-
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. -
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 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. -
Germany becomes a one-party dictatorship under Hitler
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 -
Where did the Holocaust take place?
Nazi Germany’s territorial expansion began in 1938–1939. During this time, Germany annexed neighboring Austria and the Sudetenland View This Term in the Glossary and occupied the Czech lands. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany began World War II (1939–1945) by attacking Poland. -
Where did the Holocaust take place?
The Holocaust (1933–1945) was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million European Jews by the Nazi German regime and its allies and collaborators. The Holocaust era began in January 1933 when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in Germany. It ended in May 1945, when the Allied Powers defeated Nazi Germany in World War II. -
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. -
GERMAN CONQUESTS IN EUROPE, 1939-1942
In World War II, Germany sought to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns in Europe. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years. Germany defeated and occupied Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmark (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April 1941).