Nazi Germany
Germany, 1933–1945. Draft, not yet reviewed
Nazi Germany was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi Party began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, launching World War II in Europe. Jews, Slavs, Romani people, homosexuals, political opponents and other groups were imprisoned, deported or murdered, and the regime's racial policies culminated in the Holocaust.
Seat of power: Berlin
Rulers
Paul von Hindenburg
Head of state, 1925–1934
Though ideologically opposed to Nazism, he played a key role in the Nazi seizure of power in 1933 through his appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. He approved the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended various civil liberties, and signed the Enabling Act of 1933, which gave the Nazi regime emergency powers.
Portrait of Paul von Hindenburg: Unknown author., CC BY-SA 3.0 de, file
(2).jpg){kind=link}
Adolf Hitler
Head of state, 1934–1945
Upon Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934, Hitler replaced him as head of state and thereafter, Germany became a totalitarian dictatorship. His aggressive, expansionist foreign policy is considered the primary cause of World War II in Europe. Hitler was closely involved in the direction of German military operations and was central to the perpetration of the genocide of about six million Jews in the Holocaust as well as the deaths of millions of other victims.
Portrait of Adolf Hitler: Heinrich Hoffmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, file
(2).jpg){kind=link}
Culture
- The Nazi Propaganda Ministry disseminated films and antisemitic canards, and organised mass rallies, fostering a pervasive cult of personality around Hitler.
- The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others.
- Education focused on racial biology, population policy and fitness for military service, and career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed.
Picture
The Nuremberg rallies were a series of events coordinated by the Nazi Party and held in Nuremberg from 1923 to 1938.
Image: The New York Times G.m.b.H. Bild-Dienst Wide World Photos Berlin SW 68 Kochstr. 28/29 (Public domain according to Nar..., CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.