But after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938, an additional 185,000 Jews came under Nazi rule. Once Germany invaded and occupied Poland, millions of Jews were suddenly living under Nazi occupation. World War II made travel very difficult, and most countries—including the United States—were unwilling to change their immigration laws, fearing that even Jewish refugees might be Nazi spies. In October 1941, Germany made it illegal for Jews to emigrate from any territory under its control. By then, Nazi policy had changed from forced emigration to mass murder. 

Teach: Educators can utilize the Americans and the Holocaust online exhibition and the Challenges to Escape lesson plan to explore this topic with students. 

The idea that Jews did not fight back against the Germans and their allies is false. Jews carried out acts of resistance in every German-occupied country and in the territories of Germany’s Axis partners. Against impossible odds, they resisted in ghettos, concentration camps, and killing centers. There were many factors that made resistance difficult, however, including a lack of weapons and resources, deception, fear, and the overwhelming power of the Germans and their collaborators. 

Teach: View recommendations for classroom activities related to Holocaust-era resistance . 

Learn: Read the Holocaust Encyclopedia article “ Jewish Resistance ” for more information.

In Europe, the Holocaust was not a secret. Even though the Nazi government controlled the German press, many Europeans knew that Jews were being rounded up and shot, or deported and murdered. Many individuals actively participated in the stigmatization, isolation, impoverishment, and violence culminating in the mass murder of six million European Jews. 

People participated in their roles as clerks and by confiscating Jewish property. Railway and transportation employees participated in deportations. Managers and participants in round-ups and deportations arrested Jews. Informants turned them in to the authorities. Some people perpetrated violence against Jews on their own initiative. Others became killers, participating in the mass shootings of Jews and others in occupied Soviet territories. Thousands of eastern Europeans actively participated in these murders and many more witnessed the crimes. 

Many more people were onlookers who witnessed persecution or violence against Jews in Nazi Germany and elsewhere. Most failed to speak out as their neighbors, classmates, and co-workers were isolated and impoverished. Only a small minority publicly expressed their disapproval. A few individuals actively assisted the victims. They purchased food or other supplies that were forbidden to Jews, or provided false papers and warnings about upcoming roundups. Some people stored belongings for Jews in hiding, or even hid Jews themselves. This was very dangerous. If caught, rescuers could be punished by arrest and often execution. 

In the United States, Americans had a great deal of information about the persecution and murder of Jews as it was happening. Many Americans, however, did not believe the stories and could not imagine the scale of the violence. 

Learn: Visit the Museum’s History Unfolded newspaper project to learn more about how local newspapers in the United States reported on the Holocaust. 

While Jews were the primary victims, the Nazis also targeted other groups for persecution and murder. The Nazis claimed that Roma , people with disabilities , some Slavic peoples (especially Poles and Russians ), and Black people were biologically inferior. The regime persecuted other groups because of politics, ideology, or behavior. These groups included Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses , gay men , and people the Nazis called “asocials” and “professional criminals.” 

Teach: The Museum’s timeline activity provides students with the opportunity to read about the experiences of people targeted by the Nazi regime. 

The Museum’s History Unfolded newspaper database includes tens of thousands of articles that appeared in American newspapers during the Holocaust. These newspapers reported frequently on Hitler and Nazi Germany throughout the 1930s. Americans read headlines about book burning and about Jews being attacked on the street. They read about the Nuremberg Race laws in 1935, when German Jews were stripped of their German citizenship. The Kristallnacht attacks in November 1938 were front-page news in the United States for weeks. Americans staged protests and rallies in support of German Jews. They also sent petitions to the US government calling for action. These protests never became a sustained movement. Most Americans were still not in favor of allowing more immigrants into the United States, particularly if the immigrants were Jewish.

It was very difficult to immigrate to the United States . In 1924, the US Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Act. The law set limits on the maximum number of immigrant visas that could be issued per year to people born in each country. These quotas were designed to limit the immigration of people considered “racially undesirable.” That included southern and eastern European Jews. Unlike today, the United States had no refugee policy. Jews could not come as asylum seekers or migrants. Approximately 180,000-220,000 European Jews immigrated to the United States between 1933-1945, most of them between 1938-1941. 

Teach: The Museum’s Challenges of Escape lesson plan can help you explore this topic in your classroom. 

The US Government learned about the systematic killing of Jews almost as soon as it began in the Soviet Union in 1941. In late November 1942, just weeks after American and British troops began to battle the Germans and their allies in North Africa, newspapers reported that two million Jews already had been murdered as part of the Nazi regime’s annihilation plan. In response, the United States and eleven other Allied countries issued a stern declaration vowing to punish the perpetrators of this “bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination” after the war had been won. Yet saving Jews and others targeted for murder by the Nazi regime and its collaborators never became a priority.

As more information about Nazi mass murder reached the United States, public protests and protests within the Roosevelt administration led President Roosevelt to create the War Refugee Board in January 1944. The establishment of the War Refugee Board marked the first time the US government adopted a policy of trying to rescue victims of Nazi persecution. The War Refugee Board coordinated the work of both US and international refugee aid organizations, sending millions of dollars into German-occupied Europe for relief and rescue. The War Refugee Board also recommended to the War Department that the US military bomb the gas chambers at Auschwitz Birkenau . The War Department responded that it was not a military priority. The War Refugee Board’s final report estimated that it rescued “tens of thousands” of people and assisted “hundreds of thousands” more.

The US military fought for almost four years to defend democracy during World War II. More than 400,000 Americans died in the war. The American people—soldiers and civilians alike—made enormous sacrifices to free Europe from Nazi oppression. The United States could have done more to publicize information about Nazi atrocities, to pressure the other Allies and neutral nations to help endangered Jews, and to support resistance groups against the Nazis. Prior to the war, the US government could have enlarged or filled its immigration quotas to allow more Jewish refugees to enter the country. These acts together might have reduced the death toll, but they would not have prevented the Holocaust. 

Teach: The Museum has many classroom resources to address what Americans knew and did during the Holocaust. Teachers can explore the Americans and the Holocaust online exhibition and choose from numerous lesson plans related to American responses to the Holocaust .

The Holocaust ended in May 1945. It ended with the military defeat of Nazi Germany and its European collaborators in World War II. Although the liberation of Nazi camps was not a primary objective of the Allied military campaign, Soviet, US, British, and Canadian troops freed prisoners from their SS guards. They provided them with food and badly needed medical support and collected evidence for war crimes trials. 

Explore our comprehensive entries on the events, people, and places of the Holocaust.

The Holocaust is the best documented case of genocide. Despite this, calculating the exact numbers of individuals who were killed as the result of Nazi policies is an impossible task. There is no single wartime document that spells out how many people were killed. 

Historians estimate that approximately six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. This includes approximately 2.5 million in killing centers, two million in mass shooting operations, and more than 800,000 in ghettos. Although the Holocaust specifically refers to the murder of European Jews, Nazi Germany and its collaborators also killed non-Jews. They killed seven million Soviet citizens, three million Soviet prisoners of war, 1.8 million non-Jewish Polish civilians, between 250,000–500,000 Roma, and 250,000 people with physical and mental disabilities. 

Learn: Read “ Documenting the Number of Victims of Nazi Persecution ” in the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

Beginning in the winter of 1942, the governments of the Allied powers announced their intent to punish Nazi war criminals. In August 1945, three months after the end of World War II, France, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States created an International Military Tribunal (IMT) to put German leaders on trial. After much debate, 24 defendants were chosen to represent a cross-section of Nazi diplomatic, economic, political, and military leadership. Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, and Joseph Goebbels could not be tried because they committed suicide at the end of the war or soon afterwards. 

The trial began on November 20, 1945, in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany. The Nazi defendants were indicted on four charges:

Conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity;

Crimes against peace;

War crimes; and

Crimes against humanity.

The Holocaust was not the main focus of the trial, but prosecutors presented considerable evidence about the “Final Solution,” the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jewish people. This information included the mass murder operations at Auschwitz, the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto, and the estimate of six million Jewish victims. The trial hearings ended on September 1, 1946. On October 1, 1946, the judges delivered their verdict. They convicted 19 of the defendants and acquitted three. The judges of the IMT sentenced twelve defendants to death.

The IMT trial is the most famous of the war crimes trials held after World War II. During the five years that followed the end of the war, hundreds of thousands of Nazi perpetrators and their collaborators were tried by other courts in Germany and in the countries that were allied to or occupied by Nazi Germany. 

The Allied military authorities, which now occupied the defeated Germany, began a process of denazification . “Denazification” included renaming streets, parks, and buildings that had Nazi or militaristic associations. It also removed monuments, statues, signs, and emblems linked with Nazism or militarism. Nazi Party property was confiscated. Nazi propaganda was eliminated from schools, the media, and churches. Nazi or military parades, anthems, and symbols like the swastika were prohibited. The distribution of Nazi propaganda continues to be illegal in Germany today. 

Learn: Read “ Postwar Trials ” in the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

Holocaust is a word of Greek origin meaning “sacrifice by fire.” By the late 19th century, holocaust most commonly meant “a complete or wholesale destruction.” The word was used for a variety of disastrous events, including pogroms against Jews in Russia, the murder of Armenians by Ottomans during World War I, Japanese attacks on Chinese cities, and even fires.

As early as 1941, writers occasionally used the word “holocaust” when describing Nazi crimes against the Jews, but it was not the only term they used. After World War II, Holocaust (with either a lowercase or capital H) became a more specific term. By the late 1970s, it became the standard English word used to refer to the systematic annihilation of European Jews by Germany’s Nazi regime. In Israel, it is more common to use the word sho’ah, which is the Hebrew equivalent of “Holocaust.” 

The Holocaust was a watershed event, not only in the 20th century but also in the entire course of human history. Studying the Holocaust reminds us that democratic institutions and values are not automatically sustained. They need to be appreciated, nurtured, and protected. The Holocaust was not an accident in history. It occurred because individuals, organizations, and governments made choices that not only legalized discrimination but also allowed prejudice, hatred, and ultimately mass murder to occur. It also teaches us that silence and indifference to the suffering of others, or to the infringement of civil rights in any society, can—however unintentionally—perpetuate these problems.

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<p>Adolf Hitler stands with an SA unit during a Nazi parade in Weimar, where the constitution of the Weimar Republic was drafted in 1919. Weimar, Germany, 1931.</p>

The Nazi Party

The National Socialist German Workers’ Party—also known as the Nazi Party—was the far-right racist and antisemitic political party led by Adolf Hitler. The Nazi Party came to power in Germany in 1933. It controlled all aspects of German life and persecuted German Jews. Its power only ended when Germany lost World War II.

The Nazi Party was founded in 1920. It sought to woo German workers away from socialism and communism and commit them to its antisemitic and anti-Marxist ideology.

Adolf Hitler became the Führer or Leader of the Nazi Party and turned it into a mass movement. He aimed to lead the German “master race” to victory in the "racial struggle" against “inferior” peoples, especially the Jews.

The Nazis ruled Germany as a one-party, totalitarian dictatorship from 1933 to 1945. The Party used its power to persecute Jews. During World War II, Nazi propaganda portrayed “the Jews” as Germany’s true enemy and depicted their destruction as necessary for the Germans’ survival.

  • Nazi rise to power
  • Adolf Hitler
  • World War II

Introduction

The Nazi Party was the radical far-right movement and political party led by Adolf Hitler . Its formal name was the National Socialist German Workers’ Party ( Nationalsozialistische deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP). Nazi ideology was racist, nationalist, and anti-democratic. It was violently antisemitic and anti-Marxist. 

The Nazi Party was founded in 1920, but won little popular support until the crisis of the Great Depression . In 1933, the German president appointed Hitler Chancellor. At the time, non-Nazis dominated Germany’s government. However, the Nazis used emergency decrees, violence, and intimidation to quickly seize control. The Nazis abolished all other political parties. They declared Germany a one-party state with Hitler as its supreme leader.

Origin of the Nazi Party

After World War I ended, Germany experienced great political turmoil. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) imposed harsh terms on Germany, which had lost the war. In addition, the country saw the overthrow of its monarchy. In its place was the new Weimar Republic , a democratic government.  Racist and antisemitic groups sprang up on the radical right. They blamed Jews for Germany’s defeat in the war. These groups opposed the Weimar Republic and the Treaty of Versailles. They were against democracy, human rights, capitalism, socialism, and communism. They advocated to exclude from German life anyone who did not belong to the German Volk or race.

In September 1919, Hitler attended a meeting of one of these groups in Munich, the German Workers’ Party. This small political organization sought to convert German workers away from Marxist Socialism. At the meeting, Hitler’s public speaking skills attracted notice. He was recruited to a leading role.

In 1920, Hitler changed the Party’s name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. “National Socialism” was a racist and antisemitic political theory. It had been developed in Hitler’s native Austria as the antithesis of Marxist Socialism and Communism . Marxists, for example, advocated for the global solidarity of the world’s workers. They called for the abolition of nation states. National Socialists, however, sought to unify members of the German Volk in complete obedience to the state. They called for a strong state to lead the “master race” in the “racial struggle” against “inferior races,” especially the Jews . 

Hitler reviews passing Nazi Party members, 1923

Hitler formulated a 25-point program in 1920. The program would remain the Party’s only platform. Among its points, it rejected the Versailles settlement. It also demanded to unify all people of German “blood.” The program called for a Greater Germany ruled by a strong central state. The country was to acquire new lands and colonies. The program would deny citizenship and rights to all non-Germans, particularly Jews. 

The Nazi Party grew steadily under Hitler’s leadership. It attracted support from influential people in the military, big business, and society. The Party also absorbed other radical right-wing groups. In 1921, Hitler organized a paramilitary force called the Storm Troops ( Sturmabteilung , SA). SA members were war veterans and members of the Free Corps ( Freikorps ), paramilitary units that battled left-wing movements in postwar Germany.

The Beer Hall Putsch

On November 8-9, 1923, Hitler and his followers staged a failed attempt  to seize control of the Bavarian state. They believed this would trigger a nationwide uprising against the Weimar Republic. 

The uprising began in the Bürgerbräu Keller, a Munich beer hall. World War I hero General Erich Ludendorff , Hitler, and other Nazi leaders led the march. About 2,000 Nazis and sympathizers followed. City police clashed with the marchers, leading to an exchange of gunfire. Four police officers and 14 Nazis were killed. After the putsch , German authorities banned the Nazi Party. Several of its leaders were arrested and charged with high treason. Hitler was convicted and sentenced to 5 years in jail. After only eight months, he was released for “good behavior.” 

Beer Hall Putsch

While in prison, Hitler began dictating his book, Mein Kampf . The book set out his world view and personal mission. Hitler believed he was destined to lead the German “master race” in the battle between races to control land and resources. He would achieve this by creating a racially pure state and conquering Lebensraum (living space) in the Soviet Union. Further, he would destroy the Germans' ultimate enemy, the Jews, and their most dangerous weapon: Judeo-Bolshevism. Mein Kampf was published after Hitler’s release. It did not become a bestseller in Germany until after he became Chancellor. 

The Rise of the Nazi Party

After the putsch failed, Hitler concluded that the way to destroy the Weimar Republic was through democratic means. In 1925, he persuaded Bavaria’s leaders to lift the ban on the Nazi Party. Hitler promised that he would seek power only through elections. He then reestablished the Nazi Party under his complete control. What came to define the Party was not its 25-point program, but rather complete loyalty to its Führer or Leader, Hitler.    

The Nazi Party prepared to stand in the elections. It organized branches in each German state. These branches worked to establish cadres in regions, cities, towns, and villages. The Nazi Party had a rigid top-down command structure. Officials were appointed from above rather than elected by members. In each region, a Gauleiter  or District Leader served as head. This position was appointed by Hitler and answered directly to him. 

The 1928 Reichstag Elections

The Nazi Party's membership had quadrupled by the 1928 elections for the Reichstag , Germany's parliament. However, it won only 2.6% of the votes and 12 seats. 

Despite its name, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party won little support from industrial workers. This did not concern Hitler, who was seeking to create a mass movement. He aimed to appeal to the many groups that disliked the Weimar Republic and feared socialism and communism. 

SA men parade down a city street during a Nazi rally

Hitler emphasized propaganda to attract attention and interest. He used press and posters to create stirring slogans. He displayed eye-catching emblems and uniforms. The Party staged many meetings, parades, and rallies. In addition, it created auxiliary organizations to appeal to specific groups. For example, there were groups for youth, women, teachers, and doctors. The Party became particularly popular with German youth and university students.

The 1930 Reichstag Elections

What most contributed to the Nazi Party’s success was Germany’s economic collapse during the Great Depression, beginning in 1929. The crisis resulted in widespread unemployment and poverty. It also led to an increase in crime. Germans’ resulting anger and fear left them vulnerable to arguments from the extreme right and left. 

The 1930 elections saw a sharp rise in support for both the Nazis and the Communists. The Nazis had more support, though, winning 18.3% of the vote and 107 seats. With this outcome, they became the second largest party in the Reichstag. President Hindenburg and his conservative advisers did not want the largest party, the Socialists, to form a government and so tried to rule by presidental decree. They hoped in time to amend the constitution and establish authoritarian rule. 

The 1932 Reichstag Elections

Increased political divide led to increased violence. The SA was especially violent. By 1932, it had amassed 400,000 members. That summer, there were deadly street battles and daily assassinations. More and more Germans came to agree with Hitler’s argument that parliamentary democracy was destroying Germany by catering to special interests. Hitler asserted that the nation needed a strong leader to unite Germany and rule in the national interest. The Party did not emphasize antisemitism in its general campaign messaging. 

Nazi supporters gather before the 1932 election

In the July 1932 elections, the Nazis became the largest party in the Reichstag. The Party had won 37.4% of the vote and 230 seats. Hitler, however, refused to join a coalition government unless he was appointed Chancellor. Hindenburg opposed this demand.        

The Reichstag elections had to be held again in November 1932. The Nazi Party remained the largest party, but had won two million fewer votes than in July. The Party dropped to 196 seats, with 33.1% of the vote. By this time, Germany’s economy was on the mend and the Party’s popularity was receding. The odds for the Weimar Republic’s survival appeared to be improving.

Then, on January 30, 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler Chancellor in a coalition government. It was not dominated by Nazis, but rather by members of the conservative German National People’s Party and non-partisan professionals from the bureaucracy. Hindenburg took this step after his advisers assured him that the conservative members could control Hitler. They believed they could use Hitler’s mass following to amend the constitution and create an authoritarian state. 

Germany becomes a one-party dictatorship under Hitler

Once he became chancellor, Hitler moved quickly to bring the government under Party control. He persuaded Hindenburg to dissolve the Reichstag and announce new elections. The Nazis’ campaign platform called to unify all good Germans in the fight to eradicate “Marxism,” meaning both communism and socialism. The Nazi Party saturated Germany with its propaganda. Meanwhile, the government restricted the opposition press. In much of Germany, SA and SS ( Schutzstaffel ) members were deputized as auxiliary police. They used their powers to attack, arrest, and kill communists.

SS troops enter the Kroll Opera House

On February 27, 1933, there was a fire in the Reichstag building. The fire provided the excuse to declare a state of emergency . This allowed the government to abolish civil liberties and take over state governments. In the March 5 Reichstag elections, the Nazi Party won 44% of the vote. Together with its coalition partner, the Party barely won a majority of seats. Hitler used arrests, intimidation, and false promises to get the necessary votes to pass the Enabling Act on March 23. This “enabled” Hitler and his cabinet to dictate laws without approval from the Reichstag or President.

The Nazi Party did not only seize control of all levels of government. It also worked to control all aspects of German economic, social, and cultural life. This process was called Gleichschaltung , or "coordination." All other political parties were abolished by July 14, 1933. Germany was declared a one-party state under the Nazi Party. Government, legal, and educational institutions were purged of Jews and suspected political opponents. Workers, employers, writers, and artists came under control of Nazi organizations. Sports and leisure activities, too, fell under Nazi control. Only the military and the churches escaped “coordination.”

Threat from Within

By 1934, the main threat to Hitler’s continued control of the government came from within the Nazi Party, specifically the SA. SA men were eager to punish enemies and cash in on the Nazi takeover. Their violence and intimidation was met with increasing public disapproval. To reassure the nation, Hitler announced that the revolutionary phase of the “national uprising” had ended. Among the SA, however, there was talk of a second revolution. This was to be led by SA commander Ernst Röhm. By this time, the SA had 4.5 million members. It far outnumbered the Reichswehr , Germany’s armed forces. Röhm made no secret of his desire to subordinate the military to the SA. In June 1934, Germany's generals made clear to Hitler that he had to tame the SA or face a military coup.

On June 30, 1934, Hitler executed a bloody purge of the SA. The purge became known as the “Night of the Long Knives.” The estimated 150 to 200 victims included Röhm and other SA leaders, as well as conservative figures who had earned Nazi displeasure. Though subordinate to the SA, the SS carried out most of the murders. As reward, Hitler made the SS an independent Nazi organization. Its leader Heinrich Himmler answered directly to Hitler. 

On August 2, 1934, President Hindenburg died. Every member of the German armed forces was then ordered to swear an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler. German military leaders had welcomed the slaughter of SA leadership. Without opposition, Hitler abolished the separate position of Reich President. He declared himself Führer and Reich Chancellor, the absolute ruler of the German people.

The Nazi Party in Power

All “Aryan” Germans were expected to participate in organizations run by the Nazi Party. However, the Party itself remained elite by limiting its membership. According to the “leadership principle,” it retained its top-down command structure. There were leaders at every level: regional, county, municipal, precinct, and neighborhood. Leaders were appointed from above and oversaw popular conformity to Nazi standards. Before it came to power, the Party had also created a government-like apparatus. Departments were responsible for the same areas as government ministries. For instance, there were departments for foreign policy, justice, labor, and economics. This structure never replaced the German bureaucracy. However, it acted alongside it and in continual competition with it.

Hitler transformed one party office into a government agency when he made propaganda chief, Joseph Goebbels , head of the new Propaganda Ministry . Goebbels created a cult of personality that glorified Hitler as Germany’s infallible savior. Nazi propaganda became inescapable in Germany. It dominated the press, film, radio, and public spaces. Portraits or statues of Hitler appeared everywhere. Every city and town renamed a street or public space to honor him. In public, ordinary Germans were expected to praise Hitler and give the so-called German greeting ("Heil Hitler!"). Propaganda permeated school curricula as well. Children, for example, learned odes praising Hitler’s leadership in public schools. Leni Riefenstahl’s film “Triumph of the Will” vividly portrays the image of Hitler as an almost divine leader. The film is based on one of the Party’s massive rallies at Nuremberg.

The Nazi Party’s control of every level of government allowed it to pursue its antisemitic agenda. The central government enacted sweeping antisemitic decrees . Even before that, though, Nazi officials persecuted Jews at the local level. Jews were excluded from professions, businesses, and public spaces. Propaganda portrayed Jews as poisonous vermin plotting to destroy the German Volk though capitalism and bolshevism. Nazi leaders claimed that “the Jews” started World War II. The war was portrayed as a struggle for German survival. The Nazi claim that the Jews intended to destroy the Germans became the excuse for the Germans to destroy the Jews.

Hitler speaks before the Reichstag (German Parliament)

Defeat of Nazi Germany

By the late 1930s, the vast majority of Germans supported Hitler and the Nazi state. The only organized attempt to oust Hitler and the Nazi Party occurred on July 20, 1944. By this time, Germany’s defeat in World War II appeared inevitable. Following Hitler’s suicide on April 30, 1945, Germany surrendered and was occupied by Allied forces.        

The Allies banned the Nazi Party and declared it a criminal organization. They tried top Nazi leaders for crimes against humanity, among other crimes. To this day, the Nazi Party is banned in Germany.

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125 Hitler Essay Topics & Examples

This list contains the best essay topics and research questions about Adolf Hitler. With their help, you can explore Hitler’s rise to power, his dictatorship over Germany, and other interesting aspects. Feel free to choose among our history research topics about Hitler, questions for essays, and presentation titles.

🔝 Top 10 Essay Topics about Hitler

🏆 best hitler topic ideas & essay examples, 📌 interesting hitler essay topics, ❓ research questions about adolf hitler, 🔍 simple & easy hitler research topics, ✍️ hitler’s rise to power essay questions, ✅ hitler & nazi germany essay questions.

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  • Hitler’s Lasting Impact and Legacy
  • The Role of Women in Nazi Germany
  • Social Factors Behind Hitler’s Rise to Power
  • Media and Manipulation in Nazi Germany
  • Origins and Impact of Hitler’s Genocidal Policies
  • Hitler’s Ideological Beliefs of Racial Superiority
  • Hitler’s Military Strategy: Tactics and Failures
  • Psychological Perspectives on Hitler’s Mindset
  • Opposition and Resistance to Hitler’s Regime
  • How Hitler Compares to Stalin Initially the post of General Secretary was not so powerful in the party; however, following the death Vladimir Lenin who had led the communist party from 1917, Stalin strengthened the opposition by eliminating opposition within […]
  • Germany During Hitler’s Era The multi-polar international system continued to support the actions of leaders such as Hitler, even after the First World War Western powers allowed Germany to ream itself due to the fears posed by the international […]
  • Is Barrack Obama Like Hitler? According to his book, Obama on the other hand recognizes and desires to change the problems in the American functional government and state of politics. This has generated a lot of criticism and the continued […]
  • Schutzstaffel: Hitler’s Infamous Legions of Death In order to execute the roles of this group, any chosen member had to be of Germany origin and show loyalty to the party.
  • Hitler’s Table Talk The involvement of priests in the affairs of the state provided important insights on some of the reasons that made Hitler to be ruthless in his table talk against Christians. As manifested in his table […]
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  • German Resistance to Hitler The aim of the pact was to protect each other against any military attack and at the same time attack other countries such as Greece by the Italians, Libya by the Germans, Indo-china by the […]
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  • The Burden of Hitler’s Legacy In his opinion, the Jews were to be blamed for Germany’s downfall in World War 1 and the subsequent peace treaty that was a source of embarrassment to the nation.
  • Man and Monster: The Life of Adolf Hitler He was born to Alois Hitler, his father and Klara Hitler, his mother who was a third wife to Alois Hitler.
  • History of Hitler’s Nazi Propaganda According to Hitler, the German’s defeat in the First World War, the Bolshevik Revolution, German’s post war inflation, and the economic crisis of the year 1929 were accredited to International Jewry. Over time, the masses […]
  • The Rise of Hitler to Power It was this paramilitary formed by Hitler that would cause unrest later to tarnish the name of the communists leading to distrust of communism by the Germans and on the other hand rise of popularity […]
  • Hitler’s Rise to Power Henrich von Treitschke, a German logician argues that another reason that led to the rise of Hitler was the shame subjected to the background of Hitler as he described the conformity of the masses as […]
  • The Leadership Styles of Grant and Hitler Second, Grant was a strategist who wanted the best out of himself and his soldiers while Hitler did not mind much about the well being of his soldiers and most of his strategies involved murder. […]
  • The Art of Adolf Hitler He gives a reason that the present Germany is a result of the efforts of himself and partners in the nation’s struggle which offered art in Germany fresh incentives as well as environment for a […]
  • “The Blitzkrieg Myth: How Hitler and the Allies Misread The Strategic Realities of World War II” by John Mosier In order to present a clear picture of German participation in the war and the reasons, which provoked these people to fight and kill, it is necessary to concentrate on various sources and perspectives and […]
  • To What Extent did Hitler Rule Germany with Popular Consent? Hitler’s absolute hold on power was achieved in 1934 when he consolidated the office of the president and that of the chancellor in the person of “the Fuhrer and Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler”.
  • WW II and Hitler’s Army After the massive defeat and deaths of the German army in the war that took place in the eastern side, it was evident that the traditional groups of the army were no longer working as […]
  • Adolf Hitler: From Patriotism to Racism He was also forced to live and work in the city and it is was the cultural and social shock that he experienced as he transferred from the rural to the urban that changed the […]
  • WWII History: How Hitler Died From the onset of the war, Hitler proved to be a trustworthy leader. In the US, tests done on a part of the skull purported to be Hitler’s have given unconvincing results.
  • Propaganda of Adolf Hitler and Jim Jones This is a scenario that has occurred with the Nazi, under the command of Adolf Hitler, and the story of Jim Jones, and the people who followed him in a quest to build an ideal […]
  • Adolf Hitler and a History of the Holocaust Before going any further it is important to point out the kind of mindset that the German people had back then that made it easier for Hitler to convince them to join him in a […]
  • Adolf Hitler’s Anti-Semitic “Final Solution” While the responsibility of Hitler and the Nazi top command in the mass killing of the Jews is unquestionable, there are disputes over the role that ordinary Germans played.
  • Adolf Hitler Life and Strategies This research paper critically analyses the life of Hitler as the president of Germany and the extent he went to conquer the whole world which he sought to do.
  • The Aryan Race in “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler The provided passage is taken from Mein Kampf, the most known work of Adolf Hitler, the infamous leader of the NSDAP since 1921 and the F hrer of Nazi Germany in 1934-1945.
  • Hitler’s and British Policies in World War II Britain was among the countries that did not welcome the idea of another war due to the bloodshed that had ensued in the World War I.
  • “Joseph Goebbels” and “German Artists and Hitler’s Mind” The book is very informative for a reader willing to learn about art in Nazi Germany and covers the topic fully.
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  • “Mein Kampf” a Historical Book by Adolf Hitler However, the book shows that even under the mask of one of the cruelest people in the world, there is a boy with his own dreams and intentions to have a happy life.
  • Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler: Leaders Ways This paper aims to reveal the cause of the problems faced by the United States and Germany as identified by their leaders in inaugural speeches and the ways Roosevelt and Hitler were planning to solve […]
  • Leadership Styles: Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler The human qualities of a leader are in many ways more revealing regarding his or her success, the respect of the people, and the appreciation of descendants than education and professionalism.
  • World War 2 Leaders Comparison: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler World War 2 remains one of the most significant and historically important events in the entire world because the United States of America, Japan, and the majority of European countries were involved in it.
  • The Reasons Behind the Rise of Hitler and the Nazis Socio-economic instability, tough ideology, and the active involvement of the media were the key drivers that allowed Hitler to convince people of the power that the Nazi idea carried.
  • Adolf Hitler’s Cultural Theories in “Mein Kampf” So, according to Adolf Hitler, the foreign Aryan spirit was the awakener of Japanese people hence the bore a culture that they did not create.
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  • Adolf Hitler’s Treatment of Non-Germans His writings also indicate that his hate for non-Germans was due to the entrepreneurial nature of some of these non-Germans such as the Jews who were seen by Adolf Hitler as exploiters of the Germans.
  • The Mind of a Monster in A. Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” The book was written by Adolf Hitler, who was the Nazi leader and the ruler of Germany during the period of the Holocaust.
  • Hitler’s Life: Five Dates From His Life I told the German people that they could no longer trust a government that sold out to the enemy at the end of the Great War. It is the only hope of the fatherland, the […]
  • Dates of Hitler’s Life in a Diary Form Today, I became the Chancellor of Germany and it means that I am going to change the way other people see our country.
  • “Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives” and “East & West”: The Book and the Movie Comparison Alexei, Marie, and their young son are assigned a room in a multifamily apartment, and Marie is given a job in the wardrobe department of an army song-and-dance troupe.
  • “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler After the death of his mother in 1907, Hitler moved to the city of Vienna, where he hoped to join the Art Academy.
  • The Spanish Civil War, Franco vs. Hitler, Juan Pujol, Double Agents The war ended with the conquest of the revolutionaries and the dawning of the authoritarianism led by General Francisco Franco, a fascist.
  • Age of Dictators. Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia The status of the ‘ordinary’ worker was elevated and May Day became the ‘National Day of Labor’, a symbol of the national community where all workers, as well as their employers, would participate in a […]
  • Historical Event: Hitler in the World History Taking into consideration the fact that the World War II and its appalling events are still remembered and feared of, I would really want to interfere with nature and erase from the history the day […]
  • Hitler: A Study in Tyranny by Alan Bullock The subject of the book under study is the historic personality of Adolf Hitler, the person who managed to change the flow of the European history of the twentieth century, the person who caused the […]
  • Nietzsche’s Influence on Hitler and the Third Reich Nietzsche’s all-out assault on the entire Western Judeo-Christian cultural and philosophical tradition is one of the most important issues of the abandonment of the faith in progress through the submission of human reason that had […]
  • The Role of Individuals in International Politics: Hitler and Stalin The focus of this dissertation will be on the personalities of the two leaders and their opinions on war and peace.
  • The Rise of Adolf Hitler: The World’s Most Renowned Tyrant Due to their great influence, he had the party saw the need to retain him and therefore took him back as the leader of the party a term which he had offered the party if […]
  • Fascist Elements in Dictatorial Ideas of Mussolini and Hitler The ideological and political differences between the ideas of Mussolini and Hitler are nuanced. They lie in such government branches as ethnic and military issues.
  • Comparing the Operational Codes of Stalin and Hitler The model was developed in the middle of the twentieth century when the American government needed to evaluate the potential conduct of and choices made by Soviet leaders and political elites.
  • Comparison of Gandhi’s and Hitler’s Leadership The primary direction of Gandhi’s political and social work was the fight against the nationalist movement of the British rule of India.
  • Did Hitler Commit Suicide? The siege of Berlin by the Soviet soldiers marked the end of his rule. The confirmation of the teeth to be of the ruler proves he died in the bunker.
  • Hitler’s Speech in Reaction to the Treaty of Versailles Hitler believed that the treaty of Versailles made Germany a colony to the outside world; he blamed it for the suppression of Germany’s workforce.
  • “The End and the Beginning” and “Hitler’s First Photograph” Poems by Szymborska The particular imagery refers to the effects of the Second World War, the pushing of rubble, the collection of corpses, and miring in sofa springs and glass.
  • Newspaper Coverage of Adolf Hitler’s Death It marks the end of the era of the terrible events of the Holocaust, the seizure of Poland, the extermination of millions of people.
  • Hitler’s Use of Propaganda and Fear-Mongering The establishment of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party led to the adoption of a properly coordinated propaganda campaign that would prepare the country for war.
  • Adolf Hitler’s Biography and Achievements Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889; he became the ruler of Germany and one of the most reviled persons in history.
  • How and Why Was Adolf Hitler Able to Come to Power?
  • Did Adolf Hitler Use Fear to Control?
  • Did Adolf Hitler and the Nazis Treat the Jews Badly?
  • How Did Adolf Hitler Gain and Maintain Power?
  • Why Did Adolf Hitler Become a Hate Filled Dictator?
  • How Adolf Hitler Abused His Power in the Nazi Germany?
  • How Adolf Hitler’s Childhood Changed His Personality and the Course of History?
  • How Would the World Be Different in Adolf Hitler Never Existed?
  • Why Adolf Hitler Wanted to Annex the Sudetenland and Began World War II?
  • Why the Jews Were Persecuted in Germany during Adolf Hitler’s Rule?
  • Why Adolf Hitler Was Appointed Chancellor on 30th January 1933?
  • What Extent Did the Existence of the Third Reich Depend on Adolf Hitler?
  • What Is the Insidious Legacy of Adolf Hitler?
  • Did Adolf Hitler Has Post-encephalitic Parkinsonism?
  • Why Adolf Hitler Spared the Judges?
  • What Were Some of Adolf Hitler’s Weaknesses?
  • Why Did Hitler Want So Badly to Proceed the Anschluss of Austria?
  • Did Adolf Hitler Bring Germany Out of Economic Depression?
  • How Germans Tolerated Adolf Hitler after World War I?
  • How Adolf Hitler Came to Be Published in the United States?
  • Why Did the German Workers Stand by Adolf Hitler?
  • What Were Adolf Hitler’s and the Nazi Party’s Ideas?
  • Did Hitler Want a World Dominion or It Was Even Bigger Goal of His?
  • What Were the Political Views and Ideology of Adolf Hitler?
  • Why Did the Invasion of Poland by Adolf Hitler Launched World War II?
  • Hitler’s Legacy of Hate and Prejudice
  • Hitler’s Relationship with Eva Braun
  • Adolf Hitler’s Last Days and the Fall of Berlin
  • The Nuremberg Trials and the Quest for Justice
  • Hitler’s Early Career as a Failed Painter
  • Indoctrination and Education of the Hitler Youth
  • Hitler’s Plans for Germania and Monumental Buildings
  • Holocaust Denial: Historical Evidence Against Revisionist Claims
  • Hitler’s Foreign Policy and Expansionism Leading to World War II
  • Speculations and Medical Records Regarding Hitler’s Mental State
  • What Key Political and Economic Conditions in Germany Facilitated Hitler’s Rise to Power?
  • How Did Hitler Exploit the Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic to Gain Support for the Nazi Party?
  • What Role Did Propaganda Play in Hitler’s Rise to Power?
  • How Did Hitler’s Charismatic Leadership Style Contribute to His Influence?
  • How Did the Great Depression Impact the Nazi Party’s Electoral Success?
  • What Major Events and Political Strategies Led to Hitler’s Appointment as Chancellor of Germany?
  • Why Did Hitler’s Racist Ideology Resonate with Certain Segments of the German Population?
  • What Strategies Did the Nazi Party Employ to Consolidate Power and Suppress Opposition?
  • How Did Hitler Dismantle Democratic Institutions and Establish a Totalitarian Regime in Germany?
  • What Role Did the Enabling Act Of 1933 Play in Consolidating Hitler’s Power?
  • What Major Events Lead to the Rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party?
  • How Did the Ideologies of the Nazi Regime Affect Various Aspects of German Society?
  • How Did the Nazi Government Implement and Enforce Its Anti-Semitic Laws and Policies?
  • What Were the Economic Policies of Nazi Germany?
  • How Did the Nazi Regime Control and Manipulate Public Opinion through Censorship?
  • What Was the Role of the Hitler Youth and Other Organizations in Shaping the Younger Generation’s Values in Nazi Germany?
  • How Did the Nazi Regime Persecute and Oppress “Undesirable” Individuals or “Enemies of the State”?
  • What Were the Resistance Movements Within Germany Against the Nazi Regime?
  • How Did Nazi Germany’s Foreign Policy and Military Aggression Lead to the Outbreak of World War II?
  • What Were the Outcomes of the War for Germany and the World?
  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

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History Grade 11 - Topic 3 Essay Questions

nazi party essay questions

Essay Question

To what extent did Australian government policies and legislation succeed in perpetuating racism and the dehumanization of the Aborigines in the 19th and 20th centuries? Present an argument in support of your answer using relevant historical evidence. [1]

Introduction :

A number of scholars agree that race was part of the Enlightenment project that resulted from the desire to classify people into distinct categories. [2] Racial classification certainly existed before this period, but the ‘modern’ application of race has much to do with Europe’s interaction with the ‘rest of the world’. [3] Thus, central to the project of European colonialism was the crystallization of Eugenics policies and an array of social Darwinist theories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These theories which later transformed government policy and law rendered non-European peoples as subhuman and biologically inferior and thus should be dispossessed of their land and other vital resources and ultimately exterminated in society. Therefore, and relevant to this essay, we will focus on the implementation of Eugenics policies and Social Darwinism in Australia in order to evaluate the extent to which these policies impacted on the Aboriginal people of Australia.

British colonisation and occupation of Australia

After the British colonised Australia in the 18th century, the first one hundred and forty years of Australian colonial history was marked by conflict and dispossession. [4] The arrival of Lieutenant James Cook and then Arthur Philip in 1788 marked the beginning of ‘white settlement’. [5] From 1788, Australia was treated by the British as a colony of settlement, not of conquest. Aboriginal land was expropriated by the British colonists on the premise that the land was empty (the terra nullius theory) and that the British colonists discovered it. This myth was applied across the colonial world to perpetuate and justify indigenous dispossession and genocide. [6]

Colonists viewed the indigenous Australians as inferior and scarcely human. Their way of life was seen as ‘primitive and uncivilised’, and colonialists believed that their culture would eventually die out. [7] This view justified colonial conquest of the Aboriginal people. Social anthropologists from universities who ‘studied’ the way of life of the Aborigines reinforced this view. [8] Firstly, this view added some ‘scientific’ credibility to observations about this ‘primitive’ society with the lowest level of kinship and the most ‘primitive’ form of religion. Secondly, it also added to the views of Australian eugenicists without deeply analysing the complexities of Aboriginal life. [9]

Application of eugenics policies on the Aborigines

Eugenics associations were established in many states, e.g., New South Wales and Victoria. In 1960 the Racial Hygiene Association, based in Sydney, became the Family Planning Association. [10] A prominent eugenicist in Melbourne was Prof Richard Berry who believed the Aborigines to be the most primitive form of humans. Berry studied and measured people’s heads to prove his theory that white, educated people were the smartest, while the poor, criminals and Aboriginal Australian were the least so. Berry proposed a euthanasia chamber for so-called mental defectives. [11] Ideas of racial decay and racial suicide were aimed at strengthening the number of whites in society, especially in the north where Asian populations were expanding. [12] In 1901 the Immigration Restriction Act was passed (known as the White Australia Policy). White racial unity was promoted as a form of racial purity.

Immigration was encouraged from the UK in 1922 to swell European numbers and thousands of children were sent to keep Australia white. 1912: white mothers offered £5 childbirth bounty in order to grow the size of wealthy middle -class families, which tended to have fewer children than poorer, pauper families in society. [13] This was partly in response to the debate around ‘racial suicide’. It was thought that the middle class would die out because they were not having enough children. [14] Decrease in the number of middle-class whites led to notions of ‘racial decay’. It was assumed that ‘racial poisons’ (e.g., TB, venereal disease, prostitution, alcoholism and criminality) would decimate whites with good stock (middle class). Plans were made to deal with ‘racially contaminated’ and misfits to keep middle class ‘pure’. [15]

Australia Immigration Policies

The White Australian policy of 1901 aimed at cohesion among the white population in the country. [16] It enshrined discrimination and white superiority. Between 1920 and 1967 thousands of British children between the ages of 3 and 14 were sent to Australia and Canada to boost the size of the white population. These children came from poor backgrounds and were mostly in social care. Many of these children were cut off from their families and were often told they were orphans. [17] In addition, a number of these children stayed in orphanages in Australia or became unpaid cheap labour on farms and in some instances were physically and sexually abused. The children who were forcibly migrated under the system became known as the Lost Generation. Catholic Church established homes to accommodate and assist migrant children. In 1987 the Child Migrant Trust under the leadership of Margaret Humphreys began to publicise the abuse of child migrants. [18]

The lost generation?

Children of mixed race were either viewed as inferior by some or as slightly more superior than other Aborigines. [19] However, at the beginning of the 20th century, these ‘half-caste’ children were viewed as a threat to the future of the white race in Australia. In 1913, W. Baldwin Spencer set up 13 proposals to manage the half-caste populations in and around the towns, mining housing and other sites of contact between ‘races’. These included: segregated living areas in certain towns, limits set on the employment of indigenous population by white Australians, the removal of Aboriginal people to a compound, the construction of a half-caste home in one area, a ban on interracial contact and authority given to protectors in some areas to remove ‘half-caste’ children from their families and place them in homes.

By 1930s the number of part-Aboriginal population increased. Dr Cecil Cook and A.O. Neville believed that the white race was headed for extinction. They were responsible for assimilation programmes for ‘breeding blackness out.’ About 100 000 ‘mixed-race’ children were taken from their parents between 1910 and 1970 to breed out Aboriginal blood. Cook encouraged lighter-skinned women to marry white men and in this way ‘breed out their colour’. In 1951, the new Minister for Territories, Paul Hasluck, claimed that assimilation would be the new policy to deal with the indigenous people and motivated this on the grounds of looking after the child’s welfare. Policemen or government officials often took children from their sobbing mothers, they were raised as orphans. Many of these children experienced abuse and neglect. Labels were used, e.g., quadroon, octaroon, to indicate how much ‘white’ blood they had. This policy only ended in 1971. These children are known today as the Stolen Generation. [20]

Reparations?

The practice of removing Aboriginal children from their families was not spoken about until 1997. An official enquiry revealed consistent abuse, exploitation in the labour market, social dislocation that led to alcoholism, violence, and early death. [21] In 2009 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised in parliament for the laws and policies that inflicted grief, suffering and loss on them. He particularly mentioned the ‘Stolen Generation’ who had been removed from their families. In 2010 Rudd apologised to the ‘Lost Generation’ of children who were held in orphanages and other institutions between 1930 and 1970. [22]

Racial ideologies were not simply advanced by a conglomeration of nationalism, imperialism, Darwinism and Eugenics. In the early Twentieth Century, there became evidence strands of simply cultural racism that can be seen as running alongside the biological determinism that was largely prevalent. From this perspective, individuals were suspicious or negative towards to other races not solely on the basis on racial differences, but because those differences represented a divergence in cultural values. This can be seen in the number of miscegenation laws that prevailed in Australia and elsewhere in the colonial world in this context, which have been interpreted as founded on notions of biological mixing. This therefore was an attempt to assert the supremacy of the white race over all other races. Therefore, the development of the sciences of evolutionary Darwinism and Eugenics provided further scientific validity to these views, justifying unequal power relationships either by pinpointing the inability of certain races to develop, or by suggesting the more advanced races had a personal benevolence to the others.

nazi party essay questions

Nazi Germany and the Holocaust

Hitlers consolidation of power from 1933 to 1934 :

The Great Depression had severe economic effects which increased support for political parties that were extremists such as the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei = National Socialist German Workers’ Party, which is popularly known as the Nazi party in English) on the right and the Communist Party on the left. [23] In 1993, Hitler was appointed as Chancellor by the then President Von Hindenburg. [24] This was a significant appointment as Hitler used his position as head of government to consolidate Nazi control. In power, the Nazis dominated the police force by utilizing them to break up meetings that opposition parties had and outlawed all forms of public meetings by justifying that these posed a ‘threat’ to public safety. on the 27th of February 1993, an arson attack occurred which burned the building which housed the German parliament, and this attack became known as the Reichstag Fire. After the Reichstag fire, Hitler got Von Hindenburg to pass a decree which suspended all articles in the constitution that guaranteed peoples key freedoms and liberty. [25] This meant that political opposition were arrested and subsequently sent to concentration camps. The Nazis did not win a clear majority in the elections despite rigorous intimidation and propaganda. As a result, Hitler banned the Communists from the Reichstag party which was supported by the Centre Party- a lay Catholic Party in Germany. [26] Hitler then arranged to get the Reichstag to agree to pass the Enabling Act which allowed him to make laws by decree. This made it possible for Hitler to centralise the government by taking away powers of the state governments. In addition, Hitler destroyed the free trade union movements and banned the Social Democrats and the Communist Party. [27] However, in 1934, an increasing number of left-wing elements within the Nazi Party were opposing Hitlers authority. [28] The Sturmabteilung- Nazi Party’s paramilitary wing, which was led by Ernst Rohm was interested in the socialistic elements of Nazism. [29] In short, they wanted Germany to be a full socialistic state. However, the German Wehrmacht- unified armed forces of Nazi Germany opposed the Sturmabteilung’s stance. On the 30th of June 1934, Hitler’s Schutzstaffel (SS)- a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler got rid of the Sturmabteilung in which 400 of their murders were murdered including Rohm their leader. [30] The SS was now the new elite force which aligned itself with the Hitlers Nazi Party. Following the death of Von Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler merged the positions of president and chancellor and became known as the Führer- leader. Within this new leadership structure, total loyalty was demanded from all Germans. This also led to Germany becoming police state- a totalitarian state controlled by a political police force that secretly supervises the citizens' activities. The SS were led by Heinrich Himmler who was a ruthless and brutal leader who ran the labour and concentration camps, including the Gestapo- secrete state police. [31] Most Germans understood that to resist the rule of the Nazis would be futile.

The creation of a racial state in Germany: defining the German nation in relation to the ‘other’:

In Germany, the ‘perfect German race’ came to be known as the Aryan race which was perceived as the master race by the Nazi Party. [32] The ‘other’ was other races which were perceived to be unproductive, asocial and undesirables such as the gypsies and the Jews which were viewed as coming from impure blood. These groups of people were thought to be inferior and therefore marginalised, treated as sub-human by segregating them and thus dehumanising them. [33] The Aryan race were considered superior because of their ancestry, survival instinct, ‘pure blood’, intellect and perception that they had the capacity to work hard. In Hitlers Nazi state, antisemitism was blamed on race. Hitler hated Jewish people and thus, this hatred shaped his political philosophy. As a result, Jews became a scapegoat for Germanies problems and were thus hunted down in order to eradicate them. To identify ‘others’, stereotyping was used to judge and isolate them. [34] This led to prejudice and gross discrimination which sometimes even meant death. The Nazi Parties promotion of the idea to cleanse Germany of all its ‘enemies’ and because Hitler hated Jews, this led to the mass killing of Millions of Jews.

nazi party essay questions

Applying racial and eugenic laws and policies- Purifying the nation:

Positive eugenics- Refers to efforts which are directed and expanding desirable traits. Positive eugenic Nazi programmes thus encouraged the breeding of pure Aryans since they were viewed as the master race. [35] In these programmes, women were central in creating this perceived pure nation. What this meant practically was that breeding between ‘Aryan’ women and genetically suitable ‘Aryan’ men such as those who were part of the SS were heavily encouraged. In 1936, the Lebensborn programme was established in which SS couples who were deemed to be biologically, racially and hereditarily valuable families were selected to adopt suitable Aryan children. [36]

Negative eugenics- refers to effort which are directed to eliminate through sterilisation, segregation or other means those who are perceived or deemed to be physically, mentally or morally ‘undesirable’.  Negative eugenics programmes and laws were passed to eliminate ‘contaminating’ elements of German society. These took many different forms such as sterilisation programmes. [37] In July 1933, the Sterilisation law was passed which gave Nazis the power to sterilise any person who suffered from diseases or hereditary conditions such as schizophrenia or feeblemindedness. Approximately 350 000 people were sterilised as a result of this programme including teenagers of mixed race. In 1933, the Department of Gene and Race Care was establish and Genetic health courts helped enforce these laws. Concentration camps were established and by 1936, these camps were filled with prostitutes, alcoholics, beggars, homosexuals and juvenile delinquents. [38] By 1938, around 11 000 were sent to these camps. Euthanasia (intentionally ending life to relieve pain and suffering) programmes were established. At the beginning of WWII, Hitler signed a decree which allowed for the systematic killing (euthanasia) in institutions of handicapped patients who were considered incurable. [39] The name of the programme was called Operation T4. These killings were secretly carried out in order to prevent a negative reaction from the Catholic Church. These killings were ordered by doctors in special committees who decided who was going to be killed. Initially, these killings were done by lethal injection, however, carbon monoxide was later used. [40] Nazi records show that 70 273 deaths were carried out by gassing at six different euthanasia centres. These euthanasia programmes were just the testing for Jewish extermination later on.

Groups targeted by the Nazis:

Under Hitler, policies in Germany were based on anti-Semitism as he regarded Jews as a separate race who were un-Godly and evil. At first, discrimination made life very uncomfortable for Jews in Germany. However, as the Nazi Party grew in power by having less and less opposition in Germany, Hitlers Party introduced stricter laws against Jews. [41] Most German people chose to be bystanders when these atrocities were being committed. As a result of these laws, Jewish people were Segregated from political, economic, social and educational life in Germany.     Between the years 1933 to 1934, Jewish professions and buisinesses were being targeted which resulted in them being excluded from civil services. In 1935, the Nuremburg Laws (antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Germany by the Nazi Party) were passed. [42] The Nuremburg Laws meant that Jewish people were not considered German citizens and they forbade marriages between German citizens and Jewish Germans. However, these anti-Semitic laws were relaxed in 1936 because Germany hosted the Olympic games, and thus had many visitors. [43] The following year in 1937 ‘Aryanisation’ began again. When the Nazi Party annexed (The concept in international law in which one state forcibly acquires another states territory) Austria in 1938, anti-Semitism spread there as well. On November 1938, a German diplomat was murdered in Paris, and as retaliation, Jewish shops, buisineses, homes and places of worship were targeted throughout Germany. 20 000 Jews were sent to concentration camps, majority of whom were killed. [44] This event came to be known as Kristallnacht (Violent, state-mandated actions against Jews). This led to Jewish pupils being expelled from schools, Jewish businessmen forced to close their shops, Jewish valuables to be confiscated and in 1939 a curfew was introduced for Jews.

Sinti and Roma:

Gypsies in Germany, like the Jews were targeted for extermination. At first, many were deported as the ‘undesirables.’ However, later there were sterilisation laws against the gypsies.  A new law termed “Fight against the Gypsy Menace” required that all gypsies register with the police. [45] They were then forced into concentration camps and ghettos. In Europe, thousands of gypsy women and children were killed in various campaigns. A separate ‘Gypsy family camp’ was set up at Auschwitz-Birkenau which saw many inmates die of exhaustion from hard labour, disease, malnutrition and gassing of children which were done by a Dr called Mengele. [46] Alex Bandy, a Hungarian journalist termed this campaign the ‘forgotten holocaust’.

Other groups targeted by the Nazis:

Political opponents such as Social Democrats, Communists and Trade union leaders were targeted by the Nazis. [47] In addition, Religious opponents such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Dissident priests (Catholic resistance to Nazi Germany) were also targeted by the Nazis. Those accused of ‘asocial’ crimes such as criminals or homosexuals were also targeted by the Nazi Party. [48]

Choices that people made:

Perpetrators:

Some of the perpetrators of the Nazi regime were secretaries, train drivers, bureaucrats while others actively took part in the killings. [49] Others perpetrators were in the Einsatzgruppen (Extermination squads) while others ran the concentration camps. However, many Nazi Party official denied complicity and said that they were merely following orders. Some perpetrators even claimed that they were negatively affected by their violent actions. [50]

 Bystanders:

The vast majority of people not just in Germany but were the world were bystanders. By choosing this stance of being a bystander and be different and passive witnesses, bystanders affirmed the perpetrators. Within the group of bystanders, others chose to become the perpetrators, while others chose to be resisters or rescuers. [51]

Rescuers under the Nazi regime chose to courageously speak out against the regime or actively rescue victims. Many of these rescuers attributed their actions to their convictions and morality to resist evil. Many of them acted courageously based on their faith. Many hid Jews or smuggled them out of occupied areas. [52]

Responses of the persecuted: exile, accommodation, defiance:

Responses from being persecuted by the Nazi Party took many forms such as partisan activities such as smuggling of secret messages, exchanging of food and weapons which sabotaged the Nazis attempt to persecute those they deemed undesirable. In addition, those persecuted responded by military engagement with the Nazi Party despite being heavily suppressed by Nazi troops. Victims continued with their way of life such as cultural traditions, religious practices, creating music and art such as poetry inside the concentration camps and ghettos. In addition, some of the victims managed to escape or go into exile. This caused underground resistance movements aimed at countering Nazi propaganda with anti-Nazi propaganda. The determination for survival was also a form of resistance by victims.

From persecution to mass murder: The Final solution:

The Holocaust (Was the genocide of European Jews during WWII) was carried out as the ‘Final Solution’ under the guise of war. The Einsatzgruppen followed German soldiers into invading other territories. They arrested everyone who resisted and killed those they thought could resist. The Nazis carried out forced removals of those they deemed sub-human or undesirables and carried out mass murders. [53] In Poland, thousand of Polish citizens were sent to labour and concentration camps. Jews were forcibly put in overcrowded ghettos were many would die of inhumane conditions and starvation.

Labour and extermination camps:

In 1941, the Einsatzgruppen followed invading troops into Russia where thousands of Jews were rounded up in preparation to send them to concentration camps. 700 Jews were gassed in vans in Chelmo. This reinforced Hitler’s desire for a ‘Final Solution’ to the Jewish question. The death camps under the SS were established for this reason. [54] In addition, extermination centre sites were purposely located near railway lines so that there was efficient transportation. In 1942, there were mass deportations of Jews from the ghettos. A lot of them died along the way due to the unhygienic conditions, lack of food and heat in transportation. Gas chambers were created for the purposes of mass gassing of Jews using Zyklon-B pellets. Jewish bodies were cremated, and their ashes and bones were intended for fertilisers. Approximately 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. [55]

Forms of justice: The Nuremburg Trials:

Allied forces decided that the main perpetrators of the Holocaust should be put on trial. [56] An international military tribunal was set up at Nuremburg where 22 Nazi leaders were put on trial for crimes against humanity in addition to their other war crimes. [57] Nazi records provided a much of the evidence and details of the crimes the leaders and committed. The accused did not deny having committed these crimes but were claiming that these crimes were not against humanity. Others argued that they were simply following orders. 13 different trials were set up in Nuremburg between the years 1945 and 1950 and 12 defendants were sentenced to dead. In total 199 Nazis were put on trial. This type of justice is called punitive justice where the perpetrators get punished for their crimes. [58]

Shortcomings of the process:

These trials did not come without their shortcomings, some of which included small perpertrators not being called and held accountable for their actions as they could deny their complicity for what had happened. In addition, victorious allies carried out the trials and as a result, Germany and German people never faced what they had done. For many years there was a culture of silence and this could be regarded as a denial of responsibility. [59]

Positive outcomes of these trials:

These trials did come with some positives such as giving people new ways of thinking about how to tackle gross human rights violations. Restorative justice and mechanism such as truth and reconciliation commissions could be formed in the future. Examples of such truth and reconciliation commissions around the world are the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. [60]

This content was originally produced for the SAHO classroom by Ayabulela Ntwakumba and Thandile Xesi

[1] National Senior Certificate. “Grade 11 November History Paper 1 Exam,” National Senior Certificate, November 2018.

[2] Cohen, William B. "Literature and Race: Nineteenth Century French Fiction, Blacks and Africa 1800-1880." Race 16, no. 2 (1974): 181-205.

[3] Macdonald, Ian. "The Capitalist Way to Curb Discrimination." Race Today (1973): 241.

[4] http://www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info/content/History_3_Colo…

[7] https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/indigenous culture/kinship.

[8] Moses, A. Dirk. "An antipodean genocide? The origins of the genocidal moment in the colonization of Australia." Journal of Genocide Research 2, no. 1 (2000): 89-106.

[9] Genger, Peter. "The British Colonization of Australia: An Exposé of the Models, Impacts and Pertinent Questions." Peace and Conflict Studies 25, no. 1 (2018): 4.

[10] Barta, Tony. "Relations of genocide: land and lives in the colonization of Australia." Genocide and the modern age: etiology and case studies of mass death 2 (1987): 237-253.

[11] Foley, Gary. "Eugenics, Melbourne University and me." Tracker: be informed, be involved, be inspired (2012).

[12] Ibid.,

[13] Banner, Stuart. "Why Terra Nullius-Anthropology and Property Law in Early Australia." Law & Hist. Rev. 23 (2005): 95.

[14] Ibid.,

[15] Lester, Alan, and Nikita Vanderbyl. "The Restructuring of the British Empire and the Colonization of Australia, 1832–8." In History Workshop Journal, vol. 90, pp. 165-188. Oxford Academic, 2021.

[16] Hunter, Ernest, and Desley Harvey. "Indigenous suicide in australia, new zealand, canada and the united states." Emergency Medicine 14, no. 1 (2002): 14-23.

[17] Wakefield, Edward Gibbon. A view of the art of colonization, with present reference to the British Empire. JW Parker, 1849.

[18] Hollinsworth, David. Race and racism in Australia. Thomson Learning Australia, 2006.

[19] Ibid.,

[20] Hume, Lynne. "The dreaming in contemporary aboriginal Australia." Indigenous religions: a companion. London: Cassell (2000): 125-138.

[21] Read, Peter. Belonging: Australians, place and Aboriginal ownership. Cambridge University Press, 2000.

[22] Ibid.,

[23] King, Gary, Ori Rosen, Martin Tanner, and Alexander F. Wagner. "Ordinary economic voting behavior in the extraordinary election of Adolf Hitler." The Journal of Economic History 68, no. 4 (2008): 951-996.

[24] Caldwell, Peter. "National Socialism and Constitutional Law: Carl Schmitt, Otto Koellreutter, and the Debate over the Nature of the Nazi State, 1993-1937." Cardozo L. Rev. 16 (1994): 399

[25] Bessel, Richard. "The Nazi capture of power." journal of Contemporary History 39, no. 2 (2004): 169-188.

[26] Evans, Richard. "Hitler's Dictatorship." History Review 51 (2005): 20.

[27] Ibid.,

[28] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "SA." Encyclopedia Britannica, November 11, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/SA-Nazi-organization .

[29] Ibid.,

[30] Ibid.,

[31] Power, Jonathan. "Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s Deputy–From Boyhood to Chief Murderer of the Jews." In Ending War Crimes, Chasing the War Criminals, pp. 13-18. Brill Nijhoff, 2017.

[32] https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/aryan-1

[33] Ibid.,

[34] Ibid.,

[35] Grodin, Michael A., Erin L. Miller, and Johnathan I. Kelly. "The Nazi physicians as leaders in eugenics and “euthanasia”: Lessons for today." American journal of public health 108, no. 1 (2018): 53-57.

[36] Ibid.,

[37] Kevles, Daniel J. "Eugenics and human rights." Bmj 319, no. 7207 (1999): 435-438.

[38] Ibid.,

[39] Benedict, Susan, and Jochen Kuhla. "Nurses’ participation in the euthanasia programs of Nazi Germany." Western Journal of Nursing Research 21, no. 2 (1999): 246-263.

[40] ibid.,

[41] Johnson, Mary, and Carol Rittner. "Circles of Hell: Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Nazis." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 548, no. 1 (1996): 123-137.

[42] Kroslak, Daniel. "Nuremberg Laws." The Lawyer Quarterly.-ISSN 8396 (1805): 184-194.

[43] Rippon, Anton. Hitler's Olympics: The Story of the 1936 Nazi Games. Pen and Sword, 2006.

[44] Fitzgerald, Stephanie. Kristallnacht. Capstone, 2017.

[45] Lutz, Brenda Davis. "Gypsies as Victims of the Holocaust." Holocaust and Genocide Studies 9, no. 3 (1995): 346-359.

[46] Ibid.,

[47] Evans, Richard. "Hitler's Dictatorship." History Review 51 (2005): 20.

[48] Ibid.,

[49] O’Byrne, Darren. "Perpetrators? Political civil servants in the Third Reich." In Perpetrators and Perpetration of Mass Violence, pp. 83-98. Routledge, 2018.

[50] Ibid.,

[51] Monroe, Kristen Renwick. "Cracking the code of genocide: The moral psychology of rescuers, bystanders, and Nazis during the Holocaust." Political Psychology 29, no. 5 (2008): 699-736.

[52] Ibid.,

[53] Breitman, Richard. "Plans for the final solution in early 1941." German Studies Review 17, no. 3 (1994): 483-493.

[54] Pohl, Dieter. "The Holocaust and the concentration camps." In Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany, pp. 161-178. Routledge, 2009.

[55] Ibid.,

[56] Steinacher, Gerald J. "The Betrayal: The Nuremberg Trials and German Divergence Kim Christian Priemel." (2018): 123-124.

[57] https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials

[58] Ibid.,

[59] Ibid.,

[60] Adam, Heribert, and Kanya Adam. "Merits and shortcomings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission." In Remembrance and Forgiveness, pp. 34-46. Routledge, 2020.

  • Adam, Heribert, and Kanya Adam. "Merits and shortcomings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission." In Remembrance and Forgiveness, pp. 34-46. Routledge, 2020.
  • Bessel, Richard. "The Nazi capture of power." journal of Contemporary History 39, no. 2 (2004): 169-188.
  • Benedict, Susan, and Jochen Kuhla. "Nurses’ participation in the euthanasia programs of Nazi Germany." Western Journal of Nursing Research 21, no. 2 (1999): 246-263.
  • Breitman, Richard. "Plans for the final solution in early 1941." German Studies Review 17, no. 3 (1994): 483-493.
  • Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "SA." Encyclopedia Britannica, November 11, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/SA-Nazi-organization.
  • Bunker, Raymond. "Systematic colonization and town planning in Australia and New Zealand." Planning Perspectives 3, no. 1 (1988): 59-80.
  • Caldwell, Peter. "National Socialism and Constitutional Law: Carl Schmitt, Otto Koellreutter, and the Debate over the Nature of the Nazi State, 1993-1937." Cardozo L. Rev. 16 (1994): 399
  • Dunn, Kevin M., James Forrest, Ian Burnley, and Amy McDonald. "Constructing racism in Australia." Australian journal of social issues 39, no. 4 (2004): 409-430.
  • Docker, John. "A plethora of intentions: genocide, settler colonialism and historical consciousness in Australia and Britain." The International Journal of Human Rights 19, no. 1 (2015): 74-89.
  • Fitzgerald, Stephanie. Kristallnacht. Capstone, 2017.
  • Grodin, Michael A., Erin L. Miller, and Johnathan I. Kelly. "The Nazi physicians as leaders in eugenics and “euthanasia”: Lessons for today." American journal of public health 108, no. 1 (2018): 53-57.
  • Hollinsworth, David. Race and racism in Australia. Thomson Learning Australia, 2006.
  • Howard-Wagner, Deirdre. "Colonialism and the science of race difference." In TASA and SAANZ 2007 Joint Conference Refereed Conference Proceedings–Public Sociologies: Lessons and Trans-Tasman Comparisons, The Australian Sociological Association. 2007.
  • Jalata, Asafa. "The impacts of English colonial terrorism and genocide on Indigenous/Black Australians." Sage Open 3, no. 3 (2013): 2158244013499143.
  • Johnson, Mary, and Carol Rittner. "Circles of Hell: Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Nazis." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 548, no. 1 (1996): 123-137.
  • Kevles, Daniel J. "Eugenics and human rights." Bmj 319, no. 7207 (1999): 435-438.
  • King, Gary, Ori Rosen, Martin Tanner, and Alexander F. Wagner. "Ordinary economic voting behavior in the extraordinary election of Adolf Hitler." The Journal of Economic History 68, no. 4 (2008): 951-996.
  • Kroslak, Daniel. "Nuremberg Laws." The Lawyer Quarterly.-ISSN 8396 (1805): 184-194.
  • Lutz, Brenda Davis. "Gypsies as Victims of the Holocaust." Holocaust and Genocide Studies 9, no. 3 (1995): 346-359.
  • Monroe, Kristen Renwick. "Cracking the code of genocide: The moral psychology of rescuers, bystanders, and Nazis during the Holocaust." Political Psychology 29, no. 5 (2008): 699-736.
  • Moses, A. Dirk. "An antipodean genocide? The origins of the genocidal moment in the colonization of Australia." Journal of Genocide Research 2, no. 1 (2000): 89-106.
  • Moses, D., & Stone, D. (Eds.). (2013). Colonialism and genocide. Routledge.
  • O’Byrne, Darren. "Perpetrators? Political civil servants in the Third Reich." In Perpetrators and Perpetration of Mass Violence, pp. 83-98. Routledge, 2018.
  • Pohl, Dieter. "The Holocaust and the concentration camps." In Concentration Camps in Nazi Germany, pp. 161-178. Routledge, 2009.
  • Power, Jonathan. "Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s Deputy–From Boyhood to Chief Murderer of the Jews." In Ending War Crimes, Chasing the War Criminals, pp. 13-18. Brill Nijhoff, 2017.
  • Rippon, Anton. Hitler's Olympics: The Story of the 1936 Nazi Games. Pen and Sword, 2006.
  • Robinson, Shirleene, and Jessica Paten. "The question of genocide and Indigenous child removal: the colonial Australian context." Journal of Genocide Research 10, no. 4 (2008): 501-518.
  • Rogers, Thomas James, and Stephen Bain. "Genocide and frontier violence in Australia." Journal of Genocide Research 18, no. 1 (2016): 83-100.
  • Short, Doctor Damien. Redefining genocide: Settler colonialism, social death and ecocide. Zed Books Ltd., 2016.
  • Steinacher, Gerald J. "The Betrayal: The Nuremberg Trials and German Divergence Kim Christian Priemel." (2018): 123-124.
  • Torrens, Robert. Colonization of south Australia. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longman, 1836.
  • Wakefield, Edward Gibbon. A view of the art of colonization, with present reference to the British Empire. JW Parker, 1849.

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The NSDAP (National sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter partei), typically called the Nazi Party in English, was a political party in Germany from 1920 to 1945. The party was founded in Munich under a slightly different name in early 1919, one of many political organizations formed in the wake of Germany’s defeat in World War I. In September 1919 Adolf Hitler joined the party as a spy for German army intelligence. The party and its ideology of nationalism, authoritarianism, and anti-Semitism appealed to Hitler so much that he quit his job with the army to devote himself full time to the party. Hitler soon discovered that he was a great orator who could draw new membership to the party. He soon became the party chairman. He changed the party structure from one of elected leadership and collective decision making to that of Fuhrerprinzip—he was the sole leader and dictated party strategy and policy. He saw the Nazi Party as a revolutionary organization and sought to gain control of Germany through the violent overthrow of the Weimar Republic.

Hitler and the Nazi Party believed that the Weimar government was controlled by socialists, Jews, and the “November Criminals” who had forced Germany to surrender at the end of World War I, backstabbing the German soldiers at the front just as they were about to see victory. Hitler added a focus of national expansion and pushed policies of anti-Semitism while downplaying the socialistic ideas of the party’s founders. Racialism gained prominence through the adoption of the swastika and Aryan identity politics. This racial component and the stated goal of helping the Aryan race to achieve its true destiny set Nazism apart from true fascism.

By 1923 party membership had risen to more than 20,000 through campaigning with this new message. To showcase their ideas, the Nazis held rallies once a year at Nuremberg. The rallies advertised Nazi power, unity, and a religious loyalty to Hitler as Germany’s savior. The Nazi masses were paraded before Hitler as oaths of loyalty were taken. During the rallies the Nazis introduced new policies and party doctrine. The Nuremburg race laws were unveiled at the 1935 rally. The 1934 rally was best known for the documentary Triumph of the Will, created by Leni Riefenstahl to showcase the ceremonies. It became one of the best-known propaganda films of all time.

To enforce Nazi policy on the street and to protect party speakers at political functions, the Sturmabteilung, or SA (also known as the Brown Shirts for the color of their uniforms), was formed. They acted as a party militia and used quasimilitary ranks and organization. Their main visible function was to prevent the disruption of Nazi speeches by communist-based militias. Later they were used by the party for fundraising, political canvassing, and abuse of party enemies. The SA came into conflict with the German army in 1934 after pushing to become the new national German army. The SA leadership was murdered, and the organization became marginalized thereafter.

In Munich on November 7, 1923, the Nazis launched an attempted coup d’état known as the Beer Hall Putsch. The coup quickly failed, and the ringleaders, including Hitler, were rounded up and sent to prison for short sentences. During his jail stay Hitler wrote a combined autobiography and political manifesto titled Mein Kampf (My struggle). This book outlined the ideas of a cultural hierarchy with the German Aryans at the top and with Slavs, communists, and Jews at the bottom. The lower people were to be purged from the nation so they could not impede its growth. Hitler also stated that nations grew from military power and civil order. Germany was to grow by expanding to the east into its lebensraum (living space). The people of Germany were to be led through the principles of Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer (one people, one nation, one leader). The relationship between the people and the state was that of loyalty, duty, and honor for the state, while the leader was responsible for protecting the Aryan race against those who sought to destroy it.

While reflecting on politics during his prison sentence, Hitler decided to switch tactics. The Nazi Party would quit attempting to seize power by force. Power would now be achieved through legal means by winning elections. After his release Hitler’s personal bodyguard unit, the SS (Schutzstaffel), or protection squadron, became more important, and notable senior Nazi leaders such as Hess, Himmler, Goebbels, and Göring emerged. During the new political period the “Heil Hitler” greeting and the Nazi salute were adopted. Electoral success was very small in the 1924 and 1928 elections, in which the Nazi Party only won 3 percent and 2.6 percent of the votes. The party continued to grow, in part because of the fading of other right-wing political parties and because Hitler assumed leadership of right-wing German politics. The Nazis found support from all areas including small business owners, Protestants, students, rural farmers, and those attracted to paramilitary displays put on by the SA and SS.

The biggest upsurge in Nazi support came as a direct result of the Great Depression of 1929. The economic hardships caused by the worldwide depression compounded Germany’s existing problems and set the stage for Nazi expansion by creating a receptive audience. The German left was divided, and its elements could not work together to counter Nazi propaganda. The 1930 elections gave the Nazis 18.3 percent of the vote. In the weeks leading up to this election, Germany was blanketed by Nazi campaigning techniques, propaganda delivered by radio and through rapid travel by airplane. The continued economic chaos played into the Nazis’ hands and pushed more people into the party. In March 1932, Hitler ran for president, losing to Hindenburg. During the campaign the SA and SS battled in the streets against left-wing militias; the escalating violence threatened to throw Germany into chaos. Hitler continued to gain support by promising law and order, while at the same time the Nazis were guilty of instigating most of the violence they preached against.

After the elections, neither the Nazi Party nor the communist parties were willing to form a coalition government, so new elections had to be held with much the same result. After much political manipulation, Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor in January 1933. This was seen as a way to solve the electoral deadlock and also as a way to shift blame to the Nazis for Germany’s ongoing problems. Hitler did not play into Hindenburg and the cabal’s hands. Shortly after Hitler’s appointment, the Reichstag was burned down. Hitler and the Nazis used this opportunity to pass the “Enabling Act,” which gave the president dictatorial powers in order to prevent a communist revolution. Hitler used his new powers to gain complete control over the government, police, and communications. The German people were lulled into complacency by the new Nazi economic practices, which were able to bring Germany out of the Great Depression by ending unemployment, stopping hyperinflation, and increasing the standard of living.

German Synthesis

The period from 1933 to 1939 saw the gradual synthesis of the German state and the Nazi Party. The 1935 Nuremburg laws stripped Jews of civil rights, citizenship, and economic rights and banned their marriage to non-Jews. In 1938 active pogroms began with the infamous Kristallnacht, which resulted in a number of Jewish murders and involved the destruction of stores, homes, and synagogues; it ended with the deportation of 30,000 Jews to the first concentration camps. During the war years the party and the state became fused, and Nazism gradually transformed into loyalty to Adolf Hitler. With Hitler’s death in April 1945, there was little will to keep the party alive. The party was outlawed after the war, and its trappings were removed from society as part of the Allied occupation.

Bibliography:

  • Abel, Theodore. Why Hitler Came into Power. New York: Prentice Hall, 1966;
  • Fest, Joachim. Hitler. New York: Harvest, 1974;
  • Turner, Henry Ashby. Hitler’s Thirty Days to Power. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1996.

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