Nazi Germany (1933-1945)
A Nazi Germany (1933-1945) is a Germany that was under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
- Context:
- It can (typically) be a Totalitarian State that centralized all governmental powers under Hitler's leadership.
- It can (typically) be a Nationalistic Regime, promoting extreme nationalism and xenophobia.
- It can (typically) implement policies of Racial Segregation and Genocide, including antisemitism and the Holocaust.
- It can (often) be characterized by its systemic persecution and genocide of Jews and other groups considered undesirable, known as the Holocaust.
- It can implement a wide range of propaganda to control and influence the beliefs and behaviors of its population, including through media, education, and the arts.
- It can be known for aggressive expansionist policies, leading to the invasion of multiple European countries and triggering World War II.
- It can be known for being highly industrialized and pushing extensive militarization, experiencing severe devastation and resource depletion towards the end of the war.
- It can be known for suppressing various forms of political and intellectual opposition through censorship, incarceration, and murder.
- It can be associated with a distinctive political and aesthetic culture, manifesting in everything from architecture to party rallies, characterized by grandiose displays and strict discipline.
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- Example(s):
- Nazi Germany, 1936, marked by the hosting of the Summer Olympics, used as a propaganda tool to promote the ideal of the Aryan race.
- Nazi Germany, 1940, when the regime was at its peak of territorial expansion and implemented the Ghettos in occupied Poland for Jews.
- Nazi Germany, 1941, during the initiation of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which marked a crucial turning point in World War II.
- ...
- Counter-Example(s):
- Weimar Republic (1919-1933), the democratic government that preceded Nazi Germany.
- Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) (1949-1990) and German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (1949-1990), which were established post World War II during the Allied occupation.
- Federal Republic of Germany, the unified Germany post-1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.
- ...
- See: World War II, Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, Third Reich, Fascism, Fascist State, Totalitarian Regime, Propaganda.
References
2024
- (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany Retrieved:2024-4-27.
- Nazi Germany,{{is a term used to describe the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich,meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich,ended in May 1945, after only 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.
After Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator by merging the powers of the chancellery and presidency. A 1934 German referendum confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader). Power was centralised in Hitler's person, and his word became the highest law. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending. Financed by deficit spending, the regime undertook extensive public works projects, including the Autobahnen (motorways) and a massive secret rearmament program, forming the Wehrmacht (armed forces). The return to economic stability boosted the regime's popularity. Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands, threatening war if they were not met. Germany seized Austria in the Anschluss of 1938, and demanded and received the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, launching World War II in Europe. In alliance with Italy and other Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940 and threatened Great Britain.
Racism, Nazi eugenics, anti-Slavism, and especially antisemitism were central ideological features of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the "master race", the purest branch of the Aryan race. Jews, Romani people, Slavs, homosexuals, liberals, socialists, communists, other political opponents, Jehovah Witnesses, those who refused to work, and other "undesirables" were imprisoned, exiled, or murdered. Christian churches and citizens that opposed Hitler's rule were oppressed and leaders imprisoned. Education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed. Nazi Propaganda Ministry disseminated films, antisemitic canards, and organized mass rallies; fostering a pervasive cult of personality around Adolf Hitler to influence public opinion. The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Genocide, mass murder, and large-scale forced labour became hallmarks of the regime; the implementation of the regime's racial policies culminated in the Holocaust.
After the initial success of German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Nazi Germany attempted to implement the Generalplan Ost and Hunger Plan, as part of its war of extermination in Eastern Europe. The Soviet resurgence and entry of the US into the war meant Germany lost the initiative in 1943, and by late 1944 had been pushed back to the 1939 border. Large-scale aerial bombing of Germany escalated and the Axis powers were driven back in Eastern and Southern Europe. After the Allied invasion of France, Germany was conquered by the Soviet Union from the east and the other Allies from the west, and capitulated on 8 May 1945. Hitler's refusal to admit defeat led to massive destruction of German infrastructure and additional war-related deaths in the closing months of the war. The Allies initiated a policy of denazification and put many of the surviving Nazi leadership on trial for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials.
- Nazi Germany,{{is a term used to describe the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich,meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich,ended in May 1945, after only 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.