The word fascism is used to describe any form of dictatorial, right wing, anti-Communist form of government. Nazi Germany became a fascist country under Hitler and the Nazi Party from 1933 to 1945. Here you can read about the Nazis rise to power in the context of the Great Depression.
The Great Depression, more than any other factor, helped Hitler and the National-Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei (Nazi for short) to come to power. Desperate Germans turned to the Party that offered them solutions and action, and they gained popular support.
After the First World War, a man called Adolf Hitler had joined this extremist right wing group and because of his organisational and public speaking skills, he soon became their leader. He set up armed groups of supporters who wore brown shirts, known as the Storm Troopers (in German they are called the S.A. which is short for Sturm Abteilung). The S.A. organised massive parades, dressed in uniforms and carried flags with the Nazi symbol, the Swastika, on it.
The S.A. had no problem with using violence, and often beat up those who disagreed with them. S.A. members pledged 'to always be ready to stake life and limb in the struggle for the aims of the Nazi Party and to give absolute military obedience to my leaders'.
Hitler's road to power was longer than Mussolini's. In 1923 he attempted a 'coup d'etat' or 'putsch' that failed. He was imprisoned for five years, during which time he dictated his famous book, 'Mein Kampf' (My Struggle). Here is one of the ideas in his book, which shows how much he hated the Weimar democracy:
"So the war had all been in vain. In vain all the sacrifices. In vain the death of two million soldiers. Had they died for this, so that the wretched criminals of the Weimar Republic could lay hands on the Fatherland (Germany)."
After Hitler had completed his prison sentence, the Great Depression provided him with an opportunity to challenge the inefficient Weimar Government. As Germany's economy plunged, the population grew increasingly supportive of Hitler who promised strong leadership and economic solutions.
Hitler was a brilliant speaker and in the words of a young man who attended a Nazi Rally in 1932:
"He was holding the masses and me with them, under a hypnotic spell by the sheer force of his own conviction...I forgot everything but the man; then glancing around, I saw that his magnetism was holding these thousands as one." - J. Noakes and G. Pridham from Documents on Nazism 1919-1945, Jonathan Cape, 1974
Like Mussolini, Hitler promoted nationalism and militarism through propaganda, indoctrination, uniforms, flags, emblems and a salute, demanding absolute obedience. At public rallies Hitler condemned the Weimar Republic, Communism and especially the Jews, suggesting they were responsible for the crisis in Germany.
Nazi propaganda used fear, exaggeration and lies to get people to support them. They used emotive propaganda to mobilise popular support, and Hitler inspired the German people with his belief in his fate and destiny as their saviour. Here is an example of one of Hitler's propaganda speeches:
"The streets of our country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students who are rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might, and the Republic is in danger. Yes - danger from within and without. We need law and order! Without it our nation cannot survive." - Adolf Hitler, 1932.
Hitler realised that he would only gain power through democratic methods and that he and his party would have to be publicly elected to government.
In the 1932 election the Nazis won 37% of the votes, and Hitler was appointed as Chancellor in a coalition government in 1933. When a fire broke out in the Reichstag (Parliament) Buildings, the Nazis blamed the Communist Party. Hitler prevented the Communists from taking their seats in parliament, and with the support of smaller parties, was able to pass the Enabling Act, which gave him the power to rule by decree. He became a dictator, crushed all opposition and established a totalitarian one party state. The law now stated that: 'The sole political party existing in Germany is the Nazi Party.'
The German economy stabilised to such an extent that unemployment was virtually wiped out. This boosted mass support for him despite totalitarian rule, extreme racism and the cost to German freedom.
The government intervened in the economy. It spent money on constructing public works (like autobahns or motorways). It began preparing for war, this meant building up a strong defence force and the manufacturing of weapons. The unemployed workers found work in the armaments industry, and conscription made unemployed workers belong. Women were encouraged to stay at home and care for their families.
Rich industrialists, who had supported the Nazis, were happy with totalitarian rule as they were rewarded with government contracts. They were also happy with the banning of trade unions and the ban on strikes.
Hitler succeeded in controlling political, economic and cultural institutions and so all spheres of public and private life. The Nazis called Germany the 'Third Reich' (Third Empire) and Hitler was known as 'Der FÁƒÂƒÂ¼hrer' (The Leader). No opposition was allowed and trade unions were banned. The Church, which was weaker in Germany than in Italy, lost its place. Hitler's secret police, called the SS (short for Schutztaffeln), terrorised people into obedience.
The army usually swears an oath of loyalty to the country it serves, and not to a party or a person. Hitler made the Germany army swear an oath of loyalty to him:
'I swear before God to give my unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of the Reich and of the German people, and I pledge my word as a brave soldier to observe this oath always, even at the peril of my life.'
Anti-Semitic: Discrimination against Jews.
Several anti-Semitic policies were put in place. Jewish professionals such as doctors, lawyers, state officials, musicians, artists and lecturers were forbidden to continue their careers. Universities, schools, restaurants and other public services and places refused entry to Jews. Hitler believed that Germans were a 'herrenvolk' or 'master race'. He believed that Germans were a 'superior race' called Aryans. He said the lowest form of humanity were the Jews. Nazi posters, banners and badges carried the message: 'He who buys from a Jew is a traitor to his people'.
Hitler wanted to expand Germany's frontiers through conquest to create more 'lebensraum' or living space for the German people. He hated the Treaty of Versailles and wanted to take back the land Germany had lost. His aggressive foreign policy eventually led to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
Anti-Semitic ruthlessness culminated during the Second World War, when millions of Jews were killed in the gas chambers of Hitler's 'death' or concentration camps, in a process referred to by the Nazis as The Final Solution. This Genocide remains one of the worst crimes against humanity in history and is referred to as the Holocaust.
The Second World War ended in disaster for Germany. In 1945, British, French and Russian troops invaded Germany from the east and west. As the Russians marched into Berlin, Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker a few blocks away from the advancing troops.
Nazism: Nazism was the German fascist movement led by the National-Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei, Nazi Party, under Adolf Hitler. The Nazi's were not only extremely anti-communist, but also very anti-Semitic. Their symbol was the Swastika, an ancient cross with the arms bent at right angles in the middle found in ancient China, Egypt and India. It was also used by Native Americans as well as early Christians. The Nazi's adopted this cross when they mistakenly thought it was an Aryan symbol.
For more on Nazism and their theories, visit: www.nationalsocialism.com OR www.friends-partners.org