Nazi

Nazi is a term used for members or supporters of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and, more broadly, for the political movement it led in Germany from the early 1920s until 1945. The name reflects the party's claimed blend of nationalism and socialism, but in practice Nazism combined ultranationalism, a racially defined state, antisemitism, anti-communism, and totalitarian governance under a single leader.

Formed in the aftermath of World War I, the NSDAP rose to power through propaganda, paramilitary groups, and appeals to economic distress and national humiliation. Adolf Hitler became chancellor in 1933; after consolidating power, the regime established a police state, suppressed political opposition, and enacted the Nuremberg Laws restricting civil rights for Jews and other groups. Its foreign policy pursued aggressive expansion, leading to the annexations and invasions that began World War II.

Under Nazi rule, millions were persecuted and murdered, including about six million Jews in the Holocaust, as well as Roma, disabled people, political opponents, and others. The regime pursued aggressive war, forced labor, and state-sponsored violence on a vast scale. The regime collapsed in 1945, Germany surrendered, and leading figures were tried in the Nuremberg Trials; denazification programs followed.

Today, Nazism is widely condemned; many countries ban Nazi symbols and organizations, and education focuses on its crimes and the dangers of totalitarianism. The term is often used to describe extremist ideologies and individuals who advocate racist, anti-democratic views. As a historical force, Nazism is studied as a cautionary example of how democratic institutions can be undermined.