Nazism

Nazism (/ˈnɑːtsiɪzəm, ˈnæt-/ ^ⓘNA(H)T-see-iz-əm), formally named National Socialism (NS; German: Nationalsozialismus, German: [natsi̯oˈnaːlzotsi̯aˌlɪsmʊs] ^ⓘ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequently referred to as Hitler Fascism (German: Hitlerfaschismus) and Hitlerism (German: Hitlerismus). The term "neo-Nazism" is applied to other far-right groups with similar ideology, which formed after World War II, and after Nazi Germany collapsed.

Nazism is a form of fascism, with disdain for liberal democracy and the parliamentary system. Its beliefs include support for dictatorship, fervent antisemitism, anti-communism, anti-Slavism, anti-Romani sentiment, scientific racism, white supremacy, Nordicism, social Darwinism, homophobia, ableism, and the use of eugenics. The ultranationalism of the Nazis originated in pan-Germanism and the ethno-nationalist Völkisch movement which had been a prominent aspect of German ultranationalism since the late 19th century. Nazism was influenced by the Freikorps paramilitary groups that emerged after Germany's defeat in World War I, from which came the party's underlying "cult of violence". It subscribed to pseudo-scientific theories of a racial hierarchy, identifying ethnic Germans as part of what the Nazis regarded as a Nordic Aryan master race. Nazism sought to overcome social divisions and create a homogeneous German society based on racial purity which represented a people's community (Volksgemeinschaft). The Nazis aimed to unite all Germans living in historically German territory, as well as gain lands for German expansion under the doctrine of Lebensraum and exclude those they deemed either Community Aliens or "inferior" races (Untermenschen).

The term "National Socialism" arose from attempts to create a nationalist redefinition of socialism, as an alternative to Marxist international socialism and free-market capitalism. Nazism rejected Marxist concepts of class conflict and universal equality, opposed cosmopolitan internationalism, and sought to convince parts of the new German society to subordinate their interests to the "common good", accepting political interests as the priority of economic organisation, which tended to match the general outlook of collectivism or communitarianism rather than economic socialism. The Nazi Party's precursor, the pan-German nationalist and antisemitic German Workers' Party (DAP), was founded in 1919. In the 1920s, the party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party to appeal to left-wing workers, a renaming Hitler initially objected to. The National Socialist Program, or "25 Points", was adopted in 1920 and called for a united Greater Germany that would deny citizenship to Jews or those of Jewish descent, while supporting land reform and the nationalisation of some industries. In Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"), published in 1925–26, Hitler outlined the antisemitism and anti-communism at the heart of his philosophy as well as his disdain for representative democracy, over which he proposed the Führerprinzip (leader principle), and his belief in Germany's right to territorial expansion through lebensraum. Hitler's objectives involved the eastward expansion of German territories, German colonization of Eastern Europe, and promotion of an alliance with Britain and Italy, against the Soviet Union.

The Nazi Party won the greatest share of the vote in both Reichstag general elections of 1932, making it the largest party in the legislature, albeit short of a majority (37% in July and 33% in November). Because no party was willing or able to put together a coalition government, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg through the connivance of traditional conservative nationalists who believed they could control him and his party. With the use of emergency presidential decrees by Hindenburg and a change in the Weimar Constitution which allowed the Cabinet to rule by direct decree, bypassing Hindenburg and the Reichstag, the Nazis established a one-party state and began the Gleichschaltung (process of Nazification).

The Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS) functioned as the paramilitary organisations of the Nazi Party. Using the SS, Hitler purged the party's more socially and economically radical factions in the 1934 Night of the Long Knives, including leadership of the SA. After Hindenburg's death in August 1934, political power was concentrated in Hitler's hands and he became head of state, as well as head of the government, with the title of Führer und Reichskanzler, meaning "leader and Chancellor of Germany". Hitler was now the dictator of Nazi Germany—also known as the Third Reich—under which Jews, political opponents and other "undesirable" elements were marginalised, imprisoned or murdered. During World War II, millions – including two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe – were exterminated in a genocide known as the Holocaust. Following Germany's defeat and discovery of the full extent of the Holocaust, Nazi ideology became universally disgraced. It is widely regarded as evil, with only a few fringe racist groups, usually referred to as neo-Nazis, describing themselves as followers of National Socialism. Use of Nazi symbols is outlawed in many European countries, including Germany and Austria.