Nazi Germany, officially known as the Third Reich, was the period of German history from 1933 to 1945 when Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party) held power. This era was marked by significant political, social, and economic changes, as well as by extreme militarism, aggressive expansionism, and genocide.
Adolf Hitler rose to power through a combination of political maneuvering, economic crisis, and exploitation of German discontent following World War I. After the failure of the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, Hitler focused on gaining power through legal means. The economic depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s further fueled his rise, as he promised economic recovery and national resurgence. In 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor by Paul von Hindenburg, and following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler merged the positions of Chancellor and President, becoming the Führer and Reich Chancellor.
Once in power, the Nazis quickly established a totalitarian regime. They dismantled democratic institutions, suppressed opposition, and centralized control over all aspects of life through:
The foreign policy of Nazi Germany was aggressive, focusing on:
The Nazi regime implemented policies of racial purification and genocide, targeting Jews, Romani, disabled people, homosexuals, Slavs, and political dissidents. The most infamous aspect was the Holocaust, where six million Jews were systematically murdered in extermination camps like Auschwitz and Treblinka.
The war began to turn against Germany after the failed invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, leading to prolonged battles like Stalingrad. By 1945, with the Allies closing in from both East and West, Berlin fell to Soviet forces in May 1945. Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945.
The legacy of Nazi Germany includes the profound moral and ethical lessons learned from the atrocities committed, the establishment of Nuremberg Trials to prosecute war criminals, and the ongoing study of totalitarianism, genocide, and the importance of human rights.