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Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are common names for Germany during the period from 1933to 1945, when its government was contro ed !y "do f #it er and his Nationa $ocia ist German%or&ers' (arty )N$*"(+, common y &nown as the Nazi (arty -nder #it er's ru e, Germany wastransformed into a fascist tota itarian state which contro ed near y a aspects of ife NaziGermany ceased to e.ist after the " ied /orces defeated Germany in 0ay 1945, ending %or d%ar in 2urope

"fter #it er was appointed hance or of Germany !y the (resident of the %eimar Repu! ic (auvon #inden!urg on 3 anuary 1933, the Nazi (arty !egan to e iminate a po itica opposition andconso idate their power #inden!urg died on 6 "ugust 1934, and #it er !ecame dictator ofGermany when the powers and offices of the hance ery and (residency were merged "nationa referendum he d 19 "ugust 1934 confirmed #it er as so e /7hrer ) eader+ of Germany "power was centra ised in #it er's hands, and his word was a!ove a aws The government wasnot a coordinated, co8operating !ody, !ut rather a co ection of factions strugg ing to amass power and gain #it er's favour n the midst of the Great *epression, the Nazis restored economicsta!i ity and ended mass unemp oyment using heavy mi itary spending and a mi.ed economy2.tensive pu! ic wor&s were underta&en, inc uding the construction of "uto!ahns )high speedhighways+ The return to economic sta!i ity !oosted the regime's popu arity

Racism, especia y antisemitism, was a centra feature of the regime The Germanic peop esa so referred to as the Nordic race were considered to !e the purest representation of "ryanism,and therefore the master race ews and others deemed undesira! e were persecuted ormurdered, and opposition to #it er's ru e was ruth ess y suppressed 0em!ers of the i!era ,socia ist, and communist opposition were &i ed, imprisoned, or forced into e.i e The hristianchurches were a so oppressed, with many eaders imprisoned 2ducation focused on racia!io ogy, popu ation po icy, and fitness for mi itary service areer and educationa opportunities for women were curtai ed Recreation and tourism were organised via the $trength Through oyprogram, and the 193: $ummer ; ympics showcased the Third Reich on the internationa stage(ropaganda minister oseph Goe!!e s made effective use of fi m, mass ra ies, and #it er'shypnotising oratory to contro pu! ic opinion The government contro ed artistic e.pression,promoting specific art forms and discouraging or !anning others

Nazi Germany made increasing y aggressive territoria demands, threatening war if they were notmet "ustria and zechos ova&ia were seized in 193< and 1939 #it er made a pact with oseph$ta in and invaded (o and in $eptem!er 1939, aunching %or d %ar in 2urope n a iance with

ta y and sma er ".is powers, Germany con=uered most of 2urope !y 194 and threatenedGreat >ritain Reichs&ommissariats too& !ruta contro of con=uered areas, and a Germanadministration was esta! ished in what was eft of (o and ews and others deemed undesira! ewere imprisoned and murdered in Nazi concentration camps and e.termination camps Theimp ementation of the regime's racia po icies cu minated in the mass murder of ews and otherminorities in the #o ocaust /o owing the German invasion of the $oviet -nion in 1941, the tideturned against the Third Reich, and it suffered ma?or mi itary defeats in 1943 @arge8sca e!om!ing of German cities, rai ines, and oi p ants esca ated in 1944 Germany was overrun in1945 !y the $oviets from the east and the other " ies from the west #it er's refusa to admitdefeat ed to massive destruction of German infrastructure in the c osing months of the war The

victorious " ies initiated a po icy of denazification and put many of the surviving Nazi eadershipon tria for war crimes at the Nurem!erg tria s

The German economy suffered severe set!ac&s after the end of %or d %ar , part y !ecause ofreparations payments re=uired under the 1919 Treaty of Aersai es The government printedmoney to ma&e the payments and to repay the country's war de!tB the resu ting hyperinf ation edto inf ated prices for consumer goods, economic chaos, and food riots C4D %hen the governmentfai ed to ma&e the reparations payments in anuary 1963, /rench troops occupied Germanindustria areas a ong the Ruhr %idespread civi unrest was the resu t C5D

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The Nationa $ocia ist German %or&ers' (arty )N$*"(BCdD Nazi (arty+ was the renamedsuccessor of the German %or&ers' (arty founded in 1919, one of severa far8right po itica partiesactive in Germany at the time C:D The party p atform inc uded remova of the %eimar Repu! ic,re?ection of the terms of the Treaty of Aersai es, radica antisemitism, and anti8>o shevism CEDThey promised a strong centra government, increased @e!ensraum ) iving space+ for Germanicpeop es, formation of a nationa community !ased on race, and racia c eansing via the activesuppression of ews, who wou d !e stripped of their citizenship and civi rights C<D The Nazisproposed nationa and cu tura renewa !ased upon the AF &isch movement C9D

%hen the stoc& mar&et in the -nited $tates crashed on 64 ;cto!er 1969, the impact in Germanywas dire 0i ions were thrown out of wor&, and severa ma?or !an&s co apsed #it er and theN$*"( prepared to ta&e advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party Theypromised to strengthen the economy and provide ?o!s C1 D 0any voters decided the N$*"( wascapa! e of restoring order, =ue ing civi unrest, and improving Germany's internationa reputation

"fter the federa e ection of 1936, the Nazis were the argest party in the Reichstag, ho ding 63seats with 3E 4 per cent of the popu ar vote C11D

Nazi seizure of power " though the Nazis won the greatest share of the popu ar vote in the two Reichstag generae ections of 1936, they did not have a ma?ority, so #it er ed a short8 ived coa ition governmentformed !y the N$*"( and the German Nationa (eop e's (arty C16D -nder pressure frompo iticians, industria ists, and the !usiness community, (resident (au von #inden!urg appointed#it er as hance or of Germany on 3 anuary 1933 This event is &nown as the 0achtergreifung)seizure of power+ C13D n the fo owing months, the N$*"( used a process termedG eichscha tung )co8ordination+ to rapid y !ring a aspects of ife under contro of the party C14D "civi ian organisations, inc uding agricu tura groups, vo unteer organisations, and sports c u!s, hadtheir eadership rep aced with Nazi sympathisers or party mem!ers >y une 1933, virtua y theon y organisations not in the contro of the N$*"( were the army and the churches C15D

#it er !ecame Germany's head of state, with the tit e of /7hrer und Reichs&anz er, in 1934;n the night of 6E /e!ruary 1933, the Reichstag !ui ding was set afireB 0arinus van der @u!!e, a

*utch communist, was found gui ty of starting the ! aze #it er proc aimed that the arson mar&edthe start of a communist uprising Aio ent suppression of communists !y the $turma!tei ung )$"+was underta&en a over the country, and four thousand mem!ers of the ommunist (arty ofGermany were arrested The Reichstag /ire *ecree, imposed on 6< /e!ruary 1933, rescindedmost German civi i!erties, inc uding rights of assem! y and freedom of the press The decreea so a owed the po ice to detain peop e indefinite y without charges or a court order The

egis ation was accompanied !y a propaganda ! itz that ed to pu! ic support for the measure C1:D

n 0arch 1933, the 2na! ing "ct, an amendment to the %eimar onstitution, passed in theReichstag !y a vote of 444 to 94 C1ED This amendment a owed #it er and his ca!inet to pass aws

even aws that vio ated the constitution without the consent of the president or the ReichstagC1<D "s the !i re=uired a two8thirds ma?ority to pass, the Nazis used the provisions of theReichstag /ire *ecree to &eep severa $ocia *emocratic deputies from attendingB the

ommunists had a ready !een !anned C19DC6 D ;n 1 0ay the government seized the assets ofthe $ocia *emocratsB they were !anned in une C61D The remaining po itica parties weredisso ved, and on 14 u y 1933, Germany !ecame a de facto sing e8party state when thefounding of new parties was made i ega C66D /urther e ections in Novem!er 1933, 193:, and193< were entire y Nazi8contro ed and saw on y the Nazis and a sma num!er of independentse ected C63D The regiona state par iaments and the Reichsrat )federa upper house+ werea!o ished in anuary 1934 C64D

The Nazi regime a!o ished the sym!o s of the %eimar Repu! ic, inc uding the ! ac&, red, andgo d trico or f ag, and adopted rewor&ed imperia sym!o ism The previous imperia ! ac&, white,

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and red trico or was restored as one of Germany's two officia f agsB the second was the swasti&af ag of the N$*"(, which !ecame the so e nationa f ag in 1935 The N$*"( anthem #orst8%esse 8@ied ) #orst %esse $ong + !ecame a second nationa anthem C65D

n this period, Germany was sti in a dire economic situationB mi ions were unemp oyed and the!a ance of trade deficit was daunting C6:D #it er &new that reviving the economy was vita n1934, using deficit spending, pu! ic wor&s pro?ects were underta&en " tota of 1 E mi ionGermans were put to wor& on the pro?ects in 1934 a one C6:D "verage wages !oth per hour andper wee& !egan to rise C6ED

;n 6 "ugust 1934, (resident von #inden!urg died The previous day, the ca!inet had enactedthe @aw oncerning the #ighest $tate ;ffice of the Reich , which stated that upon #inden!urg'sdeath, the office of president wou d !e a!o ished and its powers merged with those of thechance or C6<D #it er thus !ecame head of state as we as head of government #e was forma ynamed as /7hrer und Reichs&anz er ) eader and chance or+ Germany was now a tota itarianstate with #it er at its head C69D "s head of state, #it er !ecame $upreme ommander of thearmed forces The new aw a tered the traditiona oya ty oath of servicemen so that they affirmed

oya ty to #it er persona y rather than the office of supreme commander or the state C3 D ;n 19 "ugust, the merger of the presidency with the chance orship was approved !y 9 per cent of thee ectorate in a p e!iscite C31D

oseph Goe!!e s, Reich 0inister of (ropaganda0ost Germans were re ieved that the conf icts and street fighting of the %eimar era had endedThey were de uged with propaganda orchestrated !y oseph Goe!!e s, who promised peace andp enty for a in a united, 0ar.ist8free country without the constraints of the Aersai es Treaty C36DThe first Nazi concentration camp, initia y for po itica prisoners, was opened at *achau in 1933C33D #undreds of camps of varying size and function were created !y the end of the war C34D-pon seizing power, the Nazis too& repressive measures against their po itica opposition andrapid y !egan the comprehensive margina isation of persons they considered socia yundesira! e -nder the guise of com!ating the ommunist threat, the Nationa $ocia ists securedimmense power "!ove a , their campaign against ews iving in Germany gained momentum

>eginning in "pri 1933, scores of measures defining the status of ews and their rights wereinstituted at the regiona and nationa eve C35D nitiatives and ega mandates against the ewsreached their cu mination with the esta! ishment of the Nurem!erg @aws of 1935, stripping themof their !asic rights C3:D The Nazis wou d ta&e from the ews their wea th, their right to intermarrywith non8 ews, and their right to occupy many fie ds of a!our )such as practising aw, medicine,or wor&ing as educators+ They eventua y dec ared them undesira! e to remain among Germancitizens and society, which over time dehumanised the ewsB argua! y, these actions desensitisedGermans to the e.tent that it resu ted in the #o ocaust 2thnic Germans who refused to ostracise

ews or who showed any signs of resistance to Nazi propaganda were p aced under survei ance!y the Gestapo, had their rights removed, or were sent to concentration camps C3ED 2veryone andeverything was monitored in Nazi Germany naugurating and egitimising power for the Naziswas thus accomp ished !y their initia revo utionary activities, then through the improvisation andmanipu ation of the ega mechanisms avai a! e, through the use of po ice powers !y the Nazi

(arty )which a owed them to inc ude and e.c ude from society whomever they chose+, and fina y!y the e.pansion of authority for a state and federa institutions

"gainst the ?udgement of many of his senior mi itary officers, #it er ordered an attac& on /ranceand the @ow ountries, which !egan in 0ay 194 CE4D They =uic& y con=uered @u.em!ourg, theNether ands, and >e gium, and /rance surrendered on 66 une CE5D The une.pected y swiftdefeat of /rance resu ted in an upswing in #it er's popu arity and a strong upsurge in war feverCE:D

n spite of the provisions of the #ague onvention, industria firms in the Nether ands, /rance,

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and >e gium were put to wor& producing war materie for the occupying German mi itary ;fficia sviewed this option as !eing prefera! e to their citizens !eing deported to the Reich as forced

a!our CEED

The Nazis seized from the /rench thousands of ocomotives and ro ing stoc&, stoc&pi es ofweapons, and raw materia s such as copper, tin, oi , and nic&e CE<D /inancia demands were

evied on the governments of the occupied countries as we B payments for occupation costs werereceived from /rance, >e gium, and Norway CE9D >arriers to trade ed to hoarding, ! ac& mar&ets,and uncertainty a!out the future C< D /ood supp ies were precariousB production dropped in mostareas of 2urope, !ut not as much as during %or d %ar C<1D Greece e.perienced famine in thefirst year of occupation and the Nether ands in the ast year of the war C<1D

#it er made peace overtures to the new >ritish eader, %inston hurchi , and upon their re?ectionhe ordered a series of aeria attac&s on Roya "ir /orce air!ases and radar stations #owever, theGerman @uftwaffe fai ed to defeat the Roya "ir /orce in what !ecame &nown as the >att e of>ritain C<6D >y the end of ;cto!er, #it er rea ised the necessary air superiority for his p annedinvasion of >ritain cou d not !e achieved, and he ordered night y air raids on >ritish cities,inc uding @ondon, ( ymouth, and oventry C<3D

n /e!ruary 1941, the German "fri&a Horps arrived in @i!ya to aid the ta ians in the North "fricanampaign and attempt to contain ommonwea th forces stationed in 2gypt C<4D ;n : "pri ,

Germany aunched the invasion of Iugos avia and the !att e of Greece C<5D German efforts tosecure oi inc uded negotiating a supp y from their new a y, Romania, who signed the Tripartite(act in Novem!er 194

"s a resu t of their defeat in %or d %ar and the resu ting Treaty of Aersai es, Germany ost " sace8@orraine, Northern $ch eswig, and 0eme The $aar and temporari y !ecame aprotectorate of /rance, under the condition that its residents wou d ater decide !y referendumwhich country to ?oin (o and !ecame a separate nation and was given access to the sea !y thecreation of the (o ish orridor, which separated (russia from the rest of Germany *anzig wasmade a free city C13ED

Germany regained contro of the $aar and via a referendum he d in 1935 and anne.ed "ustria in

the "nsch uss of 193< C13<D The 0unich "greement of 193< gave Germany contro of the$udeten and, and they seized the remainder of zechos ova&ia si. months ater C56D -nder threatof invasion !y sea, @ithuania surrendered the 0eme district to the Nazis in 0arch 1939 C139D

>etween 1939 and 1941 the Third Reich invaded (o and, /rance, @u.em!ourg, the Nether ands,>e gium, and the $oviet -nion CE5D Trieste, $outh Tyro , and stria were ceded to Germany !y0usso ini in 1943 C14 D Two puppet districts were set up in the area, the ;perationa Jone of the

"driatic @ittora and the ;perationa Jone of the " pine /oothi s C141D

;ccupied territories

-nder the cover of anti8partisan operations, the Germans murdered civi ians in 5,695 differentoca ities in occupied $oviet >e arus C146D

$ome of the con=uered territories were immediate y incorporated into Germany as part of #it er'song8term goa of creating a Greater Germanic Reich $evera areas, such as " sace8@orraine,were p aced under the authority of an ad?acent Gau )regiona district+ >eyond the territoriesincorporated into Germany were the Reichs&ommissariate )Reich ommissariats+, =uasi8co oniaregimes esta! ished in a num!er of occupied countries "reas p aced under Germanadministration inc uded the (rotectorate of >ohemia and 0oravia, Reichs&ommissariat ;st and)encompassing the >a tic states and >e arus+, and Reichs&ommissariat -&raine on=ueredareas of >e gium and /rance were p aced under contro of the 0i itary "dministration in >e giumand Northern /rance C143D (art of (o and was immediate y incorporated into the Reich, and theGenera Government was esta! ished in occupied centra (o and C144D #it er intended to

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eventua y incorporate many of these areas into the Reich C145D

The governments of *enmar&, Norway )Reichs&ommissariat Norwegen+, and the Nether ands)Reichs&ommissariat Nieder ande+ were p aced under civi ian administrations staffed arge y !ynatives

The N$*"( was a far8right po itica party which came into its own during the socia and financiaupheava s that occurred with the onset of the Great *epression in 1969 C156D %hi e in prison after the fai ed >eer #a (utsch of 1963, #it er wrote 0ein Hampf, which aid out his p an fortransforming German society into one !ased on race C153D The ideo ogy of Nazism !roughttogether e ements of antisemitism, racia hygiene, and eugenics, and com!ined them with pan8Germanism and territoria e.pansionism with the goa of o!taining more @e!ensraum for theGermanic peop e C154D The regime attempted to o!tain this new territory !y attac&ing (o and andthe $oviet -nion, intending to deport or &i the ews and $ avs iving there, who were viewed as!eing inferior to the "ryan master race and part of a ewish >o shevi& conspiracy C155DC15:D;thers deemed unworthy of ife !y the Nazis inc uded the menta y and physica y disa! ed,Romani peop e, homose.ua s, ehovah's %itnesses, and socia misfits C15EDC15<D

nf uenced !y the AF &isch movement, the regime was against cu tura modernism and supportedthe deve opment of an e.tensive mi itary at the e.pense of inte ectua ism C9DC159D reativity andart were stif ed, e.cept where they cou d serve as propaganda media C1: D The party usedsym!o s such as the > ood / ag and ritua s such as the Nazi party ra ies to foster unity and!o ster the regime's popu arity

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